Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. Daytona Beach is a year-round family-friendly resort area, but could also accurately be called a seasonal town, with large groups of out-of-towners descending upon the city for various events. But the city wasn’t always the booming city you see today. Daytona Beach has a rich history surrounding it; and many ways to learn about it. While exploring this beautiful city be sure not to miss any of the cities delightfully enthralling historic attractions.

Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park is a great place to visit in order to get a real taste for the Daytona Beach history. Befitting its ancestry, this once thriving indigo, cotton and sugar plantation is on Old Dixie Highway, north of Ormond Beach. A regal mansion in 1821, only brick shells remain of what were the sugar mill, springhouse, and the foundation. The 150 acres of Bulow Plantation Ruins stand as a monument to the rise and fall of sugar plantations in East Florida. In 1836, the Second Seminole War swept away the prosperous Bulow Plantation where the Bulow family grew sugar cane, cotton, rice and indigo. Ruins of the former plantation, a sugar mill, a unique spring house, several wells and the crumbling foundations of the plantation house and slave cabins show how volatile the Florida frontier was in the early 19th century. Today, an incredible walking trail leads visitors to the sugar mill ruins, listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.

Take the family for a fun yet educational day at Spruce Creek Park. Located just south of Daytona Beach, these are old Indian grounds where you can discover ancient Indian mounds and monarchical tombs along the banks of beautiful Spruce Creek. Its 536-foot boardwalk begins more than three miles of nature trails leading to the 15-foot observation tower and continues to Rose Bay. The tower overlooks the marsh area near Spruce Creek.The extension began on the north side of the park as part of the Rose Bay Legacy Project Program under the direction of a teacher at Mainland High School.The students notched out minimum-impact nature trails and planted native vegetation throughout the area while studying the environment. While visiting this spectacular park, visitors can enjoy; Picnicking, the large playground, and the canoe launch.

Both visitors and locals will love the Historic Ponce Inlet Walking and Biking Tour. Guests can enjoy the fresh outdoors and get in some exercise time while learning the intriguing history of the Town of Ponce Inlet. This is an extremely exciting tour which features the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, water taxi, historic homes and cemeteries, parks, botanical gardens and so much more!

Once you’ve gotten enough exercise with the Historic Ponce Inlet Walking and Biking Tour, be sure to drop by The Cellar Restaurant to grab a bite to eat. Located at the former home of President Warren G. Harding, this local treasure was built in 1907 by his father-in-law, Amos H. Kling. The Hardings used the home as a seasonal residence to escape the cold Ohio winters. The building is now on the National Historic Registry.Situated on 220 Magnolia Ave., Daytona Beach, the restaurant serves a variety of Italian specialties for guests to enjoy.

Ready to soak up that Daytona Beach Culture? Then head on over to the Deltona Arts & Historical Center. Serving as the historical library for the City of Deltona, this center showcases artifacts and local artists’ works, and contains a digital recording studio. Open Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 4 p.m, this center welcomes guests of all ages to come join in the fun! With exciting art exhibits, fun concerts, an interesting history, amazing art classes, brilliant music lessons, and more this is definitely a must visit attraction in Daytona Beach!

While discovering all that the Daytona Beach area has to offer, make sure not to miss the Carl S. Swisher Library. Established by the Smithsonian Institute, the “New Deal” Permanent Exhibit showcases the contributions of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet”. The Rosewood Exhibit displays life in the Florida community of Rosewood, from 1845 to the infamous Rosewood Massacre of 1923.

Take a truly fascinating tour of the Howard Thurman Home. This structure was once the childhood home of Dr. Howard Thurman, who created, taught and wrote about the action-oriented nonviolence championed by Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. Tours are available by appointment only. Thruman was an author, philosopher, theologian, and educator. Howard Thurman spent most of his childhood in this late 19th-century, two-story, wood frame vernacular residence. In quiet moments before a civil rights march, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., used to read from Thurman’s book that laid much of the philosophical foundation for a nonviolent civil rights movement.