Florida's Peace River Frontier
Regular price
€28.50
19th century history
A01=Edgar Canter Brown
Arcadia
Author_Edgar Canter Brown
Bartow
Bowling Green
Category=NHK
Category=NHTB
Charlotte Harbor
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eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
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eq_non-fiction
Florida Gulf Coast
Florida History
Fort Meade
Fort Ogden
Lake Hamilton
Nineteenth Century History
Peace River Valley
Polk County
Punta Gorda
Race
racial history
the Great Freeze of 1895
Product details
- ISBN 9780813080604
- Weight: 272g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 05 Mar 2024
- Publisher: University Press of Florida
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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The economic, social, political, and racial history of southwest Florida in the nineteenth century
For most of the nineteenth century, southwest Florida and the Peace River Valley remained a frontier as unknown to outsiders as the frontiers of the American West. In this book, Canter Brown, Jr. records the area’s economic, social, political, and racial history in an account of violence, passion, struggle, sacrifice, and determination.
The Peace River originates in Polk County’s Lake Hamilton, one of the many lakes that dot the heart of interior Florida. It flows past the towns of Bartow, Fort Meade, Bowling Green, Arcadia, Fort Ogden, and Punta Gorda, finally meeting the sea at Charlotte Harbor on Florida’s southwest Gulf Coast. No great cities line its banks; no commerce passes along its waters. Still, the river has bent and molded events of lasting significance to Florida and to the nation.
Using such primary materials as government records, manuscript collections, and newspapers published throughout the country, Brown documents the presence of Native Americans and African Americans in the area in the aftermath of the First Seminole War. He examines the Civil War and Reconstruction periods, paying particular attention to the Union/Confederate, Republican/Democratic split among the area’s residents. In the final sections of the book he describes the arrival of the railroad and the growth of towns, the phosphate boom, and consequences of the Great Freeze of 1895.
Throughout this account, the author identifies by name hundreds of persons who participated in these events, believing, he says, that the stories of individuals and families are a vital part of the area’s history. Florida’s Peace River Frontier will appeal to readers interested in Florida history, the Civil War and Reconstruction eras, African American history, and the history of the American frontier.
For most of the nineteenth century, southwest Florida and the Peace River Valley remained a frontier as unknown to outsiders as the frontiers of the American West. In this book, Canter Brown, Jr. records the area’s economic, social, political, and racial history in an account of violence, passion, struggle, sacrifice, and determination.
The Peace River originates in Polk County’s Lake Hamilton, one of the many lakes that dot the heart of interior Florida. It flows past the towns of Bartow, Fort Meade, Bowling Green, Arcadia, Fort Ogden, and Punta Gorda, finally meeting the sea at Charlotte Harbor on Florida’s southwest Gulf Coast. No great cities line its banks; no commerce passes along its waters. Still, the river has bent and molded events of lasting significance to Florida and to the nation.
Using such primary materials as government records, manuscript collections, and newspapers published throughout the country, Brown documents the presence of Native Americans and African Americans in the area in the aftermath of the First Seminole War. He examines the Civil War and Reconstruction periods, paying particular attention to the Union/Confederate, Republican/Democratic split among the area’s residents. In the final sections of the book he describes the arrival of the railroad and the growth of towns, the phosphate boom, and consequences of the Great Freeze of 1895.
Throughout this account, the author identifies by name hundreds of persons who participated in these events, believing, he says, that the stories of individuals and families are a vital part of the area’s history. Florida’s Peace River Frontier will appeal to readers interested in Florida history, the Civil War and Reconstruction eras, African American history, and the history of the American frontier.
Canter Brown, Jr., retired professor of history and political science at Fort Valley State University, is the author or coauthor of several books, including For a Great and Grand Purpose: The Beginnings of the AMEZ Church in Florida, 1864-1905 and Mary Edwards Bryan: Her Early Life and Works.
