Joe Marzo

By Joe Marzo A decommissioned Nike missile sits on display inside a weathered hangar at a former U.S. Army missile site in the Everglades. Florida has long been marketed as a place of escape, a destination defined by beaches, sunshine, and distance from the pressures of the world. But during the Cold War, Florida was not removed from global tension at all. It was one of the most strategically exposed places in the United States, positioned at the very edge of a conflict that carried the...

By Joe Marzo Drive north out of the Tampa Bay area and the landscape begins to change. The subdivisions thin out. The highways stretch longer between towns. Pine forests begin to take over the horizon. If you pass through places like Cross City, it feels quiet, almost forgotten in its own right. But a century ago, this region was anything but empty. It was alive with industry, noise, and movement, fueled by a network of hidden company towns that powered Florida’s early economy. These towns...

By Joe Marzo Long before anyone imagined movie stars strolling along its streets, the area that would become New Port Richey was defined by water, isolation, and slow, deliberate settlement. The Pithlachascotee River was everything. For early inhabitants, including Native American groups such as the Seminole, the river provided transportation, food, and access to the Gulf. This region was not a major population center, but it was part of a broader network of movement and survival that...