Page 18 - Travel Guide to Florida 2020

HISTORY

JOURNEY THROUGH HISTORY

BY RICHARD WESTLUND

f you enjoy tales of Spanish adventurers,
Civil War battles and U.S. astronauts’
I first ventures into space, it’s time to
explore Florida’s intriguing history. You can
visit coastal forts and lighthouses,
museums, mansions, vintage hotels, and a
variety of Native American, African, and
Hispanic cultural sites that bring Florida’s
past to life. Here are some of the many histor-
ical treasures waiting to be re-discovered
throughout the state.

SOUTHEAST
Thousands of years before the first European
explorers arrived, Florida was populated by
Native Americans such as the Tequesta
people, who lived near the mouth of the
Miami River. After an excavation uncovered
the remains of a village, the Florida Division
of Historical Resources has preserved the
site as the Miami Circle Park.
Other Native American cultures survived
the incursion of northern settlers in the
1800s by moving into the Everglades, where
they gradually rebuilt their societies. Now,
visitors can learn about the Seminole and
Miccosukee Peoples, sample native cuisine,
take a ride on an airboat or watch alligator
wrestling at Billie Swamp Safari and other
attractions along U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail) and
I-75 (Alligator Alley). Clewiston’s Ah-Tah-
Thi-Ki Museum (meaning “a place to learn”)
is a living village of early Seminole culture
and is definitely worth a visit.
To help mariners avoid rocks and reefs,
several lighthouses, erected in this region in
the 1800s, are open to visitors. For fascinating
glimpses into Florida’s past, tour the Garden
Key Lighthouse at Fort Jefferson National
Monument and nearby Loggerhead Key
Lighthouse (both in Dry Tortugas National
Park); the Cape Florida Lighthouse on
Key Biscayne near Miami; and the
160-year-old Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and
Museum in The Palm Beaches, where outdoor
exhibits include the Lighthouse Keeper’s
Workshop, the Tindall Pioneer Homestead
and a Seminole chickee.
FORT JEFFERSON, DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK • FLORIDA KEYS NEWS BUREAU/ANDY NEWMAN

16 2020 TRAVEL GUIDE TO FLORIDA