Adult & Teen Summer Reading Challenge 2025

Week Five — Bygone Florida

For 14,500 years, people have lived in Florida. That's a lot of history.  If you want to immerse yourself in the state's colorful past, learn more about the state's struggles and triumphs, then try one of these books that highlight bygone Florida:  

1. A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith 
2. The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 
3. The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton 
4. Maria by Eugenia Price 
5. Lake County by Lori Roy 
6. Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll 
7. Big Goodbye by Michael Lister 
8. Canaveral Light by Don David Argo 
9. Runaway by Heather Graham 
10. The Barefoot Mailman by Theodore Pratt 
11. Riders of the Suwannee: A Cracker Western by Lee Gramling 
12. Wiregrass Country: A Florida Pioneer Story by Herb Chapman 
13. Miami Gundown: A Frontier Story by Michael Zimmer 
14. Tales of Old Florida by Tony Meisel 
15. Last Train to Paradise : Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean by Les Standiford 
16. Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King 
17. Hidden History of Florida by James C. Clark 
18. The Seminoles of Florida by James W. Covington 
19. Osceola and the Great Seminole War: A Struggle for Justice and Freedom by Thom Hatch 
20. Old Florida: Florida's Magnificent Homes, Gardens, and Vintage Attractions by Steve Gross  

Curious about the first Floridians?  Visit these archeological sites in our state parks. 

The Seminole Tribe of Florida invites visitors to the Big Cypress Indian Reservation to experience the natural terrain and visit the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum.   

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument: This fort in St. Augustine is the oldest masonry fortification in the continental US, offering a glimpse into the Spanish colonial era. St. Augustine itself is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the continental U.S.  Its history stretches from the 15000s and its Spanish origins, to the 1800s, when St. Augustine became a melting pot of cultures, to the jewel of Florida's Gilded Age.  

Ybor City Historic District: This Tampa neighborhood, once known as the "Cigar Capital of the World," showcases the city's Latin cultural heritage. 

You can stop in for a drink a the Palace Saloon in Fernandina Beach, which has the distinction of being Florida's oldest continuously operated drinking establishment. 

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings homestead is glimpse back in time to life on a 1930s Florida farm.   

There are six U.S. Civil Rights Trail sites in Florida on the United States Civil Rights Trail. The Trail highlights the places that were pivotal in the fight for American civil rights, allowing visitors to walk in the footsteps of giants.   

The Harry S. Truman Little White House in Key West is the State of Florida’s only presidential site.  Originally constructed in 1890 as naval officers housing, it has been used by six American presidents. Its most important usage was as the winter White House of Harry S. Truman who spent 175 days of his presidency here from 1946 through 1952.  

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