Patty's parents were "SnowBirds", that is they live in one part of the country, in their case Illinois, and move somewhere warmer in the winter. In their case that was southern Florida. In January 2002, we visited them in their winter home, on the way down we visited the Bristols in Tennessee/Virginia and Georgia and on the way back the one in Florida. Bristol Florida is a small, tidy community.
The central panhandle of Florida
The distance between Tallahassee and Bristol is about 100km
Bristol, Florida
Bristol, Florida
Bristol, Florida
With a population of a little less than 1,000, Bristol is the county seat of Liberty County, Florida. It was first settled in 1859, and started with a population of 300, specifically with the purpose of being the county seat of Liberty County. The community consisted of one general store, three sawmills, three gristmills, a hotel, a Baptist church, a Methodist church, and a Presbyterian church. An American pioneer named Moses Strause, who was one of the first non-indigenous settlers, deeded land to the county on which a small log building that Strause built was converted into the county's first courthouse.
Despite being in existence since 1859, it wasn't until June 19, 1958, when the City of Bristol was officially incorporated as a municipality.
Elvy E. Callaway, who was a former pro-NAACP lawyer, a former Baptist minister, and a former gubernatorial candidate who ran as a Republican for Florida governor in the 1936 election, stated that the site of the Biblical Garden of Eden lay in northern Liberty County. He cited as evidence the Apalachicola River, with its four river heads, and local sources of torreya known as Florida torreya (Torreya taxifolia), which he claimed was gopher wood, the material said to have been used by Noah in constructing his ark. Callaway transformed the area into a tourist attraction, specifically a roadside attraction, that he owned and operated from 1956 until his death, in 1981.
Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve - Bristol, Florida (Explore Southern History)
Bristol, Florida (Florida Back Roads Travel)
Bristol, Florida (Grokipedia)
Bristol, Florida (Mike Miller)
Bristol, Florida (Wikipedia)
From 'pretty prairie' to 'dead man's creek,' find out origin of Florida city names (News Press)
Garden of Eden Trail Guide (The Nature Conservancy)
History of Liberty County (Genealogy Trails History Group)
Name Origins of Florida Places (Florida Department of State)
Some Think This Amazing Spot In Florida Is Actually The Garden Of Eden (Only in Florida)
The Legend of the Garden of Eden - Bristol, FLorida (Explore Southern History)
The origin of local place names (Coastal Breeze News)