Harriet Beecher Stowe
Palmetto-Leaves
"Palmetto-Leaves" by Harriet Beecher Stowe is a memoir and travel guide published in 1873. The famous author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" shares her experiences wintering in Mandarin, Florida, after the Civil War. Through letters and essays, Stowe describes the region's charm and climate while detailing her efforts to establish schools and churches for newly freed African-Americans. One of the first travel guides about Florida, this work sparked the state's initial tourism boom in the 1880s.