Today Florida is celebrating a birthday! Florida is the 27th state to be admitted to the Union. After being organized as a U.S. territory in 1822, Florida was admitted into the Union in 1845. Florida has now grown to be the third most populous state in America, with some 21 million residents and more than 400 municipalities. They include St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest continuously occupied settlement. A few fun things about Florida: ~Florida has an average of 300 days of sunshine a year. ~Florida has the most golf courses of any state in America. ~Florida is the flattest state in America. ~Florida produces the most oranges in America.
“Happy Birthday, Florida!” is the new public education project that will join public, private and nonprofit sector partners, to use this historic milestone in time to increase awareness about the rich heritage of America’s third-largest state. The majority of Floridians moved here from someplace else, choosing to make the Sunshine State their home. This is an opportunity for these newer residents – as well as native Floridians — to learn all about the strength and diversity of our cultures and citizens. People have lived in Florida since the Ice Age, and Juan Ponce de León visited Florida more than 500 years ago. Florida was making history before the Pilgrims set foot at Plymouth Rock. You could easily spend your entire life studying our state’s intriguing past. It’s an incredible history well worth sharing with all Floridians. This project is expect to launch this spring.
