Highway Through Time

Highway Through Time. . , Did you know the first people in North Florida lived here 10,000 years ago?, 1562 , Timucuans , The Timucuans were the Native Floridians living in north and central Florida when the Europeans arrived in 1562. Powerful and wealthy Timucuans tattooed their bodies with geometric designs. The higher ranks had more tattoos. Timucuans mastered the arts of hunting, fishing and preserving meat., 1864 , Battle of Olustee , Battle of Olustee – One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. , On February 20, 1864, in a pine forest within the Osceola, Union and Confederate soldiers clashed in the Battle of Olustee. The battle raged for five hours; then Union forces began a hasty retreat. Confederate cavalrymen pushed them until dark, over 2,800 men were killed. Confederates won the battle, but eventually lost the Civil War. The echoes of a battle long ago take on new life every year at the annual reenactment during President’s Day weekend in February., 1888 , Olustee Train Depot , Built in 1888, the Olustee Train Depot was the hub of this rural north Florida community. Today, after its rehabilitation, it is a national forest information and interpretive center., 1900s , Turpentining, A Way of Life , Through the mid 1900s, sap collected to make turpentine became the ingredient for many industrial products including varnish, paint thinner and soap. The Osceola National Forest was a research lab where turpentining techniques were developed and improved . Turpentining was a way of life in this area up to the 1950s., The Past is Everywhere , Look around you! Thousands of years of history lie beneath your feet., Please remember that cultural resources belong to everyone and it is unlawful to remove them from federal land.