WASHINGTON COUNTY FLORIDA THE POSSUM CAPITAL OF THE WORLD STOP NO.19

HERE WE ARE POSTCARD TRAVELERS AT STOP 19 OF OUR ALL UNITED STATES COUNTIES STOPS ON OUR POSTCARD TRAVELER JOURNEY:


WASHINGTON COUNTY
COUNTY SEAT: CHIPLEY
ESTABLISHED IN 1825.
FORMED FROM JACKSON AND WALTON COUNTIES.

*** This county is a partially dry county. Some sources say entirely dry.
*** Native American, Spanish, and English influences are seen here.
*** It was named after the first president of the United States.

*** Vernon: pioneer town named after Mt. Vernon. It was also the site of a major Indian settlement. The county courthouse was here til Chipley a railroad town became County Seat in 1927.

*** Indian mounds in this county.
*** Andrew Jackson was active here.

*** Chipley: used to be called Orange but renamed for railroad businessman and Floridian senator William Dudley Chipley in 1882.
*** Falling Water State Park in this area contains a 73 foot waterfalls, the highest in the state. Sinkholes here were used as hideouts for Indian warriors fighting against Andrew Jackson during the Seminole Wars.
*** Also the site of the first oil well drilled in Florida in 1919.
*** Also in the Civil War ere a gristmill powered by the falls was here. Later a distillery was here.

***Some really unique sites (claimed in Wikipedia and other fact sites) that might be fun to be aware of:
**The Vine That Ate Dixie ..Chipley claims it gave the infamous Kudzu vine to the south!
** In 1982 The Possum Monument Wausau Florida claims to be the Possum Capital of the World! They hold Possum Day every year on the first Saturday of August!

Legends  and ghost stories said to  be "don't miss"  readings :
* Legend of the Lime Sink
*The Fiddling Ghost of Boynton Island
*The Washington County Volcano
More details can be found here;
http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fallingwaters1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_County,_Florida

Not many postcards around on this county. One of the only ones I found on Ebay was "finscares"  Ebay seller's Pre-1980 Chipley Motel postcard he is selling on Ebay now. It is shown at the top of this post. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pre-1980-CHIPLEY-MOTEL-Chipley-FL-M1847-/371164250874?pt=Postcards_US&hash=item566b1d02fa

FLORIDA LAID BACK AND LOVIN IT!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/251972710874? 

 

STOP 18 FLORIDA POSTCARDS Miami-Dade County

HEADING TO STOP 

WHICH IS MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

 

 

The next stop on our Postcard TraCounty Seat: Miami
Established in 1836
Formed from Monroe named Dade until 1997. Originally a larger county including land from other near counties.

*** The most populous county in Florida.
*** 7th most populous county in the  United States!
*** 3rd largest Florida county in land area with 1946 square miles.
*** The school district is the 4th largest in the United States.
*** Miami International Airport is the 3rd largest port of entry in the U.S.

The western portion extends into the Everglades National  Park which is only populated by a Miccosukee Tribal Village.

East  of mainland in Biscayne Bay  is Biscayne National Park and the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves.

Earlier evidence of Native American settlement is about 12,000 years ago in Miami River area!

Tequesta Indians there when first Europeans came.

Juan Ponce de Leon was the first European to visit area in 1513 sailing into Biscayne Bay

This county was named after Major FrancisL. Dade a soldier killed in 1835 in Second Seminole War.

Hurricane Andrew was the costliest natural disaster to hit this area on August 24, 1992.

As of 2010, about 64% population spoke only Spanish at home.
AS of 2011 about 51% of Miami-Dade residents were foreign-born (including nationalized American citizens).
This and additional interesting info on this county can be found in Wikepedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami-Dade_County,_Florida

On November 13, 1997 the county name was changed to Miami-Dade.

The Florida Keys are a part of neighboring Monroe County but are only accessible through this Miami-Dade County.

Many call the port of Miami the Cruise Capital of the world.

The  2009 UBS study of 73 world cities ranked this city the richest city in the U.S.

Many notable people are from this county. Check them out here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Miami

Stop 18

Miami Night Skyline.

 as seen from Indian Creek

MIAMI'S FLAMINGOS, LAKE AND PARROT JUNGLE.

ANOTHER POSTCARD OF NIGHT VIEW OF MIAMI BEACH HOTELS AS SEEN FROM INDIAN CREEK

FLORIDA IMPRESSIONS

KEY BISCAYNE

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

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STOP 17 POSTCARDS FLORIDA Hillsborough County

 

OK... Fellow Postcard Travelers...

We're back on our internet journey to all the counties in the United States.

We are making stop 17 in Hillsborough County Florida!

 

 

Established in 1834.

County Seat: Tampa

Formed from Alachua and Monroe Counties.

 

Hernando de Soto led expeditions in this area looking for gold. Natives repulsed Spanish attempts to inhabit.

 

In 2010 it was the fourth most populous county in Florida.

 

Tampa is the 7th largest port in the nation. In the 1880s there were sudden turns in its economy for the better when phosphate was discovered and is still a major export.

 

The county was named for Wills Hill, the Earl of Hillsborough and British Secretary of State for the counties from 1768-1772.

 

Hillsborough County was originally much larger and included 8 other present day counties. 

 

It is the 32nd most populous county in the United States.

 

Henry B. Plant's railroad in 1882 connected this area to the nation's railroad system. Then there were more goods coming  in and going out. Tourism increased.

 

Ybor cigars have an interesting history here.

In the early 20th century  cigar making and agriculture dominated the economy.

 

In 2011 the largest crop by value was strawberries- over  388 million dollars. You can't beat one of the strawberry treats sitting out at a place like Goodson Farms in the winter in mild temperatures on a sunny day.

 

Hillsborough has the eighth largest school district in the U.S.

 

The Civil War Reconstruction period was hard on the Tampa area.

 

There was snow here a couple of times like in the Great Blizzard of 1889.

 

MacDill Air Force Base is here and is a major employer.

 

Egmont State Park can only be reached by boat or ferry.

 

Busch Gardens is here.

So are the Alafia State Parks.

Lithia Springs in the largest natural spring in Florida.

 

George Steinbrenner and Hulk Hogan are known for being here.

 

 

TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

TAMPA  NEAR

SHUTTLE CARS

ON LEFT HOST INTERNATIONAL HOTEL

REVOLVING RESTAURANT ON TOP

ON RIGHT AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL BUILDING

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

FLORIDA

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POSTCARD TRAVELER US COUNTIES TRIP UPDATE 09 03 2014