History in Florida

Discover 26 places to experience unusual history in Florida.

Miami City Cemetery

Neglected resting place of some of the city's early luminaries—and a woman encased in concrete.

The lighthouse.

Key Biscayne, Florida

Cape Florida Lighthouse

Located within a historic park, the beacon is the oldest standing structure in Miami.

The Dummett Plantation ruins.

Ormond Beach, Florida

Dummett Sugar Mill Ruins

The ruins of a once-thriving sugarcane plantation that was burned in the Second Seminole War.

Permanently Closed

Topside

Jacksonville, Florida

The USS Orleck

After serving in Vietnam, Korea, and even a stint in the Turkish navy, the unique ship is now open as a museum.

The Well

St. Augustine, Florida

Old Spanish Chimney & Well

These ruins are all that remain of what a Spanish barrack that likely housed a quarry overseer, masons, and stone cutters involved in the construction of the Castillo de San Marco.

Permanently Closed

Window Panel with Saint Vincent on the Rack

Sarasota, Florida

Medieval Art Exhibit at the Ringling Museum

The collection of 80+ pieces created between the years 1100 and 1500 is intended to be seen, heard, smelled, touched, and tasted.

An 18th century detention hall.

St. Augustine, Florida

Dungeon Under the Stairs at the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse

It's a pretty creepy lock-up.

Rota the lion at the Lightner Museum.

St. Augustine, Florida

Sir Winston Churchill's Lion 'Rota'

A lion given to the prime minister somehow got stuffed and sent to Florida.

The Ferdinand Magellan Presidential Railcar at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, Miami, 2007.

Ferdinand Magellan Presidential Railcar

With nickel-steel armor and three-inch thick bullet resistant windows, FDR's train was a rolling fortress.

The proud legacy of Don Juan Ponce de Leon.

St. Augustine, Florida

The Fountain of Youth

A tribute to Ponce de Leon's supposed quest for eternal youth.

Haile Homestead

Gainesville, Florida

Historic Haile Homestead

Over 12,500 words are scrawled across each room of this historic plantation house and no one knows why.

Are we missing something unusual in Florida?