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| Sample of Booklet OCR text John Gorrie, of Apalachicola, inventor of mechanical refrigeration; Marjorie Kinnar Rawlings, whose Pulitzer prize novel,"The Yearling" dealt with the Florida backwoods; and Joseph W. "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, commander of the China-Burma-India Theater of War. Highlights of History After discovering Florida, Ponce de Leon landed two shiploads of colonists at Charlotte Harbor in 1521, but constant clashes with the Indians resulted in his death and the abandonment of the colony. Tales of fabulous cities of gold (which were not to spring up until the 20th century) lured other Spanish explorers. Hernando de Soto landed in the Tampa area in 1539 to begin a four year march. Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Captain General of the Spanish treasure fleets, came to Florida in 1565 to found St. Augustine and a line of posts from Tampa Bay to -Port Royal, South Carolina. After the British captured Havana, Cuba, in 1763, Spain agreed to trade Florida for the Cuban capital. But after the American Revolution, the British were squeezed in by the new United States and Spanish strongholds to the south. They ceded Florida to Spain from whom the United States bought it in 1819 for $5 million. With the creation of the Florida Territory in 1822 came Indian trouble. The Seven-Year Seminole Wars ending in 1842 cost the lives of 1,500 American soldiers but brought eventual peace paving the way for statehood which was granted on March 3, 1845. SCENES OF FLORIDA View-Master Reel FLA-1 1. STATE CAPITOL AT TAU.AHASSEE The site of Florida's capital was chosen midway between St. Augus- tine on the Atlantic coast and Pensacola on the western border. When the territorial legislation met for the first time in 1824, there was no town, just a log cabin in a forest clearing. The original, central portion of the statehouse was completed in 1845, the same year Florida was admitted to the Union. This capitol has the distinction of being the only Southern capitol that did not fall into Northern hands during the War between the States. 2. FLORIDA BEAUTY AMID THE ORANGES Florida is the home of the'orange. It produces over half the U. S. supply — over a quarter of the world's supply! Besides its 90 million boxes of oranges, the state produces 35 million boxes of grapefruit 5 million boxes of tangerines, and 350,000 boxes of limes. Winter Haven and Orlando in central Florida are the centers of this great, frost-free citrus district. The Florida orange differs from the California orange in being thinner-skinned, juicier, less acid, paler in color, and cheaper to produce since the groves, blessed by the state's ample rainfall, do not need to be irrigated. Once the entire crop was shipped fresh, but now 30 million gallons of orange juice leave the state canned or frozen. 3. GETTING A WINTER TAN AT MIAMI BEACH Across Biscayne Bay from Miami is the Manhattan of Florida's Gold Coast, Miami Beach. This "sunsational" (Walter Winchell) winter resort has erected 370 gigantic luxury hotels each with its own palmfringed swimming pool, dance pavilion, and shipping arcade. Half a century ago, Miami Beach (1950 pop. 46,282) was a deso- late sand bar cut off from the mainland, and surrounded by swampy mangrove islands. Nevertheless, the sun shone 6 days out of 7, the average year-round temperature was 75°, and the Gulf Stream curved in closer here than anywhere else on the coast bringing warm waters for swimming, cooling breezes for sleeping, and the big fish within casting range of the beaches. No wonder this became the American Riviera, the mecca for the great of show business, the favorite "lazing" place to acquire the highly-prized winter tan! 4. WORLD'S LARGEST BOUGAINVILLEA — CYPRESS GARDENS Four miles east of Winter Haven, in the citrus belt of central Florida, is "America's Tropical Wonderland" — Cypress Gardens. Its flower-banked canals, lakes reflecting moss-hung cypress, models dressed in the hoop-skirted fashions of the Old South, and acres of flaming azaleas, camelias, and magnolias justify its title as "the finest outdoor color studio in the world." Cypress Gardens is the water skiing capital of the nation. Daily, national champions put on daring exhibitions of jumping, backward, tandem, and barefoot skiing over the blue waters. 5. SHUFFLEBOARD AT CLEARWATER About half way down the Gulf coast of Florida a south-pointing peninsula forms Tampa Bay. While St. Petersburg occupies the tip of the peninsula, Clearwater, on its neck, looks out across the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The Elizabethan manors, Florentine villas, and Spanish casas of the wealthy winter residents crowd the landscaped bluffs. The more numerous tourists fill the Municipal Trailer-Car Camp on Clearwater Island. Young and old indulge in shuffleboard. 6. SUNSHINE-SKYWAY BRIDGE—ST. PETERSBURG The first road into this city was built by a Russian engineer who named the site after St. Petersburg (now Leningrad), Russia. The latest road is a 13-mile, $22 million system of bridges and causeways that crosses Tampa Bay to the mainland. On the tip of Pinellas peninsula, the "Sunshine City" (96,738) is the fourth largest city in the state but second most important winter resort. Its 28 miles of shell-strewn beach, million-dollar recreation pier, sanitariums, and hundreds of hotels and apartments attract 500 million tourist dollars annually. Home building is the city's largest industry as more and more visitors decide to become residents. 7. THE BAHIA MAR AT FORT LAUDEROALE Halfway between Miami Beach and Palm Beach is the "Venice of America" where rivers, canals and waterways are lined up and named like streets — where, if your boat is out of commission, you visit by water taxi. Over 140 miles of waterways interlace the city limits and |
