Thanksgiving traditions vary from family to family, but a hearty meal and fellowship are the most common themes. These images from the State Archives’ Florida Photographic Collection illustrate how Floridians all over the state have enjoyed Thanksgiving through the years.
Soldiers of the Florida National Guard enjoying Thanksgiving dinner (1917).
Thanksgiving picnic on the north side of the old Roseland bridge near Wabasso, Florida (1924).
Chefs carving turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner at a USO Club in Pensacola during World War II (ca. 1947).
An outdoor Thanksgiving dinner at the Lakeland Cottages in Lakeland, Florida (ca. 1948).
Preparing Thanksgiving turkeys at a Tin Can Tourists of the World convention in Melbourne, Florida (1952).
An underwater Thanksgiving celebration at Rainbow Springs near Dunnellon, Florida (1953).
Wild turkey, venison and pies were among the dishes enjoyed by members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida at this Thanksgiving celebration in the 1950s.
Members of the Thanksgiving Basket Committee of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority at FAMU in Tallahassee, pictured with baskets of food ready to deliver to needy families (1957).
Sarah Darby Collins, daughter of Governor LeRoy Collins, with a Thanksgiving turkey at the Executive mansion in Tallahassee (1959).
Interested in learning more about the history of Thanksgiving in Florida? Search the Florida Photographic Collection for more historic images, and check out these Thanksgiving proclamations from Florida governors in the days before Thanksgiving was a national holiday!