The Cape Florida Light is a lighthouse on Cape Florida at the south end of Key Biscayne in Miami-Dade County’s Bill Braggs Cape Florida State Park. As the oldest structure in Miami-Dade, the lighthouse is a time capsule containing an immense amount of Florida history. First erected in 1825, the Cape Florida Light has survived nearly 200 years of erosion, dozens of hurricanes, an attack by native Seminole Native Americans, and an explosion of lantern oil and gun powder. Yet, through all the tribulation, she still stands. When the lighthouse was originally built, she guided sailors around the Florida reef helping them avoid an unfortunate accident. Today, she was renovated into a cultural landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places.Before the Lighthouse was built, the Cape Florida Light was one of the places where slaves and Black Seminoles boarded ships for the Bahamas. This was known as the Saltwater Railroad a migration that began when Spain transferred its Florida territory to the United States. Under the Spanish, many blacks were free, a right they feared would end under American rule. Spanish Florida had been a slave refuge until President Andrew Jackson, a strong supporter of slavery, invaded in 1818. When the Americans took over Florida in 1819, by the Adam-Onis Treaty. But this treaty, prompted hundreds of blacks to begin migrating to the British-held Bahamas. This was the beginning of a decade long movement. Enslaved people in the south had limited options for escape, northern states and British Canada, where slavery was either abolished or restricted by the 1820s. This made the Bahamas a much more viable option for those in Florida as the nearest island was 154-miles away. The Park carries a special significance as a designated National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site.In 1835 a major hurricane struck the island, damaging the lighthouse and the keeper's house, and flooding the island under three feet of water. In January 1836 the Seminoles massacred the family of William Cooley at their coontie plantation on the New River, in what is now Fort Lauderdale. On hearing of the massacre, the settlers on the mainland around the Miami River crossed over Biscayne Bay to the lighthouse. As the island was not considered safe, the settlers and Captain Dubose's family moved to Key West for refuge. The assistant keeper, John W. B. Thompson, was in charge, aided by Aaron Carter, an African American. They were brutally attacked by a band of Seminole. Fire, explosion and more too this true-life story unfolds!Stiltsville is a group of wood stilt houses located one mile south of Cape Florida, on sand banks of the Safety Valve on the edge of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The structures stand on wood or reinforced concrete pilings, generally ten feet above the shallow water, which varies from one to three feet deep at low tide. In the 1960’s the rich and famous played and more to this story!Biscayne National Park is an American national park located south of Miami, Florida. The park preserves Biscayne Bay and its offshore barrier reefs. Ninety-five percent of the park is water, and the shore of the bay is the location of an extensive mangrove forest. The offshore portion of the park includes the northernmost region of the Florida Reef, one of the largest coral reefs in the world. Actually, it is the 5th largest coral reef in the world.#biscaynenationalpark #johnbriggs #johnbriggscapefloridastatepark #florida #Miami #keybiscayne #seminoles #slavery #saltwaterrailroad #bahamas #history #johnquincyadams #trippinwithsilverdaddy #travel #nature #travelphotography #podcast #podcasting #podcastersofinstagram #podcasts #spotify #podcastlife #podcaster #music #youtube #podcasters #podcastshow #itunes #spotifypodcast #newpodcast #interview #cannonballbash