Fun Facts

1. Apalachicola is home to Dr. John Gorrie, the physician who invented mechanical refrigeration in 1851. While treating patients with yellow fever, he created the first ice-making machine in an effort to cool hospital rooms — an invention that eventually led to modern air conditioning and refrigeration worldwide.

 👉 More info: John Gorrie Museum State Park

2. St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565, is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the continental United States — 42 years older than Jamestown and 55 years older than Plymouth Rock. 

👉 More info: Visit Florida – St. Augustine History

3. Everglades National Park is the only place in the world where American alligators and American crocodiles coexist naturally in the wild. 

👉 More info: Everglades Foundation and National Park Service

Everglades Ecology