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Beaches & Bootlegging: The true stories of Prohibition Era Florida

Prohibition is recognized as one of the most unpopular laws in US history. It was so unpopular at the time that some Floridians weren’t all too keen on obeying it. Learn how it was instigated by small town Protestants who believed that newer immigrants living in big cities were immoral because of their emphatic use of alcohol. Prohibition bred corruption, defiance of the law, and hypocrisy as illegal bootlegging, moonshining and rum running replaced legitimate taxpaying industries. Florida actually voted state-wide Prohibition into law before the dreaded 18th amendment and was the only state to elect a governor from the Prohibition Party. Florida’s Bill McCoy “The Real McCoy” founded Rum Row and became an international celebrity as he made a mockery of the U.S. Coast Guard’s inability to squelch his innovative rum running operations. Al Capone, the infamous gangster, vacationed in Florida while his henchmen perpetrated the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Many virtually unknown stories of tragic killings in Florida during Prohibition are also recounted as author Randy Jaye guides readers through Florida’s Prohibition Era.

The history of Florida railroads began as early as 1834, when the Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad incorporated.

On April 14, 1836, the St.Joseph–Lake Wimico line was the first to be put into service, with trains operating between the boomtown of St. Joseph and the Apalachicola River.Although the Florida railroad “boom” began with Henry Flagler and Henry Bradley Plant, the expansion continued into the 1920s when the president of Seaboard Railway, S. Davies Warfield, extended his lines to Miami and Naples. With the passage of time, numerous railroads were bought, merged, or abandoned. Today, 12 full-service railroads are still operating as well as several port railroads.

Seth H. Bramson has written 32 books on and about Florida history, 21 of which have been published by Arcadia Publishing and The History Press. A lifelong Miamian, he is America’s senior collector of Florida East Coast Railway, Florida transportation, and Miami memorabilia as well as Floridiana. He is America’s single most-published Florida history book author.

Author Robert Redd dives into the stories you won’t find in any orange juice–dispensing Florida Welcome Center. Swaying palms, sandy beaches and the promise of a good life have beckoned generations to Florida. But the Sunshine State’s allure is appealing to the upstanding and vile in equal measure. A key member of the Abraham Lincoln assassination conspiracy moldered in Florida soil—the same goes for the failed assassin of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Henry Flagler pushed the Florida legislature to alter divorce law so he could extricate himself from one marriage and start anew with a woman nearly four decades his junior. The Ashley Gang left a trail of bank robberies, stolen cars and dead bodies across South Florida. And from bootleggers to land boom con men to especially aggressive insurance fraudsters, Floridians have a history of making money the dirty way.

Florida State University has attracted a wide variety of students over the years. This pictorial history illustrates the history of this university and those who proudly call themselves Seminoles.

After the Florida State Legislature passed an act calling for the creation of two seminaries of learning in 1851, West Florida Seminary was established in Tallahassee. In the 1880s, the seminary's curriculum was reorganized along the lines of a conventional four-year college, and in 1901, the name was changed to Florida State College, better suiting its well-rounded liberal arts education and the traditional college experience offered to its students. With the passage of the Buckman Act in 1905, the school began a new chapter as the Florida Female College. After the name was changed to Florida State College for Women in 1909, it went on to rank as one of the premier women's colleges in the country. In 1947, in part to accommodate the influx of returning GIs, the school resumed its coeducational status as Florida State University. Combining traditional strength in the arts and humanities with recognized leadership in the sciences, Florida State University is one of the country's foremost research institutions today.

Bite in to this refreshing history of sweet foods in the Sunshine State!

Sweets and the Sunshine State are a match made in heaven. Centuries ago, native Floridians used honey to sweeten dishes, as well as prickly pears and other wild fruits and berries. Spanish explorers introduced citrus to the area, leading to a major industry. Florida pioneers planted sugar cane and sweet potatoes as basic crops. Cane grinding, taffy pulls and homemade ice cream socials were once beloved community events across the state. The state pie of Florida, the Key lime pie, has been an addition to family affairs and restaurant menus since its inception in the late 1800s. From strawberry festivals to Florida flan, author Joy Sheffield Harris uncovers the state's unique sweets with a taste of sunshine.

Chronicling Indians and aviators, stock cars and sand traps, Florida's First Coast is a delightful collection of vintage images and local lore, sure to enchant newcomers and residents alike.

p>A well-loved local, retired U. S. Navy Captain Jack Pate decided to tell others the story of the First Coast Beaches after falling in love with the area himself. Using the extensive collections of the Beaches Area Historical Society, Captain Jack introduces the history of the people who settled the Beaches area and their love-hate relationship with the two bodies of water that define it: the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean.

African Americans have made rich contributions to Florida throughout its history in all avenues of public and private life, from education, to business, to politics, a keystone of which was the ability to own and sell property. Author Jada Wright-Greene showcases this legacy through historic photographs of black American’s homes, detailing the lives of the people who lived in them through engaging narrative.

Between 1824 and 1840, Florida’s government functioned out of several log cabins and rented rooms in the newly established territorial capital of Tallahassee. In 1839, the federal government gave $20,000 to construct a permanent capitol building; the bones of the structure were laid by enslaved craftsmen. The first session took place in 1841, and additional funds requested each year ensured the capitol was complete when Florida entered the Union as the 27th state on March 3, 1845. Over the years, four significant capitol expansions reflected the needs of a growing state until a new and modern Capitol Complex, designed by architect Edward Durrell Stone, was completed in 1977. The aging former capitol was slated for demolition until the people of Florida spoke out in a successful campaign to save the historic building and restore it to its 1902 appearance. Highlighting the photographic collection of the State Archives of Florida, Florida’s Historic Capitol Building reveals stories about the state’s political past, the development of a capital city, and the legacy of an iconic Florida building.

Author Keri Watson guides readers on a tour through New Deal era Sunshine State parks and post office murals. Even before the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, the Florida economy was depressed from two major hurricanes, a citrus export embargo, and the collapse of the real estate market. Florida desperately needed the relief promised by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal and actively participated in and benefited from a number of federally sponsored initiatives during the Great Depression. These programs were aimed at what the president termed “Relief, Recovery, and Reform,” and they impacted every sector of society from banking and farming to art and architecture. This collection offers a detailed look at the state parks and post offices built in Florida between 1931 and 1946. Looking at Florida’s Depression-era parks and post offices in concert elucidates the ways in which the natural and built environments work together to constitute the cultural landscape and provides insight into the role of the federal government in Florida’s construction as an exotic and tropical paradise.

Years before the first shots of the Civil War were fired, Florida witnessed a clash of wills and ways that prompted three wars unlike any others in America's history.

Among the most well-known of Florida's native peoples, the Seminole Indians frustrated troops of militia and volunteer soldiers for decades during the first half of the nineteenth century in the ongoing struggle to keep hold of their ancestral lands. While careers and reputations of American military and political leaders were made and destroyed in the mosquito-infested swamps of Florida's interior, the Seminoles and their allies, including the Miccosukee tribe and many escaped slaves, managed to wage war on their own terms. The study of guerrilla warfare tactics employed by the Seminoles may have aided modern American forces fighting in Viet Nam, Cambodia, and other regions.

The Sunshine State has a rich maritime history spanning more than five centuries. Tragically, part of that history includes thousands of ships that have met their fates in Florida waters.

Potentially more than 5,000 shipwrecks reside off Florida's 1,200 miles of coastline, with hundreds more lost in the state's interior rivers. In and of itself, the Florida Keys archipelago, consisting of approximately 1,700 islands stretching 200 miles, is littered with the remains of close to 1,000 shipwrecks. In fact, many features of the Florida Keys were named after various shipwreck events, such as Fowey Rocks, which earned its name after the 1748 wrecking of the British warship HMS Fowey, and Alligator Reef, where the schooner USS Alligator met her demise in 1822. Florida's Shipwrecks utilizes captivating images to illustrate dramatic stories of danger and peril at sea, introducing readers to a fascinating cross-section of Florida's shipwreck history.

Florida's Space Coast and its explosion into the 20th century thrust these beach towns into the modern age and paved the way for America's space exploration.

Florida's Space Coast is an area that got its name from one of the most exciting times in United States history. Settlers were living in Brevard County as far back as the 1800s, and even after World War II, it was still a quiet place to live. Cities and beach towns along 74 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline were thrust into the modern age in the early 1950s, when rockets began lighting up the skies above them. The space race had begun, the nation would set a path to put men on the moon, and Florida would become the backdrop for this thrilling chapter of American history. The area's population surged with over 200,000 new residents, and things would never be the same. It was a time when people risked their lives for space exploration, and a community came together to make it happen.

First published in 1910, this charming collection of illustrated flower poems animates the eighty-two flowers included in the book. From Crocus to Holly, the flowers are ordered as each would appear throughout the year in a garden. These half-child, half-flower illustrations create a wonderful way for children to see themselves in the natural world.  

A collection of illustrated fairy stories from Louisa May Alcott—the author who brought us Little Women. 

Originally published in 1854, this collection of fables was inspired by Louisa's time spent in the woods around Walden Pond—a spot endearingly named Fairyland by Walden's own Henry David Thoreau. Young Louisa collected these fairy fables into a volume dedicated to her friend Ellen Emerson, the daughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson. This volume—published under the title, Flower Fables—was Louisa's first published book. Published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of its first publication, this elegant hardback edition is a perfect gift for any aged reader.

From its art deco architectural design to its historic integrity and preservation, Floyd Bennett Fieldis a must-have for, aviation, and New York history enthusiasts.

Although New York City was slowly recognizing the need for a municipal airport in the late 1920s, it sought to regain prominence by constructing the most advanced airport of its day.

Construction in the far reaches of Brooklyn was started on October 29, 1929, the day of the stock market crash that heralded the Great Depression. The airport was named posthumously for Floyd Bennett, a Brooklyn native, Navy pilot, and Medal of Honor winner. Unfortunately, because of many factors—including poor timing, politics, and remoteness from Manhattan—the airfield was a commercial failure. Its advanced features, however, made it a mecca for private aircraft and the site of numerous record-breaking flights.

Aviation historian Richard V. Porcelli, author of Arcadia Publishing's NAS Atlantic Cityand numerous articles, tells how the Navy became an early tenant in a move that would impact the airfield's destiny. In 1941, the Navy's presence led to the establishment of NAS New York, which played a key role in the wartime delivery of planes from numerous area factories. After the war, it served as an important Naval Air Reservebase until its closure in 1971.

A fascinating history of Floyd County, Georgia, from its beginnings in Spanish exploration to its modern day success.

Floyd County, Georgia, located in the picturesque northwest Georgia mountains, has a long and fascinating written history that stretches back to 1540 and the Spanish explorers of that era. The Mississippian, Creek, and Cherokee Nations preceded the arrival of Europeans to the area. Soon after, industry and commercial agriculture began to flourish, and in 1845, riverboats began carrying products down the Coosa River from Floyd County to Mobile, Alabama.

The railroads and coal industry permanently changed both the economy and culture of Floyd County, Kentucky.

Floyd County, named for Kentucky pioneer John Floyd, was formed in 1799. Originally encompassing all of the Big Sandy River Valley and much of eastern Kentucky, the boundaries included portions of what are now Pike, Martin, Knott, Magoffin, and Johnson Counties. Because of its river access, Floyd County developed earlier than many counties in eastern Kentucky; Prestonsburg, the county seat, became a major river port and center of trade in the region. With the coming of the railroad in 1903 and the coal industry, the county rapidly grew, in no small part thanks to the rapid rise in population due to the migration of white Americans from around the country, European immigrants, and African Americans from southern plantations and coalfields. What had been an agrarian, white population suddenly took on a whole new face, one more reflective of the nation. The history of coal production plays a large role in this book, particularly the Wheelright Coal Camps, but we know how much Kentucky has given to contribute to the story of America.

The bustling multicultural borough of Flushing, Queen's early history is shared in this volume of photos and remembrances.

In 1645, English immigrants settled in Vlissengen, an area of Queens now known as Flushing. After bitter disagreements with Governor Stuyvesant over the issue of religious freedom, they produced the Flushing Remonstrance, one of the first public statements defending the separation of church and state. The village of Flushing was incorporated into the larger New York City area in 1898, and the community soon became famous for its beautiful tree-lined streets, a reminder of its rich horticultural heritage. The Bowne House, the First Quaker Meetinghouse, Kingsland Homestead, Flushing Town Hall, and St. George's Church are a few of the buildings known for their architectural merit and historic significance.

Flushing explores the dramatic changes of this ever growing city with many never-before-seen images. Jason D. Antos is the author of three other local Queens history books.

In the 1890s, electric lighting and improved roads were just the beginning of the changes about to take place in Flushing, New York. Once a rural village of wide-open farms and magnificent estates, Flushing transformed into a community of more than 200,000 people and quickly became one of the busiest neighborhoods in Queens.

Advertisements placed in newspapers throughout the Midwest in the early 1900s read, Notice to Homeseekers: Good farm land at a reasonable price, directing people toward picturesque Foley, Alabama.

A new town with an ideal climate and boundless resources, it was the final stop on the railroad spur to south Baldwin County that was completed in 1905. First built on an agriculture and timber economy, the town was soon home to businesses that sprang up during the population explosion. Nearby Elberta, a German colony, and the river towns of Magnolia Springs and Bon Secour also experienced accelerated growth as the area was developed. The heritage of the greatest resource—the people of Foley—is best told in the photographs long treasured by families of the earliest settlers and collected by the authors to be shared and preserved for posterity.

Born from the chilly waters of Lake Ontario and the Genesee River, Rochester, New York, has been the cradle of the modern spiritualist an anti-Masonic movements and religious sects and communes.

This unusual history has given rise to strange legends and shrouded the city in mystery. Was the corner of Main and Elm Streets - McCurdy's Department Store - cursed? Who was Captain William Morgan, and why did he suddenly disappear? What stories lie behind Rochester's first murder and the execution of William Lyman's killer? What is hoodoo, and who is the Hoodoo Doctor? Native American tales, the history of the infamous Fox sisters and the secrets of the Freemasons are woven into these and other legends of Rochester

Discover the history of Folly Beach and how it transformed over the years from Coffin Island to a popular vacation destination.

Folly Beach was not named for its carefree inhabitants' lifestyles, but it is a fitting moniker nonetheless. Originally dubbed Folly for its dense foliage and forests just across the marsh from James Island and Charleston, the six-mile sliver of land has served as an outpost for Civil War soldiers, an inspiration to George Gershwin, and a place of fond memories for thousands of residents, vacationers, and day-trippers seeking time to relax in the sea and sand. Long before Folly became a place for respite and relaxation, however, it served as a quarantine island for sick sailors, forebodingly referred to as Coffin Island. By the 1950s, Folly's dark history was sufficiently replaced with an amusement park, bowling alley, and moonlight dances out on the pier.

Culinary Traditions Preserved, Stories Never to be Forgotten/

This vital collection of survivor stories uplifts and inspires alongside recipes that nourish your soul. Read about daring partisans who fought in the woods, hidden children who sought comfort from strangers and those who endured unimaginable internment. For Holocaust survivors, food was a way to connect their lives before the war with the homes they created after. Their kitchens were filled with the aromas of familiar foods like chicken soup and brisket while unfamiliar delights they adopted, like arroz con pollo and gnocchi, became part of their repertoire. These are the recipes they share with you. Culinary icons such as Michael Solomonov, Jonathan Waxman, Ina Garten and more contribute their own recipes as tribute to the remarkable survivor community. Author June Hersh gives readers a taste of history and a life-affirming message that honors the legacy of Holocaust survivors. 

A portion of the proceeds from sales of this book will benefit organizations committed to Holocaust education.

"Jack's sports reporting was always fair, honest, and straightforward. He tells his own story in the same exact way." —Cris Collinsworth, NBC Sunday Night Football

In Jack Brennan’s decades-long career as a sports journalist, he covered teams like the MLB’s Reds and the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals. As the public relations director for the Bengals, he wrangled sports stories, reporters, and players. At home, he played basketball with the neighborhood husbands and raised three kids with his wife, to whom he was devoted. At the same time, he had a passion that never left him: he liked dressing as a woman. Blonde silky hair, bright lips, and smooth legs escaping short skirts, topped off with heels as high as they go. 

He kept his life as a crossdresser mostly private, so his public coming out via The Athletic in 2021—one of the first men in the NFL to come out as LGBTQ+—was a surprise to many. Football Sissy offers a no-holds-barred trip through his dual lives, from his earliest love affair with a puff-sleeve blouse at age three through to his first jaunts dressed in public to surprise visits to the hospital alongside a fulfilling family life and an exciting career.

Told with the characteristic humor and ease of Brennan’s sports columns, Football Sissy is a heartwarming tale of acceptance and love, even within the most masculine of environments. 

An interesting history of the Birthplace of New Hampshire, Odiorne Point.

The landscape of Odiorne Point has seen centuries of change from the courageous footsteps of the first settlers at Pennaway to the firing of guns at Fort Dearborn. Behind the breathtaking beauty of the area lie secrets of natural and cultural history hidden deep in the sands of time. Available for the first time in book form, Footprints in Time is based on a walking tour popular at Odiorne Point State Park since 1988. Whether you are relaxing at home or rambling along the Park's winding trails, this oceanside walking guide will lead you through the fascinating stories of the Birthplace of New Hampshire.

In 1909, Pittsburgh Pirates president Barney Dreyfuss began construction on a new facility for his team in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.

Dreyfuss decided to call his palace - the first concrete and steel facility built in the National League - Forbes Field, after the British general John Forbes, a hero in the French and Indian War. Opened on June 20, 1909, Forbes Field was a hit from the onset; the venue hosted large crowds that came to watch the Pirates win in their first World Series against the Detroit Tigers that year. As the years went on, Forbes Field became synonymous with the greatest sports memories in the city's history. Patrons saw the trials and tribulations of the Steelers as well as some of the greatest collegiate football teams in the history of the game. The University of Pittsburgh won three collegiate football national championships, and Duquesne University and Carnegie Tech also fielded many winning teams while calling Forbes Field home. Alongside football, boxing was a constant event at the famed facility, hosting some of the most memorable pugilists this city has ever produced. Above all else, it was a baseball mecca. While the field is no longer in use, the wall remains intact, reminding Pittsburghers of the field's rich history.

Founded in 1903, Ford Motor Company has enormously impacted the history and development of America, and the world, in the 20th century.

What began as a small operation in a converted Detroit wagon factory has become the second largest industrial manufacturing corporation in the world, with active operations on six continents. Unlike other automotive corporations, the Ford company has remained under the control and active management of its founding family for 100 years. Like the Kennedys, Vanderbilts, and Roosevelts, the Ford family has made an irreversible impact on American history and society. Through a collection of over 200 images, Ford Dynasty tells the story of one extraordinary American family, their company, and its accomplishments over the course of a century.

Ford's Theatre in downtown Washington, DC, is best known as the notorious scene of Pres. Abraham Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865.

It is among the oldest and most visited sites of national tragedy in the United States. First constructed in 1833 as a Baptist church, the property was acquired by John T. Ford and converted into a theater in 1861.  Presenting almost 500 performances before the assassination, Ford afterward sold the building to the federal government. A century later, the National Park Service reconstructed the theater, and Ford's Theatre Society began presenting live performances there in 1968. Since then, the two organizations have partnered to offer more than 650,000 annual visitors an array of quality programming about Lincoln's presidency and legacy. Today, patrons can explore the Tenth Street campus, consisting of the theater, interactive museum galleries, the house where Lincoln died, and the Center for Education and Leadership.

Forest Hills grew out of an experiment - the transformation of 142 undeveloped acres into America's first garden city.

From the early renderings of 1909 came a fairy-book suburb, as Sinclair Lewis wrote, with architecture that was inspired by medieval villages. The success of the community bred development of homes, churches, and businesses on nearby plots. Forest Hills landed the most prestigious tennis tournament in the country. Theodore Roosevelt visited. Helen Keller moved in. Only generations later would the peace shatter when residents viciously protested a historic proposal for public housing.

Like so many of the places that lined the route from St. Paul to Duluth, Forest Lake came of age as a railroad town and was first incorporated as a township in 1874. Situated on a lake by the same name, it soon became known as a resort town where many residents from the Twin Cities could leave their cares behind for some fishing and sunbathing. Because of its secluded nature, it also attracted well-known gangsters of the era. Minnesota native George “Bugs” Moran had a hideout near the lake, as did the Ma Barker gang. As the resort traffic dried up, progress soon took over, and with it came residential development and downtown revitalization. Today, Forest Lake’s population has increased nearly twentyfold and continues to attract visitors to its pristine lakes.