Welcome to Florida Genealogy Trails -- Volunteers Dedicated to Free Genealogy -- Helping find ancestors - wherever their trails led. 1893 Florida Boat Ride at Silver Springs "The Sunshine State" Online Data Biographies County List County Map Facts and Trivia Census Data County Courthouses Website Updates Governors Good Links Newspaper Articles 1st page 2nd page State History Growth St Joseph Bay History An Indian Battlefield Near Melrose   Click BOOKS The Seminole Indians of Florida Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1883-84, Author: Clay MacCauley Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States   We need County Co-Ordinators Its fun, informative, challenging and its a great group of people to work with. If interested - View our Volunteer Information Page and contact Fawn Click HERE for counties that need adoption. (html knowledge and a desire to transcribe data is required) State Symbolss Flag Flower   Florida Historical Facts Named by Juan Ponce de León, who landed on the coast of Florida on April 2, 1513 Florida had been inhabited for thousands of years before any European settlements. Of the many indigenous peoples, the largest known were the Ais, the Apalachee, the Calusa, the Timucua and the Tocobago tribes Florida became a United States territory by the terms of the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1821 In 1822, the Territory of Florida was divided into 4 counties: St. John and Duval Counties in the east and Escambia and Jackson Counties in the west. On March 3, 1845, Florida became the 27th state of the United States of America On January 10, 1861, before the formal outbreak of the Civil War, Florida seceded from the Union The capital is Tallahassee and the largest city is Jacksonville. The largest metropolitan area and major cultural center of the state is Miami Visit our surrounding state websites: Georgia - Alabama counters Visit our National Genealogy Trails site ©2008 Genealogy Trails Copyright includes all contents of this site. It may not be quoted or retransmitted without a full citation to the author, and may not be put into print -- in whole or part -- without the individual author's express permission. Submitters retain all copyright, along with the hosts.