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Welcome to the unofficial field guide to South Florida’s past and present. We dig into river lore, bootleg whispers, beach-town weirdness, civic glow-ups, and the kind of characters who make “local color” feel like an understatement.

Aerial view overlooking a section of Ft. Lauderdale Beach near SE 5th Street 1983

The Cocaine Cowboys Who Built (and Bled) South Florida

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Rumrunners & River Kings: How Prohibition Put Broward on the Map

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The New River Knows Things: How Water Shaped Power in Fort Lauderdale

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Early 1900s New River waterfront in Fort Lauderdale

Founding Rumors: Why Fort Lauderdale Was Built on Whispers

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Smugglers Coast

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Rumrunners, river kings, and the infrastructure of “don’t ask.”
Aerial view overlooking a section of Ft. Lauderdale Beach near SE 5th Street 1983

The Cocaine Cowboys Who Built (and Bled) South Florida

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On:

Before the luxury towers. Before the rooftop bars. Before the influencers and the Art Basel crowds and the $22 cocktails on Las Olas,

Rumrunners & River Kings: How Prohibition Put Broward on the Map

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On:

The New River Knows Things: How Water Shaped Power in Fort Lauderdale

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Strange Secrets

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Aerial view overlooking a section of Ft. Lauderdale Beach near SE 5th Street 1983

The Cocaine Cowboys Who Built (and Bled) South Florida

By:
On:

Before the luxury towers. Before the rooftop bars. Before the influencers and the Art Basel crowds and the $22 cocktails on Las Olas,

Rumrunners & River Kings: How Prohibition Put Broward on the Map

By:
On:

The New River Knows Things: How Water Shaped Power in Fort Lauderdale

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On:

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The guy behind this site...

Hi! I am John Palmer Payne!

I am a local business owner in South Florida who has a nerdy interest in history.

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Get the Good Stuff.

A monthly dispatch of new stories, fresh finds, and verified chaos.

Rumor vs Record

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Some stories are documented. Some are repeated like prayers at a dock bar. We label what’s verified, what’s rumored, and what’s still in the “somebody’s uncle swears” stage.
Aerial view overlooking a section of Ft. Lauderdale Beach near SE 5th Street 1983

The Cocaine Cowboys Who Built (and Bled) South Florida

By:
On:

Before the luxury towers. Before the rooftop bars. Before the influencers and the Art Basel crowds and the $22

Continue Reading

Rumrunners & River Kings: How Prohibition Put Broward on the Map

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On:

Prohibition didn’t make Americans stop drinking.It made them better planners. When the Volstead Act went into effect in 1920,

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The New River Knows Things: How Water Shaped Power in Fort Lauderdale

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If you want to understand Fort Lauderdale, don’t start with the skyline.Look down. Before the towers, before the drawbridges

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Travel Diaries

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