On January 1, 1923, Rosewood, Florida, was a thriving town of mostly African American residents. Seven days later, it was gone, burned to the ground by a white mob.
A concoction of legends, science, and a dash of Florida weirdness all offer explanations for why tourists and residents continue to be thrilled by a hill in Lake Wales.
Only one house exists in an area formally known as Rosewood, which in 1923 was a thriving African-American community until a dispute led to a massacre, and the town was destroyed.