Exploring Florida's Emerald Coast: A Rich History and a Rare Ecology

by Jean Lufkin Bouler

"This is a rollicking trip through an enchanted time and place--the Emerald Coast--from Paleo-Indians to modern celebrities, from mastodons to loggerhead turtles. Bouler's enthusiasm for its splendor and history is contagious."--Faith Eidse, editor of  Voices of the Apalachicola  "Illuminates the history of the once-quiet, now-booming coast between Panama City and Pensacola. The narrative takes readers on an enjoyable and thoughtful journey."--Kathryn L. Ziewitz, co-author of  Green The St. Joe Company and the Remaking of Florida’s Panhandle  
More than seven million visitors journey to some part of Florida's Panhandle region each year, and 4.5 million travel specifically to the 100-mile stretch between Pensacola and Panama City dubbed the Emerald Coast, where the beaches are some of the most stunning in the world, famous for their white sands and emerald waters. New construction booms and overnight changes are transforming the area--one of Florida’s last frontiers--into an increasingly popular destination for business and pleasure. Exploring Florida’s Emerald Coast is an engaging introduction to this unique region.. In vivid narrative, Jean Bouler guides the reader through a fascinating history that includes ancient tribes and Scottish pioneers, a Civil War camp and a pirate’s playground. She tours Destin, the "World’s Luckiest Fishing Village," and Seaside, the New Urbanist community where The Truman Show was filmed. Bouler discusses the importance of the eighteenth century turpentine and lumber industries, describes the development of the largest Air Force base in the free world, and highlights the area’s ecological importance as the home of live oaks and a migratory stop for Monarch butterflies. Taking readers off the main roads, she explores the nature trail at Grayton Beach and the backcountry of Rocky Bayou. Bouler explains what makes the water so green and the sand so white, and reveals why the wetlands are cherished.

Genres: Travel

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2007

About the author

I have wanted to be a writer since I was in the sixth grade and was editor of the A.C. Moore Elementary School newspaper in Atmore in south Alabama. I found out early the perks of journalism, getting out of class to work on stories and seeing my byline.
To Kill a Mockingbird came out in 1960 when I was 11 years old. My parents knew Nelle Harper Lee, who lived just 40 miles away in Monroeville, and her fame convinced me that the writer’s world was for me.
I earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Alabama and for 10 years was education reporter at The Birmingham News. Then I became a stay-at-home mom so I could spend more time with my daughter, Alissa. When she went to college, I wrote Exploring Florida’s Emerald Coast – A Rich History and A Rare Ecology published by the University Press of Florida.
I was also researching Harper Lee when my beloved schizophrenic brother died of lung cancer. I spiraled into depression, then mania. I ended up on a locked ward and was saved only by the drugs Zyprexa and Zoloft. I hope my book Chasing the Mockingbird – A Memoir of a Broken Mind offers insight into mental illness and encouragement for those who deal with it.