Clearwater, situated on Florida's Gulf Coast, is a progressive city that is rife with history and known for its breathtaking landscape. The city that has become one of the state's prime destinations was once inhabited by Timucuan, Calusa, and Apalachee tribes. Early settlers called the area that had plentiful fresh springs along its shore Clear Water Harbor from the Native American word "Pocotopaug," and early developers and speculators drew tourists and residents touting Clearwater as a resort community with a comfortable climate. Opportunity and adventure brought many pioneering families,...

Prior to its incorporation in 1855, Tampa Town--as it was then known--was a desolate place to live, and disease and isolation kept many from settling in the area. But as the century progressed, a new and exciting mode of transportation began to open up America's remaining frontiers, including the untamed Gulf Coast of Florida. When the railroad came to Tampa, thousands of adventure-seekers, tourists, and new residents came with it, all ready to soak up the balmy breezes and tropical pleasures of the city of Tampa.
Tampa began to resemble a modern industrialized city by the turn of the...

Modern-day Salida is admired and sought out for its natural beauty. Surrounded by numerous 14,000-foot, snow-covered mountains that feed the Arkansas River's rushing whitewater, the quiet and hospitable town is situated in a picturesque valley that draws tens of thousands of visitors for summer and winter activities. But nearly 130 years ago, most of the people were coming to the area known as South Arkansas for new opportunities and the fortunes they hoped to find. The images in this book offer a glimpse of some of those individuals and times-the early settlers, miners, railroaders, forestry...