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Palmetto Leaves

by Harriet Beecher STOWE (1811 - 1896)

07 Magnolia

After the Civil War, Harriet and her husband Charles bought an Orange Plantation in Mandarin, on the upper east coast of Florida, where they lived during the winter months. Over the years they expanded their cottage to accommodate many guests (now a museum open to the public). They opened schools to educate and churches to care for the recently freed negros pouring into Florida seeking refuge and opportunity. These charming essays, each describing a largely undeveloped rural land, became one of the first travel guides written about Florida and stimulated the first boom of tourism and residential development to that area. Stow describes its waterways, flora and fauna, the generosity of the people, the lush abundance of flowers, farmer's efforts to develop crops, Negro relations with whites, correspondence with famous persons, etc. - Summary by Michele Fry

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Listen next episodes of Palmetto Leaves:
08 Yellow Jessamines , 09 "Florida For Invalids" , 10 Swamps And Orange Trees , 11 Letter-Writing , 12 Magnolia Week , 13 Buying Land In Florida , 14 Our Experience In Crops , 15 May In Florida , 16 St. Augustine , 17 Our Neighbor Over The Way , 18 The Grand Tour Up River , 19 Old Cudjo And The Angel , 20 The Laborers Of The South