Bo Diddley: The Rock-and-Roll Founder Who Called Florida Home
He invented a beat that powers rock and roll to this day, then spent his last decades on a ranch in tiny Archer, Florida, guitar in hand.
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Robert Cade: The Florida Doctor Who Invented Gatorade
In 1965, a University of Florida kidney specialist mixed salt, sugar, and lemon to keep the Gators from wilting in the heat. He accidentally created Gatorade and a whole industry.
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Steve Spurrier: The Ball Coach Who Made Florida Football a National Power
Steve Spurrier won the Heisman at Florida in 1966, then came back as head coach and turned the Gators into a national champion. His Fun ‘N Gun offense and legendary one-liners made him the most colorful figure in Florida football history.
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Paynes Prairie: The 21,000-Acre Savanna Where Bison and Wild Horses Roam Outside Gainesville
Just south of Gainesville, a vast open prairie is home to wild horses, American bison, and one of the most unexpected landscapes in all of Florida.
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Tom Petty: The Gainesville Boy Who Became Rock and Roll Royalty
Tom Petty grew up in Gainesville, played his first gigs at local venues, and turned his Florida roots into some of the most beloved rock songs ever written. He never forgot where he came from.
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Marjorie Harris Carr: The Woman Who Stopped the Canal and Saved a River
Marjorie Harris Carr spent nearly three decades fighting the Cross Florida Barge Canal and won. The 110-mile greenway that replaced it now bears her name.
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Devil’s Millhopper: The 120-Foot Sinkhole Hiding a Prehistoric Rainforest
A 120-foot sinkhole in Gainesville drops visitors into a prehistoric rainforest where ferns, waterfalls, and fossils reveal a Florida that existed millions of years before the theme parks.
