Timeline of Florida History

An 18th-century map of Florida

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

1500s

History of Florida
The seal of Florida reflects the state's Native American ancestry
Historical Periods
Pre-history	until 1497
Spanish Rule	1513–1763
British Rule	1763–1783
Spanish Rule	1783–1821
U.S. Territorial Period	1822–1845
Statehood	1845–present
Major Events
American Revolutionary War	1775–1783
War of 1812	1811–1814
First Seminole War	1817–1818
Capitol moved to Tallahassee	1824
Second Seminole War	1835–1842
Constitutional convention	1838
Third Seminole War	1855–1858
Ordinance of Secession	1861
Civil War	1861–1865
3rd Constitution	1865
Reconstruction	1865–1868
4th Constitution	1868
5th Constitution	1885
Great Migration	1910–1930
Land Boom	1925–1929
6th Constitution	1968
Gore v. Harris 2000 Presidential Election	2000
Timeline

• 1502: Florida is mapped on the Portuguese Cantino map.
• 1513 March 27: 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]
• 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 Spanish Treasure Fleet.
• 1564: Fort Caroline north of Jacksonville is established by the French.
• 1565: Pedro Menéndez de Avilés establishes St. Augustine.
• 1565 September 20: Spanish attack Fort Caroline and kill most of the French, some escape.
• 1571 December: Pedro Menendez 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: Spanish King 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]

FLORIDA

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. English raids 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. English 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: Spain cedes Florida to England at end of the French and Indian War.
• 1768: The colony of New Smyrna is established by Dr. Andrew Turnbull.
• 1783 March 10: Final naval battle of the American Revolution fought off Cape Canaveral with Captain John Barry.
• 1783 October 3: Treaty of Paris ends American Revolutionary War. England cedes Florida to Spain.

1800–1842

• 1817–1818: First Seminole War.
• 1821: Spain cedes Florida to United States.
• 1824: Florida's first true lighthouse built in St. Augustine.
• 1824: U.S. Army establishes Fort Brooke (later to become Tampa, Florida).
• 1825: Lighthouse built in St. Augustine.
• 1834: Territorial Legislature establishes Hillsborough County, Florida.^[5]
• 1835–1842: Second Seminole War.
• 1837: Fort Ann was established on the eastern shore of the Indian River in what is now Brevard County.
• 1842: Armed Occupation Act provides for land grants in unsettled parts of Florida.^[5]

Statehood era (1845–present)

• 1845: Florida was admitted to the Union as the 27th U.S. state.
• 1855-1858: Third Seminole War
• 1856: Florida Historical Society is incorporated.
• 1887 August 15: Eatonville, Florida, incorporated; the first all-black town to be formed after the Emancipation Proclamation.
• 1888 February 22: President Cleveland's first Florida visit stop.
• 1888 February 23: President Cleveland visits Winter Park.
• 1894 December: Great Freeze destroys much of Florida's crops (especially citrus).
• 1943 September 26: Florida's first oil well is drilled in Collier County by Humble Oil Company.^[6]
• 1962 February 20: John Glenn orbits the Earth three times with Friendship 7.
• 1966: Miami Dolphins football team active.
• 1969 July 20: A rocket launched from Cape Canaveral lands man on the moon with mission Apollo 11.
• 1971 October 1: Walt Disney World opens.
• 1973 December 15: SeaWorld Orlando opens
• 1976: Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team active.
• 1982 October 1: The Walt Disney Company opens its second park in Florida, Epcot.
• 1988: Miami Heat basketball team active.
• 1989
  • May 1: Walt Disney World opens its third park, Disney's Hollywood Studios (originally Disney-MGM Studios).
  • October 13: Orlando Magic basketball team active.
• 1990 June 7: Universal Studios Florida opens in Orlando.
• 1992: Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team active.
• 1993: 3 professional sports teams are introduced in Florida. Miami Marlins baseball team, Jacksonville Jaguars football team and Florida Panthers hockey team.
• 1998
  • April 22: Walt Disney World opens its fourth park, Disney's Animal Kingdom.
  • Tampa Bay Rays baseball team active. (originally as the "Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
• 1999 May 28: Universal Studios opens its adjacent park, Islands of Adventure.
• 2000 November 7–December 12: Disputed ballots in the United States presidential election in Florida, 2000 delay the results of the overall national result

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. 1979.
3. Rouse, Irving. 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. 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. "First Florida Oilwell". aoghs.org. Retrieved February 9, 2015.