Ferdinand Plaza (Formerly
Jackson Square) in Pensacola, Florida / Pensacola Beach
Dunes and Surf.
Florida was populated by Native American
tribes at least as early as 10,000 years before Europeans
arrived.
The first Europeans in this region
were the Spaniards, who arrived in the early 1500s. During
the years that followed, France and England would lay claim
to parts of it. The conflicts between the three countries
put undue hardship on the Native Americans occupying the
territory.
In 1803, the United States, then
a struggling young nation, doubled its size by purchasing
Louisiana from the French. What is Florida today was occupied
by Spain. The lands involved in the Louisiana Purchase stopped
at the Perdido River, the border between Alabama and Florida.
In 1821, Spain finally ceded it to the United States.
However, Florida would not become
a state until March 3, 1845. It was the twenty-seventh state
of the Union.
INTERESTING FACTS:
The world's largest strawberry shortcake,
measuring 827 square feet and weighing 6,000 pounds, was
baked in Plant City, Florida on February 19, 1999.
Gatorade was originally invented
by the University of Florida for their football team,
the Gators.
Disneyworld in Orlando attracts
more visitors annually than any other amusement park.
Florida's St. Johns River
flows north, instead of south.
In Niceville, Florida, the
annual Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival is presented during the
third weekend of October.
More lightning strikes occur in Clearwater,
Florida than in any other city its size.
Ma Barker died with her youngest
son, Freddie in a famous four-hour gun battle with the FBI
at a rented cottage in Ocklawaha, Florida on Jan.
16, 1935.
FLORIDA GHOST TOWNS:
Interested in visiting Florida
ghost towns? Click
here to learn more.
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