A comprehensive sequential history of the city that developed along the banks of the New River. With a look at the first pre-historic people who first settled along its banks. Written by an author whose family moved to the River in1946. The book is sprinkled through with his personal experiences growing up and living along the River. 200 pages.

An exciting, comprehensive story of a River and the city that grew up along its banks. It begins with the legend of how the River acquired its name in prehistoric times. You can almost hear the clatter of military horses and men who built the first Fort Lauderdale. It brings to life the rugged men and women who settled along its banks and built it into a world class international business and financial center. It is an easy enjoyable read for a day at the beach, but it is also an important document for historians and researchers. It is fully indexed and end noted with references. 200 pages.

"The New River winds its way through a mysterious and tumultuous history, from the whirlpools of a legendary birth to banks stained with the blood of a massacre. Long-lost tribes flourished on the bounty of fish from its crystal-clear water and game from its wooded shores, only to succumb to European weapons and disease ... South Florida's destiny was changed forever when inshore transportation evolved from foot and hoof to inland waterway and steel rails. Schemes to 'drain the Everglades' turned swamp to subdivisions with the New River at its core. Trace the storied arc of Fort Lauderdale's ancient waterway with author Donn R. Colee Jr."--Publisher marketing.

Once upon a time there was a sleepy oceanside town in South Florida that came to life for only two weeks every springtime. Then a midwestern English professor wrote a cheeky novel based on his observations of college guys and girls on Spring Break 1959 as they chased each other across the surf and sand in search of that perfect someone. When the novel Where the Boys Are was released in early 1960 and the movie version debuted at the end of that year, it put Fort Lauderdale on the lips and to-do lists of millions of North American college students and other fun-seekers for much of the next three decades. The city dubbed "The Venice of America" welcomed everyone and the party still hasn't stopped!

In less than one hundred years, Fort Lauderdale grew from a wilderness stagecoach stop and trading post to become one of America's favorite tourist destinations and the seat of government for Florida's second-most-populous county. Historic Photos of Fort Lauderdale captures the story of that remarkable growth, through striking black and white photographs carefully selected from the finest collections. In these pages are seldom-seen images of a dramatic past: the Seminoles, early residents of the tropical wilderness; the arrival of railroads and the growth of tourism; farmers and their crops; and the creation of canals and roads and airfields. From the days of wooden stores and empty beaches to the era of high-rises and Spring Break crowds, through hurricanes, wars, and times of boom-and-bust, Historic Photos of Fort Lauderdale tells the story of the "Venice of America," presented in a unique collection of never-to-be-gotten images.

Like many Sun Belt cities, Fort Lauderdale has experienced phenomenal growth over the past several decades. Once a wilderness home for the Seminole Indians and a few hardy pioneers, the small community grew up around Frank Stranahans successful trading post, a convenient stop for hunters, fishermen, and sightseers preparing to head into the Everglades. But much more was in store for this rugged outback camp. Surveying Fort Lauderdales fascinating history chronologically, this pictorial retrospective begins with the 1890s, a time when this part of the country was still part of Americas frontier, isolated and wild. With the coming of the railroad and the twentieth century, an agricultural economy developed, and, soon, the Florida land boom would bring thousands of new settlers to the area. Fort Lauderdales glistening beaches and comfortable climate earned the city an early reputation as a tourist town and, eventually, as a Spring Break mecca.

Taking its name from a fortification established more than 160 years ago during the Second Seminole War, Fort Lauderdale boasts a history stretching back 5,000 years before the first white settlers arrived in the eighteenth century. From beautiful tales of the "mysterious" New River that helped launch the community to more recent stories of rum running and gambling, segregation and integration, and boom and bust, the history of this Florida city is told here through the everyday lives of those who lived it.