Overview

A forgotten island. A storm that changed everything. A true story of ambition, loss, and the relentless power of nature. Off Florida's Gulf Coast lies the ghost of a town once called Atsena Otie Island-a thriving 19th-century community built on cedar, sweat, and the promise of prosperity. At its heart stood the great pencil mills that fed America's growing appetite for progress. But on a single night in 1896, everything changed. A massive hurricane roared ashore, leveling the factories, homes, and dreams of everyone who lived there. In Boom or Bust, James Fouty traces the island's rise and fall through historical records, lost photographs, and haunting remnants of the past. Blending vivid storytelling with careful research, he brings to life a forgotten chapter of Florida's history-a tale of industry, resilience, and nature's final say. From the scent of fresh-cut cedar to the silence of the storm's aftermath, Boom or Bust reveals how quickly fortunes fade when the sea decides to take them back. Perfect for readers who love: Florida history and forgotten places Historical nonfiction with atmosphere and depth True stories of disaster, survival, and memory Books like The Orchid Thief, Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Old Man and the Sea Step into a vanished world and uncover the story of a town swallowed by time and tide. On the edge of the Gulf, where the tides swallow what time forgets, once stood Atsena Otie Island-a thriving community built on cedar, ambition, and the promise of progress. In the late 1800s, the island's pencil factories hummed with life, shipping Florida's forests to the world. But prosperity never lasts long on shifting ground. When a hurricane roared ashore in 1896, it didn't just level the town-it erased it. What remained were stories whispered across generations, half-buried in salt marsh and memory. Boom or Bust follows the rise and ruin of Atsena Otie, exploring how greed, industry, and nature collided in a forgotten corner of the Gulf Coast. Through old records, photographs, and the echoes of those who lived there, this book uncovers the strange intersection between human ambition and the unstoppable forces that end it. Part history, part ghost story, Boom or Bust is a journey into the bones of Florida's past-where every storm leaves a mark, and every ruin has a voice.

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