A Brief History of Safety Harbor, Florida


Book Description

According to legend, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrived on the shores of Safety Harbor in 1539 believing that he had discovered the fabled Fountain of Youth. For centuries, the area's natural mineral springs had hosted the Tocobaga people and would later attract early pioneers to west-central Florida. The natural mineral springs drew visitors to bathe in their restorative waters, and in the twentieth century, they were eventually transformed into the world-famous Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, enjoyed by wealthy socialites and professional athletes for decades. Today, the city is best known for its abundance of festivals and the collection of artists, writers, poets and musicians who call it their home--an oasis of calm within bustling Pinellas County. Join authors Warren Firschein and Laura Kepner as they detail the vibrant history of scenic Safety Harbor.




Safety Harbor


Book Description

Safety Harbor's five natural mineral springs have drawn visitors and residents to the shores of Old Tampa Bay for centuries. A ceremonial mound erected by indigenous peoples offers proof of human life stretching back before written history. Spanish explorers landed here in the 16th century, and 300 years later, the first seeds of Florida's citrus industry were planted by Odet Phillipe. The Florida boom of the 1920s brought development and population growth. Expansion stalled during the Great Depression, but after World War II, Safety Harbor became a tourist destination for the rich and famous, permanently changing the city's future. Images of the past create a nostalgic reminder of hardy people and their perseverance despite devastating hurricanes and fires. The timeless tranquility of sunrises and sunsets and Spanish moss draped from massive oaks endures throughout this historical, artsy city on the bay. Laura Kepner is coauthor of A Brief History of Safety Harbor, Florida; author of the children's book When Lourdes Was Big; and former editor of the literary journal Odet. She serves on the boards of the Safety Harbor Museum & Cultural Center and the Whispering Souls African American Cemetery. Since 2008, Kepner has walked the land of the Tocobaga, ever in awe.













Genealogist's Address Book. 6th Edition


Book Description

This book is the answer to the perennial question, "What's out there in the world of genealogy?" What organizations, institutions, special resources, and websites can help me? Where do I write or phone or send e-mail? Once again, Elizabeth Bentley's Address Book answers these questions and more. Now in its 6th edition, The Genealogist's Address Book gives you access to all the key sources of genealogical information, providing names, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, websites, names of contact persons, and other pertinent information for more than 27,000 organizations, including libraries, archives, societies, government agencies, vital records offices, professional bodies, publications, research centers, and special interest groups.




Florida's Museums and Cultural Attractions


Book Description

This newly updated guide has a destination to suit every interest. See Florida through the eyes of the natives, pioneers, artists, statesmen, and writers who have lived here. Visit country stores, one-room schoolhouses, coquina forts, and churches, as well as mansions, theaters, art galleries, and gardens. You'll find over 350 museums and attractions to choose from.




Jerusalem


Book Description

Provides a short, accessible, and lively introduction to Jerusalem Jerusalem - A Brief History shows how Jewish, Christian, and Islamic scriptures confer providential meaning to the fate of the city and how modern Jerusalem is haunted by waves of biblical fantasy aiming at mutually exclusive status-quo rectification. It presents the major epochs of the history of Jerusalem’s urban transformation, inviting readers to imagine Jerusalem as a city that is not just sacred to the many groups of people who hold it dear, but as a united, unharmed place that is, in this sense, holy. Jerusalem - A Brief History starts in modern Jerusalem—giving readers a look at the city as it exists today. It goes on to tell of its emergence as a holy city in three different ways, focusing each time on another aspect of the biblical past. Next, it discusses the transformation of Jerusalem from a formerly Jewish temple city, condemned to oblivion by its Roman destroyers, into an imperially sponsored Christian theme park, and the afterlife of that same city under later Byzantine and Muslim rulers. Lastly, the book returns to present day Jerusalem to examine the development of the modern city under the Ottomans and the British, the history of division and reunification, and the ongoing jostling over access to, and sovereignty over, Jerusalem’s contested holy places. Offers a unique integration of approaches, including urban history, the rhetoric of power, the history of art and architecture, biblical hermeneutics, and modern Middle Eastern Studies Places great emphasis on how Jerusalem is a real city where different people live and coexist Examines the urban transformation that has taken place since late Ottoman times Utilizes numerous line drawings to demonstrate how its monumental buildings, created to illustrate an alliance of divine and human power, are in fact quite ephemeral, transient, and fragile Jerusalem - A Brief History is a comprehensive and thoughtful introduction to the Holy City that will appeal to any student of religion and/or history.




Boardwalks and Long Walks


Book Description

A guide for the beginning citizen-scientist, and for anyone looking for the hidden natural areas of Florida. A backpack friendly, field ready listing that is not web dependent. It includes the story of the search for the elevated hiking trails called boardwalks. The ""Long Walks"" are the primitive paths and longer trails found in the public lands. This book includes a list of the Public Access Lands in Florida of nearly 1,000 sites in all; City Parks and Preserves, County Parks and Preserves, Wildlife Management Areas, Wildlife Environmental Areas, State Parks, State Forests, Conservation Areas of Water Management Districts, National Parks, National Forests, Nature Centers, Indian Mound Sites, and Private Preserves/ Conservation Areas. There are chapters on Florida's habitats, trees, Florida's water cycle, and historic figures and place names.




Pinellas County


Book Description

Pinellas County, Florida, has a rich and varied history. From the beautiful waters of the Gulf of Mexico, with the sponge and seafood industry it supported, to wartime training and recruiting, to the world's first commercial airplane flight, Pinellas County has seen many changes through the years.




Recent Books