Florida Historical Facts

-Named by Juan Ponce de León, who landed on the coast of Florida on April 2, 1513

-Florida had been inhabited for thousands of years before any European settlements. Of the many indigenous peoples, the largest known were the Ais, the Apalachee, the Calusa, the Timucua and the Tocobago tribes

-Florida became a United States territory by the terms of the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1821

-In 1822, the Territory of Florida was divided into 4 counties:
St. John and Duval Counties in the east and Escambia and Jackson Counties in the west.

-On March 3, 1845, Florida became the 27th state of the United States of America On January 10, 1861, before the formal outbreak of the Civil War, Florida seceded from the Union

-The capital is Tallahassee and the largest city is Jacksonville. The largest metropolitan area and major cultural center of the state is Miami.