Harriet Beecher Stowe: "Mother" of Florida Winter Tourism

John Hartwell

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The lady not only "wrote the book that started the Civil War," but, one hundred and fifty years ago, started the tradition of New England "Snowbirds" heading south to the Sunshine State for the winter. It was the birth of the Florida Tourist Industry.

"In 1867, Harriet Beecher Stowe and her husband Calvin, tiring of New England's cold climate, visited Florida for the first time. They were instantly smitten, bought a home complete with orange groves, and for the next 17 years were regular New England snowbirds. Not content to merely enjoy the beautiful, warm Florida winters, Stowe did what writers do -- she wrote about the beautiful state and soon attracted so many visitors she regretted it."
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The Stowes at their Florida Home
She wrote her memoir of her life at Mandarin, Fla., in Palmetto Leaves (1873).

Read all about the Stowes "Feeling young and frisky" in Florida, courtesy of The New England Historical Society.
 
The lady not only "wrote the book that started the Civil War," but, one hundred and fifty years ago, started the tradition of New England "Snowbirds" heading south to the Sunshine State for the winter. It was the birth of the Florida Tourist Industry.

"In 1867, Harriet Beecher Stowe and her husband Calvin, tiring of New England's cold climate, visited Florida for the first time. They were instantly smitten, bought a home complete with orange groves, and for the next 17 years were regular New England snowbirds. Not content to merely enjoy the beautiful, warm Florida winters, Stowe did what writers do -- she wrote about the beautiful state and soon attracted so many visitors she regretted it."
View attachment 226826
The Stowes at their Florida Home
She wrote her memoir of her life at Mandarin, Fla., in Palmetto Leaves (1873).

Read all about the Stowes "Feeling young and frisky" in Florida, courtesy of The New England Historical Society.
I wonder if she had blue hair when she went down there.
 
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