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 Folk 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
The Golden Age of Florida Train Travel
In the early decades of the 20th century, trains such as the Florida Special and the Orange Blossom Express brought tourists all the way to Miami and beyond. Commercial lines transported Florida's produce and other products to northern markets.
Mr. and Mrs. W.S. Marshall arrive for the conference: Palm Beach, Florida (1948)
Image Number: C008916
Accompanying note: "Mr. & Mrs. W.S. Marshall of Cleveland, Ohio, getting off the train at F.E.C. station. "NACDS" SPECIAL- representing Cunningham Drug Co. of Detroit."
Trains pulling lumber: Copeland, Florida (ca. 1948)
Image Number: C009410
Filipino band greeting visitor: Miami, Florida (1936)
Image Number: N038732
Dixie Flagler: Hollywood, Florida (1941)
Image Number: N038725
Unidentified woman boarding the Orange Blossom Special train: Sebring, Florida (ca. 1930)
Image Number: PHA165
Trains helped to establish new towns and cities in Florida, and served integral roles in the lumber, phosphate, tourist, manufacturing and agricultural industries. Passenger travel and commerce began to decline in 1920s, after dominating for more than 40 years.
Streamliner on the Florida East Coast (ca. 1945)
Image Number: PC2949
The kind we raise in our state (ca. 1912)
Image Number: PC2951
Produce being loaded into refrigerated cars (195_)
Image Number: N038717
Moving the tomato crop (1921)
Image Number: N048843
The Moore Haven and Clewiston Railway (M.H. & C. Ry) was acquired by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company (ACL) on July 1, 1925.
Planes flying over new streamliner (1939)
Image Number: PR09204
Trains began to change drastically, with improvements in car design and railroad construction. The diesel-electric locomotive almost replaced steam engines by the 1940s. Other forms of transportation-first automobiles, then aircraft-became popular alternatives to train travel.
Station opening: Fort Lauderdale, Florida (1956)
Image Number: PR09206
President Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard train: Jacksonville, Florida (ca. 1943)
Image Number: RC09089
This was the arrival of the first diesel-powered passenger train in the Southeast.
Image Number: RC10733
Florida East Coast Railway steam engine #153: Miami, Florida (19__)
Image Number: RC07782
56 Carloads of new 1958 Ramblers (1958)
Image Number: PR09162
Cars belonged to Olin's Avis Rent-A-Car.
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.