Nicknames: Sunshine State

Capitol: Tallahassee

Motto: In God We Trust

Song: Swanee River music and words by Stephen C. Foster

Flower: Orange blossom

Tree: Cabbage Palmetto, Sabal palmetto

Bird: Mockingbird

Gained Statehood: March 3, 1845

Name Origin: Named on Easter 1513 by Ponce de Leonfor Pascua Florida, meaning

Florida lives up to its nickname "the sunshine state" as tourists from all over the world flock to sunny beaches for fun in the sun year around. Central Florida is by far the largest tourist destination with its concentration of theme parks and Walt Disney World. As a peninsula, the state is surrounded with some of the best beaches in the United States. The Florida Keys are a sport fisherman's paradise.

Almost 12,000 years ago hunters and gatherers called the untamed Florida landscape home. Prior to contact with European visitors, these native people developed complex cultures and increased their social organization, reflected in large temple mounds and village complexes. In April 1513, Ponce de Leon seeking the "Fountain of Youth" came ashore on the northeast coast of Florida near St. Augustine. He called the area la Florida, in honor of Pascua florida ("feast of the flowers"), Spain's Easter celebration. In 1564 France established a colony at Fort Caroline only to be driven out by the Spanish. In 1565, Pedro Menendez de Aviles created a Spanish settlement Augustin (St. Augustine) and established the first permanent European settlement in the United States. In 1763 the British gained control of Florida from Spain in exchange for Havana, Cuba which they had captured from Spain during the Seven Years War. Finally in 1821, Andrew Jackson established a new territorial government for the United States. Florida at that time had scattered communities of Native Indians, African Americans and Spaniards. Throughout the early 19th century, battles continued with the Seminoles. The Seminole Wars did not end until 1842. Florida became the 27th state in the U.S. with William D. Moseley as the first governor. During the Civil War, no important battles were fought in Florida.
Today Florida's economy rests on a solid base of tourism, manufacturing, and agriculture. Leading the manufacturing sector are electrical equipment and electronics, printing and publishing, transportation equipment, food processing, and machinery. Oranges, grapefruit, and other citrus fruits lead Florida's agricultural products list, followed by potatoes, melons, strawberries, sugar cane, peanuts, dairy products, and cattle.

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley , Pat Boone , Fernando Bujones , Steve Carlton , Faye Dunaway , Stepin Fetchit (Lincoln Theodore Perry) , Lue Gim Gong , Dwight Gooden , Zora Neale Hurston , Daniel James , James Weldon Johnson , Frances Langford , Butterfly McQueen , Jim Morrison , Osceola , Sidney Poitier , A. Philip Randolph , Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings , Burt Reynolds , Charles and John Ringling , Joseph W. Stilwell , Norman E. Thargard , Clarence Thomas , Ben Vereen