A Tropical Frontier: Pioneers and Settlers of Southeast Florida, 1800-1890

by Tim Robinson

On April 2, 1894, a shiny new train rolled southbound along shiny new tracks destined for the brand new station in the fledgling town of West Palm Beach. As it chugged down the tracks, people all along the way cheered its arrival, for with it came civilization and a shiny new day. Also with it came the end of pioneer days in Southeast Florida, and overnight a way of life ended – for better or worse.

This book is for, about and by the pioneers, those hearty souls who left their families and the soft comforts of civilization and moved to a roadless, watery wilderness, a place with none of the conveniences of home, not to mention swarms of blood-thirsty mosquitos, large furry animals with fangs and claws, snakes of all kinds and a multitudinous array of interesting new crawly things...including the biggest, ugliest roaches they had ever seen.

It was the blood, sweat and tears of these brave men and women that paved the way for Henry Flagler's railroad, and it is their stories that are told in this book.

654 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 2007

About the author

Tim Robinson is a third generation Floridian, his grandfather having taken up a 100 acre homestead on Cape Canaveral in 1924. It was his grandfather and father who instilled in him a love for everything Florida. Tim grew up in West Palm Beach, halfway between saltwater Lake Worth and freshwater Lake Mangonia, where he spent his childhood and youth traipsing through the woods or biking over to the beach or taking in the wonders of Florida in some fashion or another. He lives with his wife, Connie, on a small farm in Indiantown, Florida.

Reviews

[Josh Liller · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Tropical Frontier" is not a typical history book. It's actually a biographical encyclopedia of pretty much everyone who lived in SE Florida (Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade Counties) between 1800 and 1890. Tim Robinson did a remarkable job scouring vital records, memoirs, newspaper articles, and the local historical societies to assemble the information for this book. He often quotes at length from memoirs and shows a wry sense of humor with some of his own comments.

As a one-stop encyclopedia of information this is invaluable and anyone with a strong interest in Florida history will probably find it worthwhile. More casual readers will probably find the format a bit dull.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

As this is a very extensive book, I gave not yet finished reading it, but I have been reading different entries based on places I've visited in a Florida. It is definitely going with me on my next trip this winter. The book is interesting; a wide variety of topics are included. I am impressed with the amount of research that the author must have done to create this. I look forward to reading more this winter and visiting the places read about in person. The author has made history interesting!

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Tropical Frontier is a comprehensive resource for detailed information chronicling the Florida frontier's pioneers and settlers. Tim Robinson's well-researched book is an important addition to the historical record.