Category: History

Mickey Starling ECB Publishing, Inc.  In my search for interesting moments in history to share, I may have stumbled upon the inspiration for the song, “Dancing the Night Away,” which was a…

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. In 1845, Florida became the 27th state to join the United States of America. 2026 marks 181 years since Florida’s statehood began. Florida’s history, of course, began…

Story Submitted In the New Jerusalem Church of God In Unity (COGIU), located in the Dills community of Jefferson County, the previous church history Elder Dock Daniels (1864 – unknown) was the…

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. Growing up during segregation, Mary Madison’s mother and grandmother told her that she needed an education to go anywhere. When she heard those words, she was a…

Frequita Barrington Contributor Monticello native Tomara Watkins grew up along the Florida-Georgia line in Jefferson County, surrounded by generations of women whose strength, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit shaped her life. Raised in…

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. On May 26, 1956, two Florida A&M University (FAMU) students rode on “whites only” seats in a  Tallahassee bus. When the driver demanded that the young women,…

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. In 1956, the student-led Jeffecello Staff at Jefferson County High School published their annual yearbook. Inspired by the idea that eyes, ears and hands are all a…

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. Jan. 21, 2025 was a historic day. Exactly one year ago, the Gulf Coast Blizzard smashed many snowfall records on the western panhandle, following just seven years…

MLK Timeline 1929 – Michael King, later known as Martin Luther King, Jr., was born at 501 Auburn Ave. in Atlanta on Jan. 15. 1944 – King began his freshman year at…

Florida State University Contributor Florida State University will celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with its 38th annual MLK Week. This year’s theme, “Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers,”…

Mickey Starling ECB Publishing, Inc. Occasionally, some of the happy reflections of childhood come back to us in one form or another. Many of us grew up enjoying a variety of Disney…

Eric Musgrove Contributor I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as we roll into 2026. In lieu of a normal historical article, I’d like to take this…

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. Mulberry Street includes a stretch of many of Monticello’s historical houses from the late 19th and early 20th century. Among them is a two-story house referred to…

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. By the ’80s, the former Howard Academy campus had become Howard Middle School (HMS), the public junior high for Jefferson County. Featuring 8th, 7th, 6th and 5th…

Hailey Waldo ECB Publishing, Inc. Long before midnight countdowns, fireworks and televised celebrations, the arrival of New Year celebrations in North Florida was marked quietly, shaped by survival, faith and the rhythms…

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. By the ’80s, the Howard Academy campus had become Howard Middle School, the public junior high for Jefferson County. The 1983 Howardite Yearbook bears the words “A…