The history of the Palm Beach area, the Treasure Coast, and Lake Okeechobee is one of turbulence, growth, and especially change. Meet the visionaries and outlaws, physicians and poets who shaped this region of southeast Florida from the 1690s through the 1990s. Author William McGoun's stories are sometimes hair-raising, sometimes amusing, and always engaging. Well researched and dotted with photos from The Palm Beach Post archives, this collection of mini-biographies reads like a who's who of Florida history.

Florida Historical Society Harry T. And Harriette V. Moore Award Opening a window onto the little-known Japanese-American heritage of Florida, Yamato Colony is the true tale of a daring immigrant venture that left behind an important legacy. Ryusuke Kawai tells how a Japanese farming settlement came to be in south Florida, far from other Japanese communities in the United States. Kawai’s captivating story takes readers back to the early twentieth century, a time when Japanese citizens were beginning to look to possibilities for individual wealth and success overseas. Poor, unlucky in love, and dreaming of returning rich to marry his sweetheart, a young man named Sukeji Morikami boarded a passenger steamer at the port of Yokohama and set off to make his fortune. Morikami was drawn by promises from his compatriot Jo Sakai, founder of an agricultural community called Yamato between Boca Raton and Delray Beach, Florida. Sakai extolled the prospects of raising pineapples and other crops amid the state’s economic boom and exciting developments like Flagler’s East Coast Railway. This book follows the experiences of Morikami and his fellow Yamato settlers through World War II, when the struggling colony closed for good. Morikami held on to his hopes for Yamato until the end, when at last, the lone survivor, he donated the land that would become the widely visited Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. Celebrating the lives of ordinary men and women who left their homes and traveled an enormous distance to settle and raise their families in Florida, this book brings to light a unique moment in the state’s history that few people know about today.

“In this riveting account, Frank moves beyond stories of recent development to uncover the deep history of a place profoundly shaped by mound-builders, slaves, raiders, and traders. This book will change the way you think about Florida history.”—Christina Snyder, author of Slavery in Indian Country: The Changing Face of Captivity in Early America “Reveals that Old Miami seems a lot like New Miami: a place bursting with energy and desperation, fresh faces, and ancient dreams.”—Gary R. Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida “A deep, intelligent look at the parade of peoples who dotted the north bank of the Miami River for thousands of years before Miami’s modern era.”—Paul S. George, author of Along the Miami River “A masterful history. A must-read for anyone who wants to learn about Miami.”—Arva Moore Parks, author of George Merrick, Son of the South Wind Formed seemingly out of steel, glass, and concrete, with millions of residents from around the globe, Miami has ancient roots that can be hard to imagine today. Before the Pioneers takes readers back through forgotten eras to the stories of the people who shaped the land along the Miami River long before most modern histories of the city begin. Andrew Frank begins the chronicle of the Magic City’s long history 4,000 years ago when Tequesta Indians settled at the mouth of the river, erecting burial mounds, ceremonial centers, and villages. Centuries later, the area became a stopover for Spanish colonists on their way to Havana. Frank brings to life the vibrant colonies of fugitives and seafarers that formed on the shores of Biscayne Bay in the eighteenth century. He tells of the emergence of the tropical fruit plantations and the accompanying enslaved communities, as well as the military occupation during the Seminole Wars. Eventually, the small seaport town flourished with the coming of “pioneers” like Julia Tuttle and Henry Flagler who promoted the city as a place of luxury and brought new waves of residents from the North. Frank pieces together the material culture and the historical record of the Miami River to re-create the fascinating past of one of the world’s most influential cities. A volume in the series Florida in Focus, edited by Frederick R. Davis and Andrew K. Frank

The books in the Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series demonstrate the University Press of Florida’s long history of publishing Latin American and Caribbean studies titles that connect in and through Florida, highlighting the connections between the Sunshine State and its neighboring islands. Books in this series show how early explorers found and settled Florida and the Caribbean. They tell the tales of early pioneers, both foreign and domestic. They examine topics critical to the area such as travel, migration, economic opportunity, and tourism. They look at the growth of Florida and the Caribbean and the attendant pressures on the environment, culture, urban development, and the movement of peoples, both forced and voluntary. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series gathers the rich data available in these architectural, archaeological, cultural, and historical works, as well as the travelogues and naturalists’ sketches of the area in prior to the twentieth century, making it accessible for scholars and the general public alike. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, under the Humanities Open Books program.

"Ancient Miamians places a prehistoric face on a Miami that too often is regarded as a modern postscript to Flagler's railroad. McGoun paints 10,000 years of human history onto a missing piece of Florida archaeology."--Robert S. Carr, director, Dade County Historic Preservation Division "Presents widely scattered archaeological information in a novel and very accessible way. The literary device of 'a day in the life' is especially useful in bringing life to the standard archaeological facts."--James J. Miller, state archaeologist and chief, Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, Division of Historical Resources Focusing on the Native Americans the Spanish called Tequesta and their ancestors, Ancient Miamians covers the 10,000 years from 8,000 B.C. to A.D. 1761, painting a vivid word portrait of a resident from each of six eras as they make tools, obtain food, deal with their fellow humans, and seek harmony with the forces that govern their lives. From first light to evening firelight, McGoun presents for the non-specialist a series of narratives depicting a single day in each of the lives of six typical men and women who once lived on the land around present-day Biscayne Bay. This concise and readable tale of the remarkable predecessors of Miami-Dade's current 2 million residents is the first such treatment of Florida's pre-European and early historic native people. Without violating archaeological fact, McGoun includes the major cultural periods and significant archaeological sites in the region, all in terms of day-to-day life rendered in engaging narrative. The story begins with the first settlers, who moved down the Florida peninsula more than 10 millennia ago, pursuing large animals that are now mostly extinct. It draws to a close with the 250 years that saw the Tequesta themselves become extinct, beginning with a time when "the English and their friends just won't take 'Go away' for an answer, and they become such pests that finally even the Spaniards look good, or at least better." Bibliographic summaries allow readers to extend the scope of their exploration beyond this fictionalized reconstruction of prehistoric culture. William E. McGoun is a longtime journalist and anthropologist.

Children's adventure stories based on actual people, places and events on the south Florida frontier during the late 19th century.

Compiled for the first time, Florida pioneer author Byrd Spilman Dewey's books, short stories, magazine articles, newspaper articles and essays bring back a forgotten South Florida paradise of more than a century ago. This volume includes her national best-seller Bruno, and books From Pine Woods to Palm Groves and The Blessed Isle and its Happy Families, along with her shorter pieces of fiction and nonfiction. Read the enchanting tales of the Dewey's life in their beloved South Florida and the Lake Worth Country with their menagerie of cats and dogs that graced their Florida homesteads. Editors Ginger L. Pedersen and Janet M. DeVries, authors of the award-winning biography Pioneering Palm Beach: The Deweys and the South Florida Frontier provide background information on Byrd Spilman Dewey, with introductory essays to each book section to help tell the story of Florida's forgotten pioneer author, land developer and conservationist.