Around North Florida

Found in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, this park offers outstanding mountain bike trails, both paved and off-road. With its namesake fort and peninsular location, it also offers historic and natural features. Initial development of the park was started in the 1930s, making it one of Florida’s first state parks. The trail system includes a six-mile off-road loop trail for hikers and off-road bicyclists. The park’s paved road and several miles of beaches along Cumberland Sound with hard packed sand provide great riding during low tides.

While spring isn’t quite officially here I think it's time for spring break. For those of you in colder climates perhaps a nice warm, welcoming beach with enough diversions for visitors of almost any age. Today, we'll consider the Amelia Island Plantation where kids young and old can enjoy a truly Floridian vacation with numerous amenities at one single destination.

St. Marks historic Railroad Trail begins at Florida's capital city, runs through the Apalachicola National Forest and ends in the coastal community of St. Marks. The twenty-mile line began operating in 1837 to provide a connection between the territorial Capital and the gulf coast. In the 1850s, the railroad was modernized and used to transport cotton, which it did through the early 1900s. Thus, the line played an important role in the cotton trade providing this valuable raw material for shipment to textile mills in the north of the United States and in Europe. St.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Homes, Pebble Hill Plantation is a historical home and sporting plantation. The original house was built in 1827; Pebble Hill served as a cotton plantation and was later used as a winter home and hunting lodge. Pebble Hill houses an extensive art collection of wildlife and environmental themes. Its guests have included sports painters Ogden Pleissner and Richard Bishop, presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter, several ambassadors, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The extensive grounds are lined with pines, magnolias, and elaborate gardens.

North Carolinian Hardy Croom set out to create a magnificent plantation in the 1830s on over 2,000 acres in Leon County, Florida. The original house was a pink Italianate structure with wrought iron gating. If it had stayed in it is original form it would be National Historic Landmark. (Today it is on the National Register of Historic Places.) After a series of owners, New Jerseyian Fanny Tiers bought the estate in 1911 to serve as a winter residence. An extremely wealthy widow, Tiers renovated the house inside and out.

DeSoto State Historic Site lies dormant for much of the year. The parking lot never fills up and their little piece of woods is nice and quiet. However, come January, that all changes when Hernando de Soto and his army camp there. While this may sound unbelievable, it happens in Tallahassee every winter.

Edward Ball Wakulla Springs is a 6,000 acre State Park located south of Tallahassee. Its main feature is the Wakulla Springs, which produces between 150,000 to 600,000 gallons of water per minute. It is one of the largest and deepest fresh water springs in the United States. The water flows from one single cave, which is almost four acres in size. The cave is connected to a vast network of tunnels, which are still being explored by scientists. The spring feeds the Wakulla river, and then flows into the St. Marks River down into the Apalachee Bay.

With its vast expanses of untamed woodlands, miles of meandering streams, crystalline springs and abundant wildlife, north Florida offers nearly limitless options for exploration and recreation. In just four short days, you can canoe down a gently flowing river, hike beneath the shady canopies of majestic forests and stroll through a historic fishing village. Your tour can be as brisk or relaxing as you please.

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY - STROZIER LIBRARY
116 Honors Way
Tallahassee, Florida 32306
(850) 644-3271
Hours: M-F 9:00-6:00

Series/Collection Number: Box 483-503, 518-550 Oversize
Creator: West Yellow Pine Company
Title: West Yellow Pine Company, 1955-1916. Special Collections Manuscripts

The West Yellow Pine Company records include correspondence, letterpress books, time books, invoices, account records, lumber orders, lumber reports, and railway waybills. The collection also includes the records of the Madison Southern Railway, owned by the West Yellow Pine Company.

Nine graduate students set out in the fall of 2007 to create a website that would speak to the area's rich environmental history. This class project intersected with class discussions about the theory and methods of public history. We asked how, why, where, when, and who produces history outside of universities. We investigated four major themes on the practice of public history: uncovering hidden histories, constructing interpretations, creating a sense of place, and negotiating contested memories. Students processed these intellectual debates through their blogs, by conducting oral histories, and by creating this website.