A Merry Christmas Florida Blog by Richard Cronin     Historic Mount Dora, Lake County, Florida   Miami, Florida, Christmas Eve 1925:   Jasper Winslow Crawford married Florida native Dora E. Aman in Miami on Christmas Eve one hundred years ago. The ceremony was a small one, and the marriage lasted only five years due to Jasper’s accidental death, but because their wedding was published in a newspaper, this 24 th  of December 1925 event became the start of my quest to resolve a

Rockbridge Alum Springs Pavilion 1991 (Insert: Irma St. Clair-Abrams Smith) Photo Courtesy Calder Loth (DHR 1991)   A Central Florida 2025 Holiday Series – Part 2 First, For Those Who Missed Part 1: Irma & William married 134 years ago, in December 1891, choosing to wed in Orlando’s newly completed Catholic Church rather than in her hometown of Tavares, which did not yet have a Catholic Church. Said South Florida Sentinel  of the bride, “Irma was one of Florida’s fairest daug

Welcome to Historic   Florida : I was a young father of three adorable little girls when I first arrived in the Sunshine State. The year was 1971, and the State of Florida had only recently completed its 1970 census, counting a total of 6.8 million residents. I wrote this blog as a promo for my latest book in the fall of 2025, with the state’s population estimated to be approaching 24 million. Three people live in Florida today for every one person living here 55 years ago wh

Part 1: Lake Valdez aka Lake Monroe:   Enterprise, Florida on Lake Monroe One might logically conclude, considering the nearly 825 miles...

A Central Florida Ghost Town Imagine being onboard a train today traveling to a magical Central Florida place, a distinctive location,...

A Richard Lee Cronin Blog E dward Emery Higley arrived in Central Florida in 1883 and played a leading role in creating two of the...

Thomas Jefferson’s Florida A Women’s History Month Blog     Part 2: Martha Virginia (Eppes) Shine Orlando’s magnificent St. Luke's...

A Women’s History Month Blog   Part 1: Maria Jefferson (Eppes) Shine: Maria died 8 September 1896 while visiting her son, Dr. Francis...

Happy Valentines Day ! Rather than mailing a card I thought I would instead write about a Sweetheart Lake  considering this is, after...

Ja ck's Lake, 1914 Plat of Clermont Heights Meant as a memorial to a unique resident of a hundred plus years ago, Jack’s Lake  in...

A Snippet of Mystery; A Whole Lot of History By Richard Lee Cronin   Jack’s Lake sits in the shadow of Clermont’s famous Citrus Tower....

The Railroad :   Florida’s Boston Herald Locomotive The year 1879 was Do-or-Die for the City of Orlando. As Mayor Munger had dissolved...

Wilkinson & Willcox Orlando's Section 13 Map (1879) It was the most decisive year in the history of Orlando! 1879 was a make-or-break...

Part Two: Doyle & Brantley   Michael J. Doyle, Sanford and Orlando's Section 13 Central Florida’s first  reboot began on the 31st of May...

Part 1: Elusive Estelle   Lake Estelle Postcard, Orlando, Florida On the northern outskirts of downtown Orlando is the start of a chain...

The POW’s of Lake Adelaide Once the location of one of the two springs that gave the name to the Seminole County town of Altamonte...

1885 Longwood, Florida, USA The Central Florida we call home today was first established in the latter half of the 19th century by a cast...

The Altamonte Hotel, Altamonte Springs, Florida “Is there no way of obtaining distraction? To live as we are now living, like reptiles...

Winter Park’s very own James Wren “Zach” Taylor was the first homegrown Florida boy to play Major League baseball. Inducted into...

312-316 North Park Avenue, Winter Park A Winter Park Nugget: One for the History Books I have a habit of digging into the past of...