Jerrell Shofner

Jerrell Harris Shofner (January 30, 1929 – April 11, 2017) was an American historian and professor of history at the University of Central Florida (UCF).^[1][2] He wrote 16 books, many about Florida's history. He chaired UCF's history department and became a professor emeritus at the school.^[3]

Shofner served in the United States Air Force between 1946 and 1960, earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. from Florida State University, and joined the University of Central Florida in 1972.^[1] He served as president of the Florida Historical Society. He married and had four children.^[1] He retired in 1990.^[4]

Shofner wrote about Florida's Black codes.^[5] He also wrote about "Militant Negro Laborers" during the Reconstruction era^[6] He also wrote about the drafting of the 1868 Florida Constitution.^[7] and forced labor.

Shofner's History of Jefferson County chronicles the area's development as a cotton producing region.^[8] George W. Reid described his book Nor Is it Over Yet on Florida during the Reconstruction Era as an "excellent example of high quality scholarship."^[9]

Selected works

• History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County^[3]
• Jackson County, Florida: A History
• Nor is it Over Yet: Florida in the Era of Reconstruction 1863 - 1877, University of Florida Press (1974)
• Daniel Ladd: Merchant Prince of Frontier Florida University of Florida Press (1978)
• Orlando: The City Beautiful Continental Heritage Press (1984)