Page 21 - Travel Guide to Florida 2020

five flags.” At its heart, Historic Pensacola
Village includes 27 buildings and museums
operated by the University of West Florida.
In the late 1500s, the Spanish first
inhabited the region to protect their settle-
ments and galleons carrying gold from
Mexico. Storms, battles and other accidents
resulted in numerous sinkings, and divers
today can explore 12 wrecks along the Florida
Panhandle Shipwreck Trail between
Pensacola and Port St. Joe. Visitors can also
tour historical lighthouses in the region,
such as the Pensacola Lighthouse and
Museum, built in 1859.
In the 1700s, the British took control of
the region, building Fort Barrancas and Fort
George. Then, a Spanish army with U.S.
volunteers ousted the British forces during a
1781 battle—a little-known victory of the
American Revolution.

NORTH CENTRAL
During the early 1800s, Florida’s population
was concentrated in North Florida, where
PONCE DE LEON INLET LIGHTHOUSE & MUSEUM • DAYTONA BEACH AREA CVB
Tallahassee became the territorial capital.
One of the city’s highlights from that era is christened the new land “La Florida.” Four force soon captured the fort, and the French
the Call-Collins House at The Grove, an decades later, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés became a distant memory. Through the years,
historic mansion finished in the 1840s by founded St. Augustine, the oldest continu- the Spanish maintained control of the region,
Richard Keith Call, an aide and advisor to ously inhabited European-established city in establishing forts, farms and missions,
General Andrew Jackson. the U.S. Featuring an historical district including Fort Caroline and the Kingsley
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, containing more than 30 colonial-era Plantation House (c. 1798), both of which are
Florida joined the Confederacy—the smallest buildings, St. Augustine provides a unique located in the Timucuan Ecological & Historic
state to secede from the U.S. During the war, glimpse into Spanish colonial life. Preserve—one of the last unspoiled coastal
Union troops fought the Confederates in Highlights include Castillo de San Marcos, wetlands on the Atlantic coast. During the
several clashes in the North Central area, the oldest masonry fortification in the 1820s, when Florida was a U.S. territory, the
including the Battle of Natural Bridge in continental U.S., and the St. Augustine plantation was the home of Zephaniah
1865—one of the last Confederate victories in Lighthouse & Museum. Kingsley, a slave-owner who spoke out for
the war. To the south near Lake City, In 1738, in an attempt to destabilize the civil rights, and his free African wife, Anna.
“soldiers” in Civil War uniforms annually re- plantation economy of the British colonies One of Florida’s hidden treasures is
enact the Battle of Olustee. The state also by creating a free black community to attract Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, north
publishes the Florida Civil War Heritage Trail, slaves seeking escape and refuge, the of Jacksonville. Many buildings in its 50-
a guidebook to Florida battle sites. Spanish established the fort and town of block historical district are on the National
Southwest of Tallahassee, visitors can Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mosé as Register of Historic Places, and the Amelia
tour the unspoiled fishing community of the first free black community in North Island Museum of History showcases the
Apalachicola, the center of the state’s oyster America. For an in-depth history of Florida’s region’s fascinating past. Visitors can also
industry for many decades. Nearby is the African Americans and their contributions, tour the Amelia Island Lighthouse property
St. Marks Lighthouse in St. Marks National request a copy of the Florida Black Heritage on Saturdays between 11 AM and 2 PM. Built
Wildlife Refuge. Trail from Visit Florida at 850-245-6333. during the Territorial Period in 1838, it is
To the north, Jacksonville traces its roots to the state’s oldest lighthouse. While in the
NORTHEAST the French who landed at the mouth of the area, scout out Fort Clinch for a vivid
Back in 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de St. Johns River in 1562 and founded Fort glimpse into the nation’s past during the
León set foot on Florida’s sandy shores. and Caroline two years later. However, a Spanish Civil War.

2020 TRAVEL GUIDE TO FLORIDA 19