Timeline of Florida history

This is a timeline of the U.S. state of Florida.

An 18th-century map of Florida

Pre-European

1500s
  • 1502: Florida is mapped on the Cantino map
  • 1513 April 2: Ponce de Leon is claimed to have discovered Florida.[1]
  • 1515–1519: Spanish explorers visit Pinellas barrier islands while trading with Tocobaga.
  • 1528: Panfilo de Narvaez expedition explores the Pinellas Peninsula.[2]
  • 1538: The horse introduced into Florida
  • 1539: Hernando de Soto expedition names present Tampa Bay "La Bahia de Espiritu Santo".
  • 1549: A fleet led by Tristán de Luna y Arellano anchors in Pensacola Bay and sets up the encampment of Puerto de Santa Maria.
  • 1560: Menéndez commanded the galleons of the great Armada de la Carrera Española Treasure Fleet.
  • 1564: Fort Caroline north of Jacksonville is established by the French.
  • 1565: Pedro Menéndez de Avilés establishes the city of St. Augustine.
  • 1565 September 20: Spanish attack Fort Caroline and kill most of the French, some escape.
  • 1571 December: Pedro Menéndez wrecks at Cape Canaveral and meets hostile natives thought to be of the Ais Indian Nation.
  • 1586 June: Sir Francis Drake attacks and sacks St. Augustine.
  • 1596 March 22: Gonzalo Méndez de Canço appointed Governor and Captain General of Florida.

1600s
  • 1601: King Philip III of Spain commissioned a map of Florida which includes a fort he wants built in Miami.
  • 1603: Pedro Ibarra appointed Governor of Florida.
  • 1605: "Period of Friendship" between Spanish and Native Tribes started because of the diplomatic trip of Alvaro Mexia.[3]

1700s
  • 1700: Settlers in the Province of Carolina and their Indian allies raid the Ais people.
  • 1702–1713: Queen Anne's War. Tocobaga virtually annihilated. Raids by English colonists reach Tampa Bay. Pinellas largely deserted.
  • 1715, July 30: Hurricane causes the sinking of the 1715 Treasure Fleet.[4]
  • 1743: Spanish established a short-lived mission on Biscayne Bay.
  • 1739–1748: War of Jenkins' Ear. British mapping expeditions visit Pinellas Peninsula.
  • 1757: Spanish expedition renames Tampa Bay "La Bahia de San Fernando", after the Spanish king; names entrance to Tampa Bay "La Punta de Pinal de Jimenez" (Point of Pines).
  • 1763:
    • February 10: The French and Indian War ends with the Treaty of Paris being signed. Florida is split into West and East Florida, both territories of Britain
    • July 20: John Hedges is appointed as the first governor of East Florida.
    • August 6: Augustine Prévost is appointed as the first governor of West Florida.
  • 1768: The colony of New Smyrna is established by Dr. Andrew Turnbull.
  • 1783
  • 1795:
    • October 27: With the Treaty of San Lorenzo, U.S. and Spain recognized the 31st parallel as the northern boundary of Florida.

1800–1842

1810s

1820s
  • 1821
    • February 22: Spain officially cedes Florida to United States as part of the Adams–Onís Treaty.
    • March 10: Andrew Jackson is appointed military governor of Florida by James Monroe being the first American governor.
    • July 10: José María Coppinger leaves office as the last governor of East Florida.
    • July 17: José María Callava the final Spanish and colonial governor of West Florida and Florida as a whole leaves office.
    • July 21: Escambia County and St. John's County, Florida's first two counties are established.
    • December 31: Andrew Jackson leaves office as the governor of Florida.
  • 1822
  • 1824:
    • Florida's first true lighthouse built in St. Augustine.
    • U.S. Army establishes Fort Brooke (later to become Tampa, Florida).
    • Tallahassee chosen as location of capital (half-way between previous capitals of East and West Florida)
  • 1825:
    • Lighthouse built in St. Augustine.
  • 1827

1830s
  • 1832
    • May 9: U.S. government signs the Treaty of Payne's Landing with some of the Seminole chiefs, promising them lands west of the Mississippi River if they agreed to leave Florida voluntarily
  • 1834:
  • 1835–1842: Second Seminole War.
  • 1836
    • March 16: Richard K. Call is appointed Territorial Governor of Florida by Andrew Jackson.
  • 1837: Fort Ann was established on the eastern shore of the Indian River in what is now Brevard County.
  • 1838
  • 1839
    • December 2: Robert R. Reid is appointed territorial governor of Florida by Martin Van Buren.

1840-45
  • 1841
  • 1842: Armed Occupation Act provides for land grants in unsettled parts of Florida.[5]
  • 1843
  • 1844
    • March 14: Marion and Brevard County are established.
    • August 11: John Branch is appointed as Governor of Florida being the last territorial governor of the state.

Statehood era (1845–present)

1840s

1850s

1860s
  • 1861
    • January 8 – November 23: Battle of Pensacola occurs, some historians believe this to be the first battle of the American Civil War.
    • January 10: Florida secedes from the United States.
    • February 8: Baker and Polk County are established.
    • April 22: Florida joined the Confederate States of America at the beginning of the Civil War.
    • October 8: Battle of Santa Rosa Island.
  • 1862
    • March 24: Skirmish of the Brick Church.
    • June 30 – July 1: Battle of Tampa.
    • October 1–3: Battle of St. John's Bluff.
  • 1863
    • October 16–18: Battle of Fort Brooke.
  • 1864
  • 1865
    • February 20: Battle of Fort Myers.
  • 1868
    • June 28: Florida rejoins the United States.
  • 1869

1870s
  • 1870: Barber–Mizell feud
  • 1873:
    • August 11: Tampa reincorporates a town.
  • 1875:
    • July 31: Orlando is first incorporated being a town.
  • 1877: Compromise of 1877 completed the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Florida (aftermath of Civil War)

1880s

1890s

1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s
  • 1931:
    • gambling legalized, allowing a Parimutuel betting establishment.
    • July 10: Osceola National Forest established.
    • November – December: Tampa cigar makers' strike of 1931
  • 1936
  • 1937
    • November 15: Ku Klux Klan raid of La Paloma nightclub
    • repeal of poll tax[9]: 346 

1940s
  • 1943 September 26: Florida's first oil well is drilled in Collier County by Humble Oil Company.[10]
  • 1947: Everglades National Park dedicated.
  • 1949 March 21: The first television station in Florida begins broadcasting, WTVJ. It is the 16th TV station to start broadcasting in the United States and is the oldest station still broadcasting in the state.

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

See also
  • Timelines of cities in Florida

References
  1. Straub, W. L. History of Pinellas County, p. 27. The Record Company. St. Augustine, Florida. 1929.
  2. Largo Bicentennial Book Committee. Largo, then till..., p. 2. Largo Area Historical Society Archived 2011-02-02 at the Wayback Machine. 1979.
  3. Rouse, Irving (1981). Survey of Indian River Archaeology. Yale University Publications in Anthropology 45. ISBN 978-0-404-15668-8.
  4. "1715 Plate Fleet, Page 10" (PDF). Brevard County Historical Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  5. Pinellas County Planning Department as staff for the Pinellas County Planning Council. (PCPD) Pinellas County Historical Background, p. 4. No city. No date.
  6. ben.dibiase (2015-04-01). "Florida's First Telephone Exchange". Florida Historical Society. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  7. Gainey, Blaise (30 June 2020). "The Fight To Vote Part 2: History Of Florida's Voter Disenfranchisement". Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  8. "History of Sarasota". Sarasota Police Department. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  9. Mohl, Raymond A. (1995). "Race Relations in Miami since the 1920s". In Colburn, David R.; Landers, Jane L. (eds.). The African American Heritage of Florida. University Press of Florida. pp. 326–365. ISBN 978-0813013329.
  10. "First Florida Oilwell". aoghs.org. Retrieved February 9, 2015.

Further reading
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