The first truly positive impact that the Oldest City
received since the Spanish conquistador Ponce de León sailed here on his quest
for the Fountain of Youth nearly three-hundred and fifty years earlier was from
Henry Flagler.
In the late 1800s Flagler arrived in St. Augustine with
loads of Yankee dollars, a railroad, incredible business savvy, and the
motivation to put his assets to work.
At about the same time that Flagler was building his hotels Dr.
Luella Day McConnell opened the Fountain of Youth tourist attraction that is
operating to this day.
Read how St. Augustine’s first promoters of tourism changed
the Sunshine State forevermore in the book Sailing to St. Augustine by John M.
Grimsrud. Available in paperback and digital editions: For more information click here.
More Recommended books reviewed by John M. Grimsrud:
Last Train to Paradise by Les Standiford
This is a biographical look into the marvelous
accomplishments of a determined visionary whose neuroticism was focused to make
the world a better place.
Henry Flagler dedicated his long life and enormous fortune
to social minded pioneering never following in another’s footsteps while he
turned his boundless dreams into unparalleled monuments out shadowing all who
came before him.
This is an incomparable story of the biggest chapter in Florida’s centuries of
romantic history.
I highly recommend the book for those who appreciate an epic
true history told by one of the best authors of our time.
Fifty Feet in Paradise by David Nolan
I would have to class this excellently written volume as a
classic of Florida history. It looks at the side of history that is not neatly
packaged and recorded. Through exhaustive research of Florida’s written records
and especially his relentless interviews with the people that actually lived
this history, David Nolan brings history into focus.
Having been actively involved in Florida real estate, though
in a small way, I have personally had an opportunity to not only meet many of
the people that the author interviewed but even do business with them. I am
impressed. This book of Florida’s booms
and busts, dreams and despairs is one of my favorites. I recommend it because
besides being a very good read it will also teach a profound lesson of finance
and speculation.
The Tragedy of the
Klondike by Dr. Luella Day McConnell
Dr. Luella Day
McConnell was St. Augustine’s first tourist attraction promoter with her Fountain
of Youth sightseeing business. She was a colorful character and her story is
also in the book Sailing to St.Augustine: Travels of Dursmirg.
Luella’s book, The
Tragedy of the Klondike, is now in the public domain and available for free download from Internet Archives.
More of Bing's Buzz recommended books, click here.
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