Florida Folk History

Life and Culture

  • The Alligator

    The American alligator has ruled Florida’s wetlands since time immemorial. A fossil skull found in Marion County in 2016, dating back 7 to 8 million…

  • Key Lime Pie

    The Key lime pie has been traced back to the early 20th century in Key West. It is is named after the small, aromatic, tart…

  • Cracker Horses

    The Florida Cracker Horse is a horse of many names. It is also known as the Marshtackie, the Seminole Pony, Prairie Pony, Florida Horse, Florida…

  • Datil Peppers

    n 1768, a group of over 1,400 Greeks, Italians, and Minorcans were brought to Florida as indentured laborers for a failed British plantation called New…

  • Skunk Ape

    Skunk Ape is a humanoid creature said to inhabit the wildest parts of Florida. Also known as Swamp Ape, Swampsquatch, Myakka Ape and Florida Bigfoot,…

  • The Airboat

    There’s no better symbol of Florida ingenuity than the airboat—part chaos, part control. It’s a rattling, roaring swamp chariot built to defy nature and somehow…

  • The Ibis

    This illustration by John James Audubon was first published between 1827 and 1838 as part of his monumental The Birds of America. It depicts a…

  • Palmetto Dolls

    The Seminole and Miccosukkee are famous for their handmadedolls, which are made of palmetto fiber husk and stuffed with cotton. The Seminole Doll accurately portrays…

  • Cracker Cows

    Florida scrub cattle or Cracker cows are one of the oldest and rarest breeds of cattle in United States. Developed the state of Florida, and named…