Land use in Florida has seen many changes since it became an American territory in 1821. But while land use can be a categorical term for classifying property, it can also take on a more valuable meaning. When the land was originally opened up for frontier settlers and wealthy planters to farm in the early years, it usually meant family and freedom as individuals and large kinship networks migrated south to establish homesteads and plantations. This population was mostly concentrated in Middle Florida or the northern part of the state. Leading up to the Civil War, cotton was obviously a royal crop and a manufacturing movement emerged to support the momentum toward Southern independence. However, the aftermath of the Civil War seems to be a turning point for the dominantly agrarian region as timber, railroads, and tourism changed the way residents used the land. While Northwest Florida retained agriculture as a major part of the economy, the peninsula became more developed and populated, mostly with wealthy Northern tourists, and in effect, the state transformed into two distinct regions with very different environments and cultures. Comparisons between the two sections are made throughout the study to illustrate lessons that can be learned from one to the other. Sprawl, congestion, and overdevelopment's assault on the environment are common concerns. My focus for this study is to show how land use and essentially rural life changed for those individuals who were accustomed to subsistence farming in Northwest Florida. Land prices, a decline in farm acreage, population distribution, and suburbanization exhibit this transformation. In addition, the intention is to show the assets of the Panhandle through its environment, rural character, and agrarian heritage which equates into a revered quality of life. The rural places of Northwest Florida deserve protection from inappropriate and misplaced development using rural land conservation and land-use planning techniques while revitalizing towns and cities that have already been developed and preserving the region's vast historical resources for future generations. / A Thesis submitted to the American and Florida Studies Program in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2013. / April 1, 2013. / Agrarian, Conservation, Development, Growth Management, Panhandle,
Rural / Includes bibliographical references. / Neil Jumonville, Professor Directing Thesis; Frederick Davis, Committee Member; Jennifer Koslow, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183877 |
| Contributors | Riley-Taylor, Zena S. (authoraut), Jumonville, Neil (professor directing thesis), Davis, Frederick (committee member), Koslow, Jennifer (committee member), Program in American and Florida Studies (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Coverage | United States |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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