Florida Memory is administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services, Bureau of Archives and Records Management. The digitized records on Florida Memory come from the collections of the State Archives of Florida and the special collections of the State Library of Florida.
State Archives of Florida
- ArchivesFlorida.com
- State Archives Online Catalog
- ArchivesFlorida.com
- ArchivesFlorida.com
State Library of Florida
Related Sites
Listen: The Assorted Selections ProgramPhoto Exhibits
Photo exhibits spotlight various topics in Florida history, and are accompanied by brief text intended to place selected materials in historical context.
Tracks Toward the Future
Scenes from Florida’s Railroad History
Setbacks and Derailments
Rail transportation has always been risky, both in terms of investment and safety. Florida railways have witnessed numerous train wrecks and other disasters, sometimes with tragic loss of life.
Train wreck on a bridge in Tampa (1906)
Image Number: N038646
Barnes Circus train wreck (19__)
Image Number: FP82436g
Barnes Circus train wreck (19__)
Image Number: MF0518
Author: Mark Foly
Accompanying note: "A floating cloud of lethal anhydrous ammonia pours from a 41-car train derailment here Sunday morning sending some 1,000 local residents on evacuation orders to other locations. The Seaboard Coastline train pulling 34 tank cars and seven box cars derailed five miles west of the city at about 5:12 p.m. EDT Saturday."
Aerial view showing train derailment in Crestview, Florida (ca. 1979)
Image Number: DND0896
Author: Donn Dughi
Escambia Railway engine number 4 boiler explosion (1911)
Image Number: N038697
The boiler exploded because of low water and a defective safety valve. It exploded near the commissary of Alger-Sullivan lumber camp number 8. The crew was off the engine, so there were no injuries. The train's bell was found over a mile away.
Train wreck: Jacksonville, Florida (1910)
Image Number: N038737
Aerial view of a train swept off its tracks by a hurricane: Florida Keys, Florida (1935)
Image Number: RC04345
This train was derailed by a Labor Day storm that swept through the midsection of the Florida Keys, killing upwards of 400 people, including 200 World War I veterans employed on highway construction and federal relief work projects.
Florida East Coast Railway train wreck: Jupiter, Florida (1934)
Image Number: RC10680
Wrecked relief train: Islamorada, Upper Matecumbe Key (1935)
Image Number: N041535
Wreck of Georgia and Florida (18__)
Image Number: N039182
Remains of a rescue train: Islamorada, Upper Matecumbe Key (1935)
Image Number: N041450
Train wreck: Holopaw, Florida (1942)
Image Number: N038743
Train wreck occurred one mile north of Holopaw, Florida.
People stand near the train wreck: Lloyd, Florida (1937)
Image Number: N082056
Head on collision of steam locomotives near Sanford, Florida (not after 1898)
Image Number: N038582
The locomotives were engine 1261 and engine 535 ("Hattie").
Truck after a collision with a train (19__)
Image Number: SP02611
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company
Wreck of engine 92 at DeLand (191_)
Image Number: PR09115
View toward rear of train showing rail bent into a circle.
Train wreck at trestle: Arcadia, Florida (19__)
Image Number: RC03136
Wreck of engine 92 at DeLand (191_)
Image Number: PR09122
Built in 1894 by Baldwin Locomotive Works (const. no. 14181), it was scrapped May 1, 1934.
Wreck on DeLand branch at foot of reverse curve (1909)
Image Number: PR09121
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company
Train derailment: Cedar Key Region, Florida (ca. 1908)
Image Number: RC02261
Seaboard Air Line Railway train wreck (1905)
Image Number: N038568
The wreck occurred at McDonald, north of Plymouth in Orange County, Florida.
Train derailment in Youngstown: Bay County, Florida (1978)
Image Number: MF1021
Photo author: Mark Foley
Features
Territorial Legislative Council Records, 1822-1845
Documenting Florida's legislature prior to statehood
State and County Officer Directories, 1868-1969
Lists of Florida's state and county officials either elected or appointed between 1868 and 1969.
Guide to Military Records and the Wartime Experience
A guide to government records and manuscript collections relating to service members and the wartime experience.
Dust Tracks
21 tracks from Hurston's time documenting African American culture for the WPA in 1930s Florida.
History Day 2025
Resources for Florida History Day from the State Library and Archives of Florida.