lost Florida towns

Vineland Cemetery: The Lost Florida Town Hidden in Front of a Publix

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Vineland Cemetery in Orlando, Florida, featuring two Union Civil War veterans' headstones decorated with American flags and patriotic wreaths, a granite memorial, and a black iron fence surrounded by modern shopping center development.

Two Civil War veterans, a forgotten Florida community, and one unforgettable Exploration Friday. Imagine heading to Publix for a few groceries, pulling into the parking lot, and discovering a cemetery right in front of the store. Not a historical marker commemorating something that once stood there. Not a decorative monument. An actual cemetery. That’s exactly … Read more

Forgotten, Not Gone: Giddens Homestead Cemetery

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Tree stump–style headstone surrounded by small grave markers in Giddens Homestead Cemetery, a historic pioneer burial ground hidden in the Florida woods.

There are places you stumble across once and never forget.And then there are places that call you back. Giddens Homestead Cemetery is the latter for me. Hidden deep in the Florida woods, this small pioneer cemetery has been part of my life for nearly a decade. I found it long before I understood the story … Read more