Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South During America’s Revolutionary Era

Letter from Lisa Harrison of NewSouth Books:

I’m in touch to suggest that [you] extend a speaking invitation to Mike Bunn, author of Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South During America’s Revolutionary Era

In Fourteenth Colony, historian Bunn introduces readers to the British colony of West Florida, which incorporated portions of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana during the revolutionary period. The eventful years of the colony are an important and compelling interlude in Gulf Coast history that has been long overlooked. this political saga features a halting attempt at instituting a representative government; a host of bold and colorful characters; struggle and perseverance in the pursuit of financial stability; and a dramatic series of battles on land and water. Publishers Weekly says, “Bunn combines deep scholarship with vivid storytelling in this comprehensive record of the period.” The Atlanta Constitution calls the book, “exhaustive, well-documented, a must-read.”

Mike Bunn is an author and historian who has worked with several cultural heritage organizations in the Southeast. He currently serves as director of Historic Blakeley State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama. He is author or co-author of several books, including Early Alabama: An Illustrated Guide to the Formative Years, 1798–1826; Alabama From Territory to Statehood: An Alabama Heritage Bicentennial Collection; Well Worth Stopping to See: Antebellum Columbus, Georgia Through the Eyes of Travelers; Civil War Eufaula; Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and War of 1812; and Images of America: The Lower Chattahoochee River. Mike is editor of Muscogiana, the journal of the Muscogee County Genealogical Society. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Alabama Historical Association, the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Baldwin County Historic Development Commission.

Please let me know if you would like more information on Fourteenth Colony, or to invite Mike Bunn to give a presentation on the history of West Florida.

Thanks,
Lisa
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Lisa Harrison
Publicity Associate / NewSouth Books
105 S. Court St. Montgomery, AL 36104
334-834-3556 (office)www.newsouthbooks.com

Disasters and Museum Preparedness

The Disasters and Museum Preparedness (DaMP) workshop is a half-day program aimed at helping community museums and archives prepare for emergencies of any size, from hurricanes to leaky roofs. Organizations participating in this program will get a start on forming an emergency response team, assessing the risks their institution faces, prioritizing their collection, creating an emergency contact list, and more! Storms will come and roofs will leak, but we can take steps now to reduce or even eliminate the impact these events have on our collections and facilities.

This program requires:

  • At least 6 participants from the host institution (staff, board members, or volunteers).
  • Floor plans for all buildings the institution manages that we can write on.

Tristan Harrenstein, M.A., RPA
Florida Public Archaeology Network
Public Archaeology Coordinator
North Central Region
THarrenstein@uwf.edu
(850) 391-8073

Camp Helen State Park and Eden Gardens State Park

This presentation tells the story of two of the Panhandle’s outstanding State Parks, Camp Helen and Eden Gardens. Both have rich histories that are very different. The first hotel at what is now Camp Helen was built along the bluffs overlooking Lake Powell in the 1920s, and Camp Helen expanded between 1945 and 1987 as a recreation camp for employees of Avondale Textile Mills. The home at Eden Gardens was built in the 1890s as a private home, and the grounds also accommodated employee cottages for the lumbermill there. The home and gardens were purchased by a wealthy heiress in 1963 who renovated the building and grounds before donating the site to the State of Florida in 1968.

Scarlett A. Dunn
Park Services Specialist
Camp Helen / Eden Gardens State Park
Scarlett.A.Dunn@dep.state.fl.us
850-267-8322

Archaeology of Gulf Islands National Seashore

The area of the National Park Service’s Gulf Islands National Seashore on Santa Rosa Island is a jewel of unspoiled natural beauty. In addition to providing habitat for a variety of wildlife, the Park also boasts some of Pensacola’s most interesting archaeological sites, both on land and under water. This presentation is a tour of some of these sites, including the Spanish colonial presidio and shipwrecks from several periods of Pensacola’s history.

Presented by:
The Staff of the Northwest Region
Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)
Submit a Speaker Request Form:
http://fpan.us/nwrc/presentations.php

Deadman’s Island: Pensacola Bay’s Unique Landform

The area known as Deadman’s Island in Pensacola Bay has served as a careening ground, shipbuilding center, quarantine station, and cemetery. Archaeologists have found remains of extensive activities, both prehistoric and historic, ranging from shipwrecks to barrel wells to coffins. Learn about the unique geography of this interesting landform, and why people have used it for thousands of years.

Presented by:
The Staff of the Northwest Region
Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)
Submit a Speaker Request Form:
http://fpan.us/nwrc/presentations.php

Archaeology of Northwest Florida: A Tour Through Our Heritage

This presentation features a virtual tour of the major archaeological discoveries in FPAN’s Northwest Region, the Panhandle of Florida. You’ll learn about 16th-century shipwrecks, Native American encampments and ceremonial centers, a Civil War gun battery, a Spanish fort and mission, historic cemeteries, and the nation’s oldest battleship!

Presented by:
The Staff of the Northwest Region
Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)
Submit a Speaker Request Form:
http://fpan.us/nwrc/presentations.php

Unearthing Florida

With close to 500 years of European history and more than 10,000 years of Native American history, Florida is host to an array of archaeological sites on land and underwater. In this presentation, the author of the Unearthing Florida radio program will highlight eight different archaeological sites across the state from prehistoric times to the Civil War. We will learn about the history and archaeological investigations of these sites, some of the high-tech tools archaeologists used there, the artifacts they uncovered, and why the sites are important cultural resources on this statewide journey!

Presented by:
The Staff of the Northwest Region
Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)
Submit a Speaker Request Form:
http://fpan.us/nwrc/presentations.php

Pirates! The Last Scourge of the Gulf

Two centuries ago, a massive wave of piracy struck the Gulf of Mexico and terrorized shipping along the Gulf coast. Florida was especially dangerous for travelers. Jean Lafitte and Charles Gibbs, two of the most notorious pirates from this period, had close ties to the Florida panhandle. One case of piracy even wound up in the court of West Florida in Pensacola and made newspaper headlines across the nation. This talk examines some of the broader aspects of piracy during the early 1800s in the Gulf and Caribbean. It also focuses on the current archaeological evidence for possible pirate ships from this period that wrecked beneath the waters of the Gulf.

Presented by:
The Staff of the Northwest Region
Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)
Submit a Speaker Request Form:
http://fpan.us/nwrc/presentations.php

Mosquitos, Muggles, and Museums: Exploring Florida’s Archaeology with Geocaching

Are you ready to get outside and explore Northwest Florida’s archaeology and history? Forget your fedoras and bullwhips; pick up a GPS device and go geocaching! Geocaching is a worldwide scavenger hunt game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called caches, using GPS devices and share their experiences online. FPAN recently created a series of geocaches hidden at historic and archaeological sites across northwest Florida to increase awareness that these places are out there and they are open for you to visit. This presentation describes how geocaching works, what you need to play, and a unique geocaching adventure created by FPAN that will take you back in time through northwest Florida’s history and archaeology.

Presented by:
The Staff of the Northwest Region
Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)
Submit a Speaker Request Form:
http://fpan.us/nwrc/presentations.php

Talking Smack: The Sailing Vessels of Pensacola’s Red Snapper Fishing Industry

After the end of the American Civil War, industry in Pensacola and Northwest Florida boomed as money flowed from the North to the South. Among the various industrial endeavors in the Pensacola area, commercial fishing for red snapper became one of the most successful. From 1870-1930, the colorful fishermen and beautiful sailing vessels of the red snapper fishing industry dominated the city’s waterfront. This presentation discusses the importance of red snapper fishing to the development of Pensacola and Northwest Florida, in addition to why the industry began and ended so quickly.

Presented by:
The Staff of the Northwest Region
Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)
Submit a Speaker Request Form:
http://fpan.us/nwrc/presentations.php