Florida

The town of Hastings owes its existence to Standard Oil Company cofounder Henry Flagler, who, by 1886, was building a hotel in St. Augustine. In 1890, Flagler invited his cousin Thomas Horace Hastings to establish a model farm to raise vegetables for the hotels he was building along the east coast of Florida. It soon became widely known that there was big money to be made in agriculture in Florida. The mild winters gave Hastings a significant advantage over other areas of the nation, and entrepreneurs from the north and west came to seek their fortunes. The story of Hastings is the story of a town that once was the center for pioneering the production of winter vegetables for cities and towns throughout the eastern United States. It is a story of a group of strong, industrious, and creative people who made a lasting impact on the history of Florida.

From the 1890s through the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this "golden age" can today be considered works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history.

Florida cuisine: twelve thousand years in the making, discover the the state's unusual and distinctive food influences and dishes.

From the very first prickly pears harvested by Paleo-Indians more than twelve thousand years ago to the Seminole tribe's staple dish of sofkee, Florida's culinary history is as diverse as its geography. Influences as diverse as French, Creole, Spanish, Cuban, Greek, Mexican, Caribbean, and more season Florida's eclectic flavors. Learn how Florida orange juice changed the look of the American breakfast table and discover the state's festival-worthy swamp cabbage. Through syllabubs, perloos, frog legs and Tupelo honey, author Joy Sheffield Harris serves up a delectable helping of five hundred years of Florida cuisine--all with a side of key lime pie, of course.