This is a timeline of the U.S. state of Florida.
Pre-European 15,405–14,146 BC: Page-Ladson site. 9320 BC: Cutler Fossil Site. 8000 BC: Warm Mineral Springs. 7500 BC: Devil's Den Cave. 5370–5260 BC: Windover Archaeological Site. 3400 BC: Horr's Island burial mounds. Various: Populated by indigenous tribes, such as the Apalachee, Timucua, Ais, Calusa, Jaega, Mayaimi, Tequesta and Tocobaga.
1500s 1513 April 2: Ponce de Leon discovered Florida. 1515–1519: Spanish explorers visit Pinellas barrier islands while trading with Tocobaga. 1528: Panfilo de Narvaez expedition explores the Pinellas Peninsula.Largo Bicentennial Book Committee. Largo, then till..., p. 2. Largo Area Historical Society . 1979. 1538: The horse introduced into Florida 1539: Hernando de Soto expedition names present Tampa Bay "La Bahia de Espiritu Santo". 1549: A fleet led by Tristán de Luna y Arellano anchors in Pensacola Bay and sets up the encampment of Puerto de Santa Maria. 1560: Menéndez commanded the galleons of the great Armada de la Carrera Española Treasure Fleet. 1564: Fort Caroline north of Jacksonville is established by the French. 1565: Pedro Menéndez de Avilés establishes the city of St. Augustine. 1565 September 20: Spanish attack Fort Caroline and kill most of the French, some escape. 1571 December: Pedro Menéndez wrecks at Cape Canaveral and meets hostile natives thought to be of the Ais Indian Nation. 1586 June: Sir Francis Drake attacks and sacks St. Augustine. 1596 March 22: Gonzalo Méndez de Canço appointed Governor and Captain General of Florida.
1600s 1601: King Philip III of Spain commissioned a map of Florida which includes a fort he wants built in Miami. 1603: Pedro Ibarra appointed Governor of Florida. 1605: "Period of Friendship" between Spanish and Native Tribes started because of the diplomatic trip of Alvaro Mexia.
1700s 1700: Settlers in the Province of Carolina and their Native American allies raid the Ais people. 1702–1713: Queen Anne's War. Tocobaga virtually annihilated. Raids by English colonists reach Tampa Bay. Pinellas largely deserted. 1715, July 30: Hurricane causes the sinking of the 1715 Treasure Fleet. 1743: Spanish established a short-lived mission on Biscayne Bay. 1739–1748: War of Jenkins' Ear. British mapping expeditions visit Pinellas Peninsula. 1757: Spanish expedition renames Tampa Bay "La Bahia de San Fernando", after the Spanish king; names entrance to Tampa Bay "La Punta de Pinal de Jimenez" (Point of Pines). 1763: February 10: The French and Indian War ends with the Treaty of Paris being signed. Florida is split into West and East Florida, both territories of Britain July 20: John Hedges is appointed as the first governor of East Florida. August 6: Augustine Prevost is appointed as the first governor of West Florida. 1768: The colony of New Smyrna is established by Dr. Andrew Turnbull. 1783 March 10: Final naval battle of the American Revolution fought off Cape Canaveral with Captain John Barry. October 3: Treaty of Paris ends American Revolutionary War. Britain cedes Florida to Spain. 1795: October 27: With the Treaty of San Lorenzo, U.S. and Spain recognized the 31st parallel as the northern boundary of Florida.
1800–1842
1810s 1812: Republic of East Florida. 1817–1818: First Seminole War. 1819 February 22: Adams–Onís Treaty is signed between Spain and the United States.
1820s 1821 February 22: Spain officially cedes Florida to United States as part of the Adams–Onís Treaty. March 10: Andrew Jackson is appointed military governor of Florida by James Monroe. July 10: José María Coppinger leaves office as the last governor of East Florida. July 17: José María Callava the final Spanish and colonial governor of West Florida and Florida as a whole leaves office. July 21: Escambia County and St. John's County, Florida's first two counties, are established. December 31: Andrew Jackson leaves office as the governor of Florida. 1822 March 30: Florida Territory is organized combining East Florida and West Florida. April 17: Florida's first civilian governor, William Pope Duval, takes office. August 12: Jackson County and Duval County are established. 1823: July 3: Monroe County is established. September 18: Treaty of Moultrie Creek establishing reservation for Seminoles is signed. 1824: St. Augustine Light, first lighthouse in Florida, is lit. U.S. Army establishes Fort Brooke (later to become Tampa, Florida). Tallahassee chosen as location of capital (half-way between previous capitals of East and West Florida). December 29: Alachua County, Leon County, Nassau County, and Walton County are established. 1827 January 20: Jefferson County is established. December 26: Hamilton County and Madison County are established.
1830s 1832 May 9: U.S. government signs the Treaty of Payne's Landing with some of the Seminole chiefs, promising them lands west of the Mississippi River if they agreed to leave Florida voluntarily 1834: January 25: Territorial Legislature establishes Hillsborough County, Florida.Pinellas County Planning Department as staff for the Pinellas County Planning Council. (PCPD) Pinellas County Historical Background, p. 4. No city. No date. April 24: John Eaton is appointed Territorial Governor of Florida by Andrew Jackson. 1835–1842: Second Seminole War. 1836 March 16: Richard K. Call is appointed Territorial Governor of Florida by Andrew Jackson. 1837: Fort Ann was established on the eastern shore of the Indian River in what is now Brevard County. 1838 January 26: Calhoun County is established. 1839 December 2: Robert R. Reid is appointed territorial governor of Florida by Martin Van Buren.
1840-45 1841 March 19: Richard K. Call is appointed Territorial Governor of Florida. 1842: Armed Occupation Act provides for land grants in unsettled parts of Florida. 1843 January 27: Hernando County is established. March 11: Wakulla County is established. 1844 March 14: Marion and Brevard County are established. August 11: John Branch is appointed as Governor of Florida being the last territorial governor of the state.
Statehood era (1845–present)
1840s 1845 March 3: Florida was admitted to the Union as the 27th U.S. state. May 26: Florida Legislature is formed succeeding the Florida Territorial Legislative Council. June 25: Florida's first elected governor, William Dunn Moseley takes office. 1848 January 8: Holmes County is established. 1849 January 18: Putnam County is established. January 18: Tampa is first incorporated being a village.
1850s 1853 January 8: Sumter County is established. September 10: Tampa incorporates as a town. 1854 December 29: Volusia County is established. 1855–1858: Third Seminole War 1855 January 9: Manatee County is established. December 15: Liberty County is established. Tampa incorporates as a city. 1856: Florida Historical Society is incorporated. 1858 December 21: Suwannee County is established. December 31: Bradford and Clay County is established.
1860s 1861 January 8 – November 23: Battle of Pensacola occurs, some historians believe this to be the first battle of the American Civil War. January 10: Florida secedes from the United States. February 8: Baker and Polk County are established. April 22: Florida joined the Confederate States of America at the beginning of the Civil War. October 8: Battle of Santa Rosa Island. 1862 March 24: Skirmish of the Brick Church. June 30 – July 1: Battle of Tampa. October 1–3: Battle of St. John's Bluff. 1863 October 16–18: Battle of Fort Brooke. 1864 February 24: Battle of Olustee. March 1: Skirmish at Cedar Creek. March 6: Battle of Natural Bridge. August 17: Battle of Gainesville. September 7: Battle of Marianna. 1865 February 20: Battle of Fort Myers. 1868 June 28: Florida rejoins the United States. 1869 April 14: Gainesville is incorporated.
1870s 1870: Barber–Mizell feud 1873: August 11: Tampa reincorporates a town. 1875: July 31: Orlando is first incorporated being a town. 1877: Compromise of 1877 completed the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Florida (aftermath of Civil War)
1880s 1883 May 24: Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company begins operating Florida's first telephone switchboard in Jacksonville. December 10: The South Florida Railroad, controlled by Henry B. Plant, becomes the first railroad to arrive in Tampa. 1885 January 1: Lakeland is incorporated. February 4: Orlando is reincorporated being a city. March 24: Fort Myers is incorporated. 1886 March 30: Great Fire of Key West occurs. 1887 May 12: Osceola County is established. May 13: Lee County is established. May 19: DeSoto County is established. May 27: Lake County is established. June 2: Pasco County is established. July 15: Tampa reincorporates for a 5th and final time as a city. August 15: Eatonville, Florida, incorporated; the first all-black town to be formed after the Emancipation Proclamation. 1888 February 22: President Cleveland's first Florida visit stop. February 23: President Cleveland visits Winter Park. 1889 Legislature created a poll tax; lasts until 1937
1890s 1892 February 29: St. Petersburg is first incorporated being a town. 1894 December: Great Freeze destroys much of Florida's crops (especially citrus). 1896 April 15: The Florida East Coast Railway, controlled by Henry Flagler, becomes the first railroad to arrive in Miami. July 28: Miami is incorporated.
1900s 1902 October 14: Sarasota is incorporated as a town. 1903: May 19: Bradenton is incorporated. June 6: St. Petersburg reincorporates as a city. 1905 May 24: St. Lucie County is established. June 6: Clearwater is incorporated. 1908 April 5 – May 13: Pensacola streetcar strike of 1908. November 8: Ocala National Forest established. November 27: Choctawhatchee National Forest established. 1909 April 30: Palm Beach County is established.
1910s 1911 March 27: Fort Lauderdale is incorporated. 1912 January 1: Pinellas County is established. 1913 April 24: Bay County is established. April 25: Seminole County is established. May 13: Sarasota reincorporates as a city. 1914 April 2: Saint Augustine Fire of 1914 1915 April 30: Broward County is established. September 7: Okaloosa County is established. 1917 April 28: Flagler County is established. May 8: Okeechobee County is established.
1920s 1920s: Florida land boom. 1921 April 23: Glades, Hardee, Highland and Charlotte County are established. April 25: Dixie County is established. May 14: Sarasota County is established. May 20: Union County is established. 1922 December 14–15: Perry massacre. 1923 January 1–7: Rosewood massacre. May 8: Collier County is established. May 11: Hendry County is established. 1925 May 26: Boca Raton, Florida is incorporated. May 30: Martin and Indian River County is established. June 6: Gulf County is established. September 10: Hialeah is incorporated. November 28: Hollywood, Florida is incorporated. December 4: Gilchrist County is established. 1928 January 25: Overseas Highway opens for cars, connecting Key West to mainland Florida. April 26: Tamiami Trail between Tampa and Miami opens to traffic.
1930s 1931: gambling legalized, allowing a Parimutuel betting establishment. July 10: Osceola National Forest established. November – December: Tampa cigar makers' strike of 1931 1936 May 13: Apalachicola National Forest established. 1937 November 15: Ku Klux Klan raid of La Paloma nightclub repeal of poll tax
1940s 1943 September 26: Florida's first oil well is drilled in Collier County by Humble Oil Company. 1947: Everglades National Park dedicated. 1949 March 21: The first television station in Florida begins broadcasting, WTVJ. It is the 16th TV station to start broadcasting in the United States and is the oldest station still broadcasting in the state.
1950s
1950 January 1: Sebring International Raceway opens and holds its first race. 1951 December 25: Murder of Harry and Hariette Moore 1956