The Series

Part One sets the stage by tracing the early development of today’s state park system through a period up to 1940. It begins in February of 1864 as ten thousand federal and rebel troops collide at the Battle of Olustee, near Lake City, in the only major Civil War battle fought in Florida. Here, the seeds of Florida’s state parks would be sown and later cultivated into monuments and memorials by activists like Mrs. H.H. McCreary, President of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. First Lady May Mann Jennings, wife of Governor William Sherman Jennings (1901-1905), would wage her own battle and be called the "Mother of Forestry". She became a champion for wild land preservation and helped write the legislation that created the Florida Park Service. By the 1920s the state developed additional memorial projects, but as the Great Depression set in Florida’s attempts to enhance its nascent park system would be challenged. With the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933, the Legislature moved quickly to take advantage of the program to develop a new park system. Thirty-one thousand Floridians including Carlos Maxwell, a legendary member of the Florida Park Service, would take part in the national work program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. By 1940 there were eight parks in the system including the grand Florida Caverns, the majestic cypress of Highlands Hammock, and the wild and scenic Myakka River State Park.

In Part Two, The Story of Florida’s State Parks explores the challenging times between the 1940s and the 1970s. Funding for the New Deal programs would be disbanded and the growth of Florida’s state park system would halt with the outbreak of WWII. An unsettling time of internal dispute and struggle followed the war, but by 1953 the chair of the Board of Parks and Historic Memorials reported that it had removed “the paralyzing doctrines it had inherited, and began finally to make parks and memorials the playgrounds of the people." The Florida Park Service resumed its growth and by 1963, there were fifty-five units in the system.

In Part Three, The Story of Florida’s State Parks covers the park service history from 1970 to the present, a time when the system fully matures into its award winning status. Ney Landrum, Florida State Park Director Emeritus, remembers these years as “an exciting and dynamic time that doubled the number of state parks.” Today, one-hundred and sixty-one state parks offer a dual function by providing recreation while preserving Florida’s history and natural heritage. The Story of Florida’s State Parks captures in high definition images the unspoiled essence of the parks from the white sand beaches of Perdido Key east to the shorelines of Amelia Island and south to the glorious sunsets at Fort Zachary Taylor in Key West.

Comments

[Jordan Flipsyde]

Business underlies everything in our national life, including our spiritual life, Witness the fact that in the Lord's prayer the first petition is for daily bread, No one can worship God or love his neighbor on an empty stomach. Very reasonable!Post by Jordan Flipsyde

[holyland tours]

Preservation legislation is very essential these days, I hope that many will take an example from Florida and will announce more parks preservation.

[truck rental]

Great Story. I just went through story about Florida deeply and enjoyed it. I must say that Florida is very good example in the front of us. We must take in to consider and do our best what we can.

[sedona tours]

Your story is indeed inspiring for everyone. I will look up into it.