The History of Northeast Florida

North East Florida has seen its share of hurricanes.  Luckily, the region has, for the most part, escaped much of the devastation that these storms have caused in other parts of the state.  Due to its unique “indented” shoreline, most Atlantic hurricanes have bounced off the shore further south, avoiding landfall in North East Florida, and then collided with land again in the Carolinas .  Most Gulf of Mexico storms either track due North or are considerably weakened by the time they arrive in this part of the State. It is reasonable to assume that the region had seen hurricanes for many millenniums before the first one was recorded.  The indigenous people that lived in Florida before the arrival of European settlers were much attuned to nature.  It is likely that they regarded hurricanes as part of the natural cycle – or perhaps warnings from the Gods. Many early explorers and colonizers did not have previous experience with the severe storms to guide their ac...