Hailey Heseltine reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com It was the Roaring Twenties, and the postwar world seemed to be finding new life with its economic prosperity. That decade, Florida entered an era which transformed the state…
Category: History
On this day in history…
• On July 23, 1923, John Herbert Dillinger joins the Navy in order to avoid charges of auto theft in Indiana, marking the beginning of America’s most notorious criminal’s downfall. • On…
Remembering Suwannee: Convict leasing system, Part 1
Eric Musgrove Contributor While writing about various facets of Suwannee County’s history, I long ago realized that some events, systems, and so on, must be explained in more detail to fully understand…
Remembering Suwannee: William Forsyth Bynum, MD
Eric Musgrove Contributor Doctors have held an important position in the history of Suwannee County. The frontier life was hard on the early Suwannee Countians, and doctors were often the difference between…
The lost town of Port Leon
Hailey Heseltine reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com The towns we see in North Florida today, such as Live Oak, Madison, Monticello, Perry, Quincy and more, are relatively few when compared to the ones that were originally…
Remembering Suwannee: Lewis Thornton Powell
Eric Musgrove Contributor As a historian, I have always believed we should discuss not only the good people and events in our history, but also the bad. As I have told many…
Remembering Suwannee: Live Oak in 1905, Part 7
Eric Musgrove Contributor This week, we will complete an article first published on Nov. 25, 1905, by “The Sun” of Jacksonville. The article describes Live Oak during its heyday, with many interesting…
Remembering Suwannee: Live Oak in 1905, Part 6
Eric Musgrove Contributor Today is the sixth of seven articles from a 1905 newspaper describing Live Oak when it was Florida’s fifth-largest city. “Two banks with a combined capital of $125,000 take…
History’s sports hero: Jim Rice
Mickey Starling reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com When we think of an athlete being a hero, it usually means they made an outstanding play that won a game or at least kept a game competitive. However,…
The bound histories of North Florida and South Carolina
Hailey Heseltine reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com Any town’s history is always tied to its people, and there are many common threads among the people of North Florida towns. One of those common threads is that…
Remembering Suwannee: Live Oak in 1905, Part 5
Eric Musgrove Contributor This week, we continue an article first published in 1905 by a Florida newspaper describing Live Oak at its height, focusing on some of the many businesses located here…
Juneteenth: Celebrating the path to freedom
Danny Federico reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” – Desmond Tutu Known as one of America’s oldest holidays, Juneteenth (June 19) annually celebrates…
Remembering Suwannee: Live Oak in 1905, Part 4
Eric Musgrove Contributor This week, we will continue quoting from a 1905 newspaper article entitled, “Live Oak, A Town That’s Alive…” “Two smaller roads, with their terminals here, are of inestimable importance…
Remembering Suwannee: Live Oak in 1905, Part 3
Eric Musgrove Contributor Two weeks ago, I began a series entitled “Live Oak, A Town That’s Alive,” which was published in a leading Florida newspaper in 1905. As I found it interesting…
Remembering Suwannee: Live Oak in 1905, Part II
Eric Musgrove: Contributor This week, we will continue the second of several articles quoting from a 1905 newspaper article about Suwannee County and, especially, Live Oak. “Live Oak, the county seat of…
A middle schooler’s best friend: Corporal Gary Edwards
Jason Futch reporter2.riverbendnews@gmail.com Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) Corporal Gary Edwards served his community in exemplary ways, and his contributions are still felt to this day. His nearly 20-year career with the…
Remembering Suwannee: Mobilization and service in “The War to End All Wars,” Part 5
Eric Musgrove Contributor A few more articles on WWI mobilization and service left to go! In the second week of January 1918, a week after it formed, the new artillery company from…