Geography

Geographic Location, Land, and Climate History of Florida Geology & Geography Florida has a unique geography that can be seen and explored today. Learn the history of the land and how it was formed.    Click below for a downloadable copy of this article.    Download Student Copy Download Teacher Copy Geographic Location, the Land, […]

Florida’s Ancient People

Florida’s Ancient People Palm Beach County: The People of the Water This section provides an overview of the first native tribes and the ancient people that inhabited South Florida.  Click below for a downloadable copy of this article. Open Student Copy Open Teacher Copy Florida’s Early Native Americans Our state’s history began long before the […]

Colonial Florida

Colonial Florida Click below for a downloadable copy of this article. Open Student Copy Open Teacher Copy Juan Ponce de León Courtesy of Jacques Reich THE FIRST SPANISH PERIOD The first explorers authorized by the Spanish government arrived in Florida in the sixteenth century. When they encountered the native peoples, they found most of them to […]

Territorial Florida

Territorial Florida Seminole Wars | Territorial Florida This section provides an overview of Florida while it was still a Territory and the Seminole Wars.  Click below for a downloadable copy of this article. Student Download Teacher Download TERRITORY OF FLORIDA Florida became a territory of the United States on March 4, 1822. A territory is […]

Statehood to the Civil War

Statehood to the Civil War Click below for a downloadable copy of this article.  Open Student Copy Open Teacher Copy STATEHOOD The Florida Constitution was written in 1838, one of the steps required to become a state. After the Second Seminole War ended, more settlers came to Florida, bringing the territory’s population to 57,000 people, […]

Pioneer Era

Pioneer Era Click below for a downloadable copy of this article.  Student Download Teacher Download EARLY PIONEERS The period following the Civil War was called Reconstruction (1865-1877). Florida had not experienced as much destruction as other southern states had, so rebuilding Florida mainly meant improving its government and economy. People from the North began visiting […]

Flagler Era and Boom-to-Bust

Flagler Era through Boom-to-Bust Click below for a downloadable copy of this article.  Open Student Copy Open Teacher Copy Henry Flagler Courtesy of Historical Society of Palm Beach County RAILROADS AND HOTELS Henry Morrison Flagler first came to Florida from New York in 1878. His wife’s doctor suggested that her health might improve if she […]

Great Depression and World War II

The Great Depression and World War II Download STUDENT Copy Download TEACHER Copy President Roosevelt in Jacksonville, Courtesy of State Archives of Florida FLORIDA IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION  The 1926 Land Bust, followed by devastating hurricanes in 1926 and 1928, eroded confidence in Florida’s economy and sent it into an economic depression. In October 1929, […]

Post-World War II to Present

Post-World War II to Present Click below for a downloadable copy of this article. Student Download Teacher Download FLORIDA’S POPULATION After World War II, the population of Florida and Palm Beach County grew quickly. Many of the soldiers stationed here during World War II saw Florida as a land of opportunity and moved here after […]

A Story of Agriculture

A Story of Agriculture Click below for a downloadable copy of this article.  Student Download Teacher Download Farmers picking cabbage. Courtesy Historical Society of Palm Beach County INTRODUCTION Palm Beach County covers more than 2,383 square miles, or 1.525 million acres, including land and water. That makes our county one of the largest in the […]