November 2010

The Deerfield Beach area saw significant development and growth in the wake of World War I. The city's Historical Society offers tours of three of the period's most prominent landmarks: the 1920 Old Deerfield School, the 1923 Historic Butler House, and the 1930 Kester Cottage.*

Today the Society is working hard to preserve three of Deerfield's historic sites: Old Deerfield School (circa 1920), Historic Butler House (circa 1923), and the Kester Cottage (circa 1930)...Educational programs and tours of the Deerfield Beach Historical Society's three historic sites are available for schools and youth and community organizations. Additionally, the Society hosts an annual lecture series and many special events, including the annual Harvest Supper, Santa Breakfast, and Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social.

Visitors to Debary Hall will learn about the nineteenth-century tourism that overtook Florida, the period's incipient orange industry, and the lives of both the millionaires who visited and the workers whose labour kept the wheels of luxury in motion.

DeBary Hall was the winter retreat of a European-born wine merchant who chose the St. Johns River country for his hunting estate. Beginning in the 1870s, New Yorker Frederick deBary acquired lands near Lake Monroe, built a large vacation house, and tried his hand at orange growing and commercial steamboating. DeBary Hall also offers glimpses of larger things: America’s long romance with Florida, a nineteenth-century tourism boom, orange fever, and steamboating on the St. Johns. Since local African-American and white workers kept the estate going year-round, their lives are central to storytelling.

In 1855, German immigrant Johann Albert Lotz purchased five acres of land from Fountain Branch Carter. Three years later in 1858, after doing most of the work himself, Lotz completed his home. By trade, Mr. Lotz was a master carpenter and a piano maker. He also repaired guitars and violins. His home served as his “show house” to demonstrate his carpentry work to potential clients. The three fireplace mantles demonstrate his range from simple to very complex designs.

The Monument marks the supposed spot where Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto landed in 1539. Nearby CampUtiza, a living history site, recreates de Soto first setting foot, as well as a village of Native Americans he met.

One of the bloodiest battles of the Second Seminole War was fought in this location.

The site of an 1835 massacre in which Seminole Indian warriors attacked and killed 105 of 108 U.S. soldiers, the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park offers visitors a chance to stand on the hallowed ground of one of the most brutal battles of the Second Seminole War. Those visiting around New Year's will have the chance to witness the battle's historical reenactment.

In an area rich with Native American and pioneer history, the Clarke Museum, housed in the 1912 bank building, showcases a number of artifacts and exhibits about 19th century life.

Located in the heart of Old Town Eureka, the Clarke Historical Mueusm shows the history of Humboldt county.

A focal point of pre-Columbian Native American ceremony and commerce, the Crystal River Archaeological State Park may have served up to 7,500 Indian visitors annually for 1,600 years before the first Europeans arrived. The complex contains burial mounds, temple mounds, a plaza area, and a midden, which was often a feature of sedentary societies. Visitors can climb stairs to the top of the largest mound for a scenic view of the surrounding area.

A National Historic Landmark, this 61-acre, pre-Columbian, Native American site has burial mounds, temple/platform mounds, a plaza area, and a substantial midden. The six-mound complex is one of the longest continuously occupied sites in Florida. For 1,600 years the site served as an imposing ceremonial center for Native Americans. People traveled to the complex from great distances to bury their dead and conduct trade. It is estimated that as many as 7,500 Native Americans may have visited the complex every year.

By viewing the Old St. Raymond's Church, the Murray School House, and the Dublin Pioneer Cemetery, visitors can get a sense of what it was like to live in Dublin in the 19th century.

From its inhabitance by Native Americans to its settlement by the Spanish and American pioneers, the museum explores the heritage of its own area with exhibits and walking tours.

A garden of carved stone, baffling in its construction, is the work of the reclusive Ed Leedskalnin.

The grounds of Coral Castle consist of 1,100 tons of stones found in the forms of walls, carvings, furniture and a castle tower. While commonly referred to as being made up of coral, it is actually made of oolite, also known as oolitic limestone. The stones are fastened together without any mortar-- they are simply set on top of each other using their immense weight to keep them together. However, the craftsmanship detail is so skillful that the stones are connected with such precision that no light passes between the seams. The eight foot tall vertical stones that make up the perimeter wall have a uniform height. Even with the passage of decades and a direct hit on August 24, 1992 by the Category 5 Hurricane Andrew, which leveled everything in the area, the stones have not shifted.

The furniture pieces included are a heart-shaped table, a table in the shape of Florida, twenty-five rocking chairs, chairs resemblingcrescent moons, a bathtub, beds and a royal throne. A 30-minute audio tour is available to visitors as well.