Miami and Fort Lauderdale were mere outposts at a time when central and north Florida already bristled with busy ports and bustling cities. A thriving sugar industry in Daytona Beach supported fine plantations until they were burned during the Seminole Wars.
A railroad ran from Fernandina Beach to Cedar Key long before Henry Flagler’s railroad rocketed through all the way to Key West and transformed the state forever. Civil War seethed through Florida, whose capital was the only one in the Confederacy that never fell to Union forces. During Reconstruction, the entire geometry of the state was changed. Once-important communities faded; young upstarts mushroomed. Many things shaped the growth of the state. Highways replaced railroads and steamboats. New harbors were dredged; old harbors filled in. Old forts became untenable against modern weapons. Swamps were drained and lowlands filled. Yellow fever and malaria were conquered. The introduction of affordable air conditioning made once-insufferable areas habitable.
St. Augustine had been settled, of course, since the 15th century. Fortunately for lovers, the restoration of the old city took it down to its earliest foundations, re-creating the days of the Conquistadores and Sir Francis Drake in its old streets and homes. Many of them are now transformed into charming inns. Like many of the communities we have sought out for this book, St. Augustine has been spared the riotous growth seen elsewhere.