Why go
Modern Florida's coastal growth did not happen all at once or for a single reason. This history connects the property boom around Miami and Palm Beach with military development in Pensacola and Jacksonville. It also gives essential context to migration and racial violence, which shaped who could share in the state's changing opportunities.
The full story
At the start of the twentieth century, Florida's economy and settlement remained strongly tied to agriculture. The land boom of the 1920s drew developers and speculators south, particularly toward Miami and Palm Beach. The subsequent collapse and Great Depression interrupted that growth. Federal relief and the buildup for World War II helped support recovery. Military expansion left another lasting mark. Pensacola developed an important naval aviation role, while wartime installations grew around Jacksonville and elsewhere. After the war, migrants from the Northeast and Midwest helped reshape central and southern Florida. Air conditioning made the climate easier to live with year-round. Growth also unfolded alongside segregation and racial violence. White mobs destroyed Black communities in Ocoee, Perry and Rosewood during the early 1920s. Many African Americans left Florida during the Great Migration seeking jobs, education and political rights. These events belong alongside the familiar account of development, sunshine and retirement.