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This collection is comprised of the background files, notes, correspondence, permission, maps, manuscripts, and other materials that were collected or created by Clifton Paisley during the writing of his work, Red Hills of Florida. Included among these items are biographical sources, census data, maps and surveys of the Red Hills region, letters to and from local organizations and persons, newspapers, and interviews. The majority of the collection consists of those materials which actually played a part in the publication of the book. These items include notes, manuscripts, galley proofs, camera ready copies, and photographs mainly dating from the 1970s and 1980s when the book was being compiled and published.

The materials in this collection were collected and curated by Richard H. Mette. Mette was a lifelong Jacksonville resident and has family ties to the area going back several generations.

Photocopies of research materials concerning Conecuh County, Alabama, 1814-1877, including letters (1844-1860) of James Jones about life in Conecuh, the 1860 Presidential election, cotton business, and activities in Pensacola. Other materials cover the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and Fort Jackson (1814), Fort Pickens (1861), a biography of Dr. George Columbus Reynolds, and a history of the Perote area, Pike County, Alabama.

Correspondence, papers, records, journals, cashbooks (or account books), scrapbooks, newspaper articles, passport, currency, manuscripts, books, songs, pictures, stamps, clippings and legal papers. This collection contains a wide variety of materials. The correspondence, papers, records, bookkeeping journals and cash books of Julius Diamond reflect the economic conditions of the time and are good examples of how merchandising business was conducted. The scrapbook, assembled by John W. Trench, contains manuscripts, Civil War letters and clippings, describing events such as the battles of Gettysburg, Bull Run and Vicksburg. There is an original holograph passport issued by Consul General at Marseilles, France, to a native of Italy, taken during the war. Newspaper clippings discuss the price of gold, burial ceremonies, and the sale of enslaved persons. Also included are recipes, poems, songs and jokes written during and about the Civil War, as well as other historical documents not preserved elsewhere.

This collection contains banking records from various businesses and banks dating back to the early 19th century. Included are bank receipts, record books, cash and receipt books, and financial ledgers. Such records are from the Gradner Maine General Store, Edwin Robinson, and the York County Water County.

The Sanibel Island Collection consists of photographs that highlight the geographical, environmental, social, and civic aspects of Sanibel Island. There are also letters, telegrams, and newspaper articles that highlight the social and community life on Sanibel Island. All materials in this collection are prior to the damage caused by Hurricane Ian in 2022.