| Florida (Alachua County), Alachua — F-206 — City of Alachua |
| | Upon completion to Gainesville of the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway in May 1884, citizens from the former county seat at Newnansville were among those who moved to the present site of Alachua which was near the railroad. The city is located in a productive farming area. The Bellamy Road, a national highway from St. Augustine to Pensacola authorized in 1824, originally passed near the northeast city boundary. The post office was established April 30, 1887. The city was incorporated April 12, 1905. — Map (db m65458) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Alachua — Newnansville Methodist Church Site |
| | On this site
the Newnansville
Methodist Church
was founded in 1822
Presented by
Alachua
Methodist Church
1972 — Map (db m56180) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Earleton — F-625 — Earleton, Florida |
| | (Front text)
Earleton is named for General Elias B. Earle (1821-1893) who received government land grants in Florida for his service in the U.S./Mexican War (1846-48). Born into a prominent South Carolina family, Gen. Earle fought in the Palmetto Regiment, enlisted as a private, and at the war’s end received the honorary commission of General from the Governor of South Carolina. He moved to the western shore of Lake Santa Fe with his wife and four children between 1856 and 1860. When . . . — Map (db m41263) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Evinston — F-317 — Evinston Community Store and Post Office / History of Evinston, Florida |
| | Evinston Community Store and Post Office
The Evinston community store, originally a warehouse, was built of heart pine in 1884 by W.P. Shettleworth. it was bought by Joseph Wolfenden, who first operated it as a store. The post office, established in 1882 was later moved into the building. The present store sits 100 feet south of its original location. It was moved in 1956 because of road paving. Located across from the railroad depot, it was a meeting place then as now. Numerous owners . . . — Map (db m54240) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-191 — Alachula County Courthouse |
| | The Alachua County Commission, by authority of the Florida Legislature, selected this site for a courthouse in 1854, moving the county seat from Newnansville. The first courthouse was a frame building completed in 1856. It was demolished on the completion of a red brick courthouse in 1886. The current building, completed in 1958, and its 1962 addition, were erected in response to the continuing expansion of governmental needs in Alachua County. — Map (db m54997) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-163 — City of Gainesville |
| | Designated the County Seat in 1854, and incorporated as a City in 1869, Gainesville takes its name from General Edmund Gaines, captor of Aaron Burr and commander of U.S. Army troops in Florida during the Second Seminole War. The town was the fourth Alachua County Seat of government. The University of Florida and its educational predecessors have been located in Gainesville since the 1850's. — Map (db m58133) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — Confederate Soldier Memorial — (Gainesville Florida) |
| | (North face)
In Memory Of
The
Confederate
Dead
1861 1865
(East face)
"They Fell For Us and For Them
Should Fall
The Tears Of A Nation's Grief."
(West face)
They Counted The Cost
And In Defence Of Right
They Paid The Martyr's Price."
(South face)
Erected By
Kirby Smith
Chapter No. 202
U.D.C.
A.D. 1904.
— Map (db m54998) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-166 — East Florida Seminary |
| | Founded as the Gainesville Academy before the Civil War and later renamed, the East Florida Seminary served Gainesville's need for higher education until the University of Florida was created by the Florida Legislature in 1905. The Seminary school building, erected after an earlier structure burned in 1833, was converted to use as a fellowship hall by the First Methodist Church, at 419 N.E. 1st Avenue. — Map (db m58007) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-164 — First Gainesville Skirmish / Battle of Gainesville |
| | First Gainesville Skirmish The first Civil War gunfire in Gainesville's streets came on February 15, 1864, when a raiding party of 50 men from the 40th Massachusetts Cavalry entered the City to attempt the capture of two trains. The raid was unproductive, for the Federal troops were met and repulsed by the Second Florida Cavalry at what is now Main Street at University Avenue. Five days later, the main Federal force was defeated at the battle of Olustee, 50 miles to the north.
Battle of . . . — Map (db m57122) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-201 — Fort Clarke |
| | Near this site was located Fort Clarke, originally a U.S. Army post during the Seminole War, and afterwards a settlement. The name is preserved in nearby Fort Clarke Church. At this site crossed the early settlement and military road connecting the old county seats at Newnansville (near present-day Alachua) and Spring Grove with Micanopy. Fort Clarke was named for a U.S. Army officer. — Map (db m65191) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-473 — Gainesville's Railroads / Past Railroads of Gainesville |
| | Gainesville's Railroads
The coming of the Florida Railroad opened up the interior of Florida for both settlement and trading and helped establish Gainesville. On February 1, 1859 the Florida Railroad entered town and connected Fernandina Beach with Cedar Key by 1861. Built from the northeast along what is now Waldo Road, the rails crossed 13th Street at Archer Road, and continued southwest along Archer Road to Cedar Key. The 19th century Florida roads were sandy, swampy and nearly . . . — Map (db m55038) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-321 — Josiah T. Walls |
| | Born in 1842 to slave parents in Winchester, Va., little is known of Josiah T. Walls' early life. After a short term of Confederate service, he enlisted in the Third Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops in 1863. Transferred to Picolata on the St. Johns River in 1864, he married Helen Ferguson of Newnansville and in 1865 moved to Alachua County after he was mustered out. After passage of the U.S. Military Reconstruction Act of 1867, Walls entered into Florida politics; as
a delegate to the 1868 State . . . — Map (db m55400) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-585 — Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church |
| | Mount Pleasant Methodist Episcopal Church was founded on July 16, 1867, with the Reverend Isaac Davis serving as the first pastor. The Board of Trustees of the oldest black congregation in Gainesville purchased the lot on which the present church still stands for $160 from Charles W. Brush. He sold lots after the Civil War mainly to African American individuals and institutions in what is now the Pleasant Street Historic District. The founding trustees were Lojurn Davis, Alexander Hamilton, . . . — Map (db m55606) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-577 — Mt. Pleasant Cemetery |
| | The Mt. Pleasant Cemetery was established c. 1883 by the Mt. Pleasant Methodist Episcopal Church as a final resting place for its members and other African Americans in the city of Gainesville. Founded in 1867, the church purchased the 5.38-acre property for $125 in 1886. Among the earliest graves are those of Helen H. Wall (1847-1883) and Jefferson Garrison (1871-1884). Some headstones are of marble or granite carved with symbolic designs, others are simple vaults of stuccoed brick or . . . — Map (db m55915) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-492 — Roper Park / Old City Park |
| | Roper Park is the original site of the parade grounds and barracks for the East Florida Seminary, a non-sectarian
educational institution and a forerunner of the University of Florida, which was located in Gainsville in part due to the
presence of the Seminary. James H. Roper (1835-1883) moved to Gainesville in 1856 after he recieved his degree
from Trinity College in North Carolina. He started the first school, in the new town, the Gainesville Academy, which
moved to this site . . . — Map (db m55994) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-302 — The Bailey House |
| | This is one of the oldest houses in the city of Gainesville. It was constructed about 1850 by Major James B. Bailey, a prominent citizen of Alachua County. Bailey was a leading proponent of moving the county seat away from Newnansville to a new place, later known as Gainesville, part of which was to be located on his own plantation. The Bailey House was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Although it has been slightly altered during its existence, Major Bailey's house . . . — Map (db m55424) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainesville — F-360 — University of Florida Historic Campus |
| | The University of Florida Campus Historic District and two individual campus buildings were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 and 1990 in recognition of their architectural and cultural significance and the coherence of the campus plan. The buildings were designed by architects William A. Edwards from 1905 to 1924 and Rudolph Weaver from 1925 to 1939 in the Collegiate Gothic style. The landscape plan was developed in 1926 by Olmsted Brothers, the firm that designed New . . . — Map (db m54828) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Gainsville — F-165 — Spanish Cattle Ranching |
| | Present-day Gainesville was the center of a large Spanish cattle ranching industry, founded on the labor of native Timuqua Indians, during the 1600s. LaChua, largest of the ranches, was a Spanish corruption of an Indian word, and in turn was corrupted into "Alachua County." English raids destroyed the Indian civilization and Spanish ranches, although large wild herds of cattle were not uncommon during Seminole War years (1835-1842). — Map (db m57743) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Hawthorne — F- 212 — Hawthorne |
| | (Front text)
In 1774, noted botanist William Bartram travelled across what is now the southeastern corner of Alachua County following an old Indian and trading trail. In Florida's territorial period, English-speaking settlers used the same route as a frontier road. By 1840, another road form the north crossed that trail near present day Hawthorne. In 1848, Morrison had begun to operate a mill there on what Bartram had described as a "rapid brook." A United States post office called . . . — Map (db m41100) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), High Springs — F-217 — High Springs, Florida |
| | The northwest region of Alachua County was probably first settled on a permanent basis by English
speaking people during the late 1830's. One of the earliest settlements `in the vicinity was at Crockett
Springs, located about three miles east of present day High Springs. Settlers who were living there
during the 1840's included Fernando Underwood and Marshal Blanton. No town developed in the area
before the latter part of the nineteenth century. In 1884, the Savannah, Florida, . . . — Map (db m64251) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), High Springs — F-359 — Railroading In High Springs |
| | This old passenger depot, built c. 1910, is all that remains of the vast railroad complex located southwest of downtown that made High Springs a bustling railroad center for nearly 50 years. In 1895 the Plant Railroad System chose the town as the site of its divisional headquarters. Rail yards, workshops, and a roundhouse serviced hundreds of steam engines and cars sent to High Springs to be cleaned and repaired. The importance of High Springs as a rail center declined as diesel engines . . . — Map (db m54911) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), LaCrosse — F-287 — LaCrosse, Florida |
| | The LaCrosse area was settled before the Civil War. Cotton was the chief crop. John Eli Futch was a cotton buyer who built a warehouse for cotton, a store to serve the growers, and his home near the store. This store became the first post office and Mrs. Futch named the town LaCrosse. The post office was established April 22, 1881, and the town incorporated December 17, 1897. Before the boll weevil ended the cotton era, LaCrosse had two cotton gins and grist mills. Naval stores was also a . . . — Map (db m54269) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Melrose — Melrose |
| | (Front text)
The region south of Santa Fe Lake was not settled until after the Seminole War in 1842, although it was on the Spanish mission trail from St. Augustine from about 1600 to 1763 and, during the English (1763-1784) and second Spanish (1784-1821) periods, on the overland route to Pensacola. Florida's first Federal highway, the 1826 Bellamy road, followed about the same path. Many of the early landowners came from South Carolina and Georgia. After the decade of Reconstruction . . . — Map (db m41101) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Micanopy — F-706 — Micanopy |
| | Founded after Spain relinquished Florida to the United States in 1821. Micanopy became the first distinct American
town founded in the new US territory. Originally an Indian trading post, Micanopy was built under the auspices of the
Florida Association of New York. A leading member of the company, Moses E. Levy, along with Edward Wanton, a
former Anglo-Spanish Indian trader, played important roles here. In 1822, a select group of settlers and skilled
craftsmen departed New York . . . — Map (db m54271) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Micanopy — F-75 — William Bartram Trail — 1739 ~ 1823 |
| | The great Quaker naturalist of Philadelphia made a long journey through the southeastern states in the 1770's collecting botanical specimens. In May, 1774, he visited the Seminole Chief, Cowkeeper, at the Indian village of Cuscowilla located near this spot. His book, "Travels...", provided the earliest reliable account of North Florida landscape, flora, fauna, and Indian life and his vivid images of local scenes inspired Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Emerson. — Map (db m48676) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), near Alachua — F-597 — Bland Community and Ogden School / Odgen School |
| | Bland Community and Ogden School
Settled in the 1840s by cotton planters from Georgia and South Carolina, Bland became a diverse agrarian area where farmers and sharecroppers raised cattle and grew cotton and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Joseph "Fate" Lafayette Matthews (1868-1934) was the town's most prominent citizen who moved to the area from Bradford County in 1899. He and Thomas A. Doke initially purchased 720 acres of land which was once part of the Samuel R. Pyles . . . — Map (db m64715) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), near Alachua — F-325 — Santa Fe de Toloca |
| | A Spanish Mission was established near here within sight of the Santa Fe River about A.D. 1606 by Franciscan missionaries. The river took its name from the mission, as did the modern town of Santa Fe. At one time, Santa Fe de Toloca was said to be the principal Timucuan Indian mission in a chain that stretched across the interior of la Florida from St. Augustine on the east coast. during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, la Florida was a battleground where England, France, . . . — Map (db m64880) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), near Fairbanks — F- 516 — Turpentine Industry Community and Family |
| | (Front Text)
The naval stores industry was important to maritime power worldwide. Pine tar and pitch were used to seal wooden ships and protect sails and rigging. When settlers came to America - in Florida (1565), in Virginia (1607) and in Massachusetts (1620) - they found vast pine forests with resinous tar and pitch, a scarce commodity for European competitors with
wooden fleets. Settlers at first produced pine pitch and tar by distilling resin-soaked fat pine wood from dead tree . . . — Map (db m42012) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), near Rochelle — F-314 — Madison Starke Perry — 1814- 1865 Planter, Legislator, Governor, Soldier |
| | (Front Text)
Madison Starke Perry, born in Lancaster County, S.C., moved to Alachua County, Florida and became a prosperous planter. His plantation was located about six miles east of Gainesville in the area of present-day Rochelle. Perry was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1849 and to the Florida Senate in 1850, where he gained a wide reputation as an orator. A Democrat, he was elected fourth Governor of Florida, serving from 1857 through 1861. While Perry was . . . — Map (db m55537) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Newberry — F-363 — City of Newberry Historic District |
| | The discovery of hard rock phosphate in Alachua County in 1889 sparked the appearance of boom towns wherever large deposits of the mineral were found. Incorporated in 1894, Newberry thrived until 1914 when the onset of World War I forced the mines to close. The mines did not reopen after the war, causing the economy of the town to collapse and forcing many residents to leave. The buildings in Newberry's historic district reflect the boom town atmosphere of small mining communities founded in . . . — Map (db m65216) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Newberry — F-210 — Newberry, Florida |
| | Only after about 1870 did phosphates become an important world industry. In Alachua County, phosphates were discovered late in the 1870's, but as in other regions of Florida, the major developments in phosphate mining and processing began about 1889. The western part of Alachua County contained the major local deposits of rock phosphates Mines began to spring up after 1890, and by 1893, the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railway, already active in the area, extended its tracks southward . . . — Map (db m64506) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Newberry — William Bartram Trail — Traced 1773 - 1777 — Deep South Region |
| | Blue Sink
Visited by William Bartram, America's first naturalist, in 1774.
Erected by Newberry Garden Club in cooperation with Dist. V. FFGC National Council of State Garden Clubs, Inc.
Fla. Dept. of Transportation — Map (db m48684) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Rochelle — F- 353 — Rochelle Vicinity |
| | (Front text)
Colonel Daniel Newnan led a troop of the Georgia militia on a raid into the area in September 1812 in an attempt to annex Florida to the United States in the War of 1812. The raiders engaged a force of Seminole Indians under the command of Seminole chief King Payne. Several soldiers and Indians were killed in the fierce battle, including King Payne. Ft. Crane, named for Lt. Colonel Ichabod Crane, Commander of the U.S. Army District of Northeast Florida, was built in . . . — Map (db m54642) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Waldo — F-127 — Dickison and His Men / Jefferson Davis' Baggage |
| |
Dickison and His Men
John Jackson Dickison (1816-1902), Florida's famous Civil War guerrilla leader, bivouacked at Camp Baker, south of here, during the closing weeks of the conflict. Dickison and his men became legendary figures. As Company H, Second Florida Cavalry, they engaged in skirmishes, raids, battles, scouting expeditions, and forced marches from the time of organization at Flotard's Pond, Marion County, in 1862, until the force was mustered out at Waldo on May 20, 1865. . . . — Map (db m40315) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Waldo — For All Who Served — ( Waldo, Florida) |
| | (Left )
Police Officer
Waldo
When I start my tour of duty God,
Wherever crime may be,
As I walk the darkened Streets alone,
let me be close to thee.
Please give me understanding
with both the young and old
Let me listen with attention
until their story told.
Let me never make a judgement
in a rash or callous way,
But let me hold my patience,
let each man have his say.
Lord, if some dark and dreary night,
my life you choose to end,
Lord with your . . . — Map (db m41877) HM |
| Florida (Alachua County), Waldo — F-214 — Waldo |
| | (Front text)
The first permanent English-speaking settlers came to the northeast portion of Alachua County in the 1820's. In 1837, during the Second Seminole War, an army post, Fort Harlee, was established on the Santa Fe River about three miles north of this spot. Abandoned as a military installation in 1838, the settlement at Fort Harlee served as a postal center for the surrounding community until 1858. In that year a post office was established at a town being founded at the point . . . — Map (db m41072) HM |
| Florida (Baker County), Olustee — A Legacy Remembered |
| | (Left side text) During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt approved a plan to recruit thousands of unemployed young men
into a "Civilian Conservation Corps" (CCC)
From 1933-1942 the CCC employed over 3 million Americans. They built and repaired roads, planted trees, fought
forest fires, constructed bridges and worked on a variety of other projects.
The fire "lookout" tower in front of you is just one of many fine CCC projects completed in Florida.
(Right side text)
The . . . — Map (db m55674) HM |
| Florida (Baker County), Olustee — Battle of Ocean Pond (or The Battle of Olustee) |
| | Here was fought on February 20, 1864
the Battle of Ocean Pond
under the immediate command of
General Alfred Holt Colquitt
"Hero of Olustee"
This decisive engagement prevented a
Sherman-like invasion of Georgia from
the south.
Erected April 20, 1936
By the Alfred Holt Colquitt Chapter
United Daughters of the Confederacy
Ga. Div. — Map (db m54361) HM |
| Florida (Baker County), Olustee — Brig. Gen. Joseph Finegan |
| | Placed by
The United Daughters
of the Confederacy
Florida Division
In Memory of
Brig. Gen.
Joseph Finegan
Commander of the District of
Middle and East Florida
"So well did he perform
his part that a signal
victory over the Federals
was won in the
Battle of Olustee
Feb. 20, 1864" — Map (db m54978) HM |
| Florida (Baker County), Olustee — Olustee Battlefield |
| | (Right Panel)
Welcome to the Olustee Battlefield
Battlefield Map included with Park
rules and regulations
(Center Panel)
How Many Would Die ?
The morning of February 20, 1864,
dawned clear and cool. The Union army,
commanded by Brigadier General Truman Seymour,
set his force into motion at6:00 a.m. He and his
command of 5,500 men and 16 cannons left
Barber's Plantation (near present-day Macclenny)
and crossed the St. Mary's River heading . . . — Map (db m54917) HM |
| Florida (Baker County), Olustee — The Battle of Olustee |
| | (Front):The Battle of Olustee was fought on this ground February 20th, 1864. Between 5,000 Confederate troops commanded by General Joseph E. Finegan and 6,000 Federal troops under General Truman Seymour. The Federals were defeated with a loss of 2,000 men. The Confederate loss was less than 1,000. (Back):To the men who fought and Triumphed here in defense of their homes and firesides. This monument is erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy aided by the State of . . . — Map (db m13708) HM |
| Florida (Baker County), Olustee — The Yankees are Coming |
| | "At 8 a'clock in the morning on the 20th instant
we were informed that the Yankees were
advancing. A part of the brigade was immediately
ordered to some rifle pits hastily constructed near
at hand, the remainder forming line of battle in
open field. In this position we patiently awaited
the coming of the foe for an hour, when our
General, who is a fair man, concluded to meet
halfway."
- Letter from H.W.B. Athens
Southern Banner, March 9, 1864
Marching west, the Union . . . — Map (db m54829) HM |
| Florida (Baker County), Sanderson — F-18 — Camp at Sanderson |
| | This site was used by both Union and Confederate soldiers as a camp during the campaign of 1864. The camp was used as a Confederate supply depot but it was abandoned on February 9, 1864. From the 9th to the 13th, it was held by Federals and used as a base for raids on Lake City and Gainesville. On February 20 the site was used by Federals attacking Olustee. In retreat from Olustee the camp again fell into Confederate hands. — Map (db m54604) HM |
| Florida (Bay County), Panama City — F-657 — John Christo, Senior |
| | (side A)
Built in 1927 by A.A. Payne, a banker, and bought by John Christo, Sr., the house is significant in architecture, a mixture of styles typical of the late 19th and early 20th centuries which includes Neo-Colonial Revival and Italianate Villa influences and the accomplishments of John Christo, Sr., 1885-1973. He was born to a Greek family on a farm near the village of Kirte, Turkey. As war between Turkey and Bulgaria drew near, he left Turkey and came to America in 1912 at the . . . — Map (db m42117) HM |
| Florida (Bay County), Panama City — F-154 — Panama City Airport |
| | Established 1945 on Fannin Field Panama City-Bay County Airport 1964 Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District 1967 Developed and controlled by Representative Airport Authorities in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Agency Control Tower erected by Federal Aviation Agency 1967 — Map (db m8150) HM |
| Florida (Bay County), Panama City — F-315 — Robert Lee McKenzie's Home and Office |
| | (Front Side): The McKenzie House is a large two-story clapboard frame dwelling built in the Dutch Colonial style typical of the turn of the century houses still standing in Northern Michigan. It was built 1909 by Belle Booth who married R. L. McKenzie in 1912, after which time the house came to be known as the McKenzie House. It stands today as it was enlarged in 1925. This house is significant because it was one of the first houses in a virtually unsettled area of Northwest Florida . . . — Map (db m8155) HM |
| Florida (Bay County), Panama City — Salt Kettle |
| | Used by the Confederaacy during the war between the states to recover salt from seawater Presented by The Confederate Salt Works Chapter of the United Daughters of The Confederacy Dedicated April 20, 1960 — Map (db m8163) HM |
| Florida (Bay County), Panama City — F-425 — St. Andrew Skirmish |
| | Near this site on March 20, 1863, Confederate soldiers commanded by Captain Walter J. Robinson repelled a landing by Union sailors led by Acting Master James Folger of the blockading vessel U.S.S. Roebuck. The 11-man scouting party of Union sailors was seeking to locate a southern civilian vessel near the "Old Town" spring, when they were reportedly ordered to surrender by Captain Robinson. During the ensuing skirmish, several Union sailors were killed and wounded as they fled to their . . . — Map (db m8160) HM |
| Florida (Bay County), Panama City — F-603 — St. Andrew(s) School |
| | The first school in St. Andrew, a community established ca. 1827, was built in 1850. That building burned down. The second school was a two-story wooden structure with two large rooms on each floor. The school had four teachers and 100 students. In 1925, that school burned, six weeks before the summer recess. On July 7, 1926, voters overwhelmingly approved the issuance of bonds totaling $60,000 to build the present school. E.D. Fitchner, a Tallahassee architect, drew the plans for the 12 . . . — Map (db m42116) HM |
| Florida (Bay County), Panama City — F-479 — The Gideon Versus Wainwright Case |
| | This is the site of the landmark Gideon case, after which the Public Defender system was established in Florida and throughout the nation. In 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon (1910-1972) stood trial in this courthouse for the felony of burglary. Lacking funds to hire a lawyer, Gideon requested that a lawyer be appointed to represent him at trial. Gideon’s request was denied, because at that time, a person accused of a non-capital felony did not have a constitutional right to a free lawyer. Gideon . . . — Map (db m42115) HM |
| Florida (Bay County), Panama City — F-477 — The St. Andrew Bay Saltworks |
| | Between 1861 and 1865, the St. Andrew Bay Saltworks, one of the largest producers of salt in the South, contributed to the Confederate cause by providing salt, fish, and cattle for southern troops and citizens. A necessary preservative in those times, salt sold for as much as $50 per bushel, and was produced in wood-fired saltworks on the perimeter of the West Bay, East Bay and North Bay and Lake Powell (a.k.a. Lake Ocala). An estimated 2,500 men, primarily from Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, . . . — Map (db m8158) HM |
| Florida (Bay County), Parker — F-459 — Site of Loftin's Ferry |
| | Loftin’s Ferry, on Pitts Avenue, which later became Parker, was an important part of the major land route called the “Military Road” that ran from Apalachicola through St. Joseph to Marianna and beyond. This road, constructed from 1836 to 1838 under Major J.D. Graham, was the only land link to the City of St. Joseph, bringing travelers, mail and commerce from the north. In 1838, dignitaries attending Florida’s first constitutional convention traveled by stage on this road. The site, . . . — Map (db m42114) HM |
| Florida (Bradford County), Starke — F-13 — Captain Richard C. Bradford |
| | On December 6, 1861, Gov. John Milton signed a law changing the name of New River County to Bradford County. The Legislature had passed the law in honor of Captain Richard G. Bradford of Madison who was killed October 9, 1861, in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island. This battle was fought in an attempt to capture Fort Pickens which protected Pensacola Harbor. Bradford was the first Confederate officer from Florida to die in the War Between the States. — Map (db m15316) HM |
| Florida (Bradford County), Starke — F-431 — Woman's Club of Starke |
| | (Front text) The Woman’s Club of Starke, formerly known as the Mother’s Club, was founded in the late 19th century and held its meetings in the Bradford County High School. Their purpose was to assist the Bradford County High School. Only mothers were accepted as active members with teachers as honorary members. One of their earliest projects was furnishing a room in the school or a library and a study for the principal. They also provided students with books and clothing and hired a . . . — Map (db m34517) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Cape Canaveral — Cape Canaveral Lighthouse |
| | Originally constructed in 1868 overlooking the Cape Canaveral beach. Due to shoreline erosion, the lighthouse was dismantled and moved 1 ½ miles inland in the early 1890's. In July 1894, the light was relit at the new location. — Map (db m23522) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Cape Canaveral — F-628 — Cape Canaveral Lighthouse |
| | On May 21, 1838, Florida territorial delegate Charles Downing requested a lighthouse be built on Cape Canaveral. The first lighthouse completed in Jan. 1848 stood 65-feet tall, had a 55-foot tower and a 10-foot lantern room equipped with 15 lamps on 21-inch reflectors. The brick tower and keeper's home cost under $13,300. Nathaniel Scobie oversaw construction and appointed the first keeper. With the advent of the Civil War, S. Mallory, Confederate Navy Secretary, ordered Florida east coast . . . — Map (db m64798) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Cape Canaveral — Complex 14 |
| | Vc = Ro SQRT(g/Ro+h)
"… one of the most complex tasks ever presented to man in this country -- the achievement of manned flight in orbit around the earth." - John F. Kenedy
Thirty-Fifth President of the United States
This marker commemorates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Project Mercury, which first put free men into space. The four manned orbital capsules were boosted into space by Atlas rockets, which were launched by the United States Air Force from Complex . . . — Map (db m64804) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Cocoa Beach — I Dream of Jeannie |
| | I Dream of Jeannie was part of Cocoa Beach when a television sitcom ran from 1965 to 1979 starring Barbara Eden as a 2000 year old female genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut. The TV series was set in and around Cocoa Beach. Barbara Eden visited Cocoa Beach in 1969 when the “I Dream of Jeannie” street sign was placed at Lori Wilson Park. — Map (db m58754) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Grant — F-629 — Bensen House — Circa 1916 |
| | Atley Bensen Paid $1,200 for the precut yellow pine lumber which arrived by riverboat from Jacksonville in 1916, to build this house for his wife Clara Christensen. The Bensen brothers married the Christensen sisters, both pioneer families of Grant. Atley and Clara lived in the house with sons, Atley Jr. and Russell until they were school age, and then moved to Melbourne, where son Edward Hartman was born in 1928. The Bensen House was rented for about five years until the family returned. Atley . . . — Map (db m55099) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Indian Harbor Beach — F-487 — Winter-Time Ais Indian Town of Pentoaya |
| | In 1605 Florida's Spanish Governor Pedro de Ybarra sent Lt. Alvaro Mexia on a diplomatic mission to the Ais Indians. Mexia recorded his passage from St. Augustine down the coast to the principal Ais Indian town near present-day Vero Beach. At the confluence of Ulumay Lagoon (Banana River Lagoon) and the Great Bay of Ais (Indian River Lagoon) Mexia reported the location of the "winter-time" Ais Indian Town of Pentoaya. He recorded that the 17th century town of Pentoaya was located "directly . . . — Map (db m53152) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Advent Christian Church |
| | On October 10, 1910, the original church, known as the Second Advent Church of Eau Gallie, was formally organized by the Rev. H. V. Skipper. Early meetings were held in neighborhood homes and in the Riverside Hotel, owned by John R. Mathers. Mathers and his family were the first members.
In 1914 a church building was built at 1598 Highland Avenue next to the old Eau Gallie Post Office. There were 30 church members in 1914. The Mathers, Goodwins, Booths, Thompsons, Carters, St. Clairs, . . . — Map (db m49380) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Campbell Park |
| | Many acres in this area were originally owned by Peter Wright a black man and one of the first settlers of this area. He sold his property to Thomas Mason, an English recluse, who later sold the property to Richard W. Goode for $110.
The property became grounds of the Goode House (a hotel), later renamed the Bellevue Hotel (located where the Orange Spot Apartments are now).
About 1924 the Flatiron Building was erected. Part of the property was deeded to the city for a street, and . . . — Map (db m50309) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Corner of Highland and Eau Gallie Blvd. |
| | The First State Bank building was open for business on the south side of Eau Gallie Boulevard in 1883. One day in 1896, the cashier of the First State Bank was seen boarding a northbound train with two large suitcases. He was never heard from again, nor was any of the bank's cash found when the directors went to open the bank the next morning.
The large brick building on the southeast corner of Highland and Eau Gallie Blvd. was the State Bank of Eau Gallie, built in 1925. South of the . . . — Map (db m48990) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Corner of Highland and Law Street |
| | The three story building on the corner of Law and Highland was built by the Gleason family in 1910. The third floor was the Masonic temple. The building was built on some of the highest ground in the area and still had an artesian well with enough pressure to supply water to the third story restroom. The second floor housed the Gleason brothers land office. The lower floor was the State Bank of Eau Gallie which remained open until the depression in the 1920's.
The house on the northwest . . . — Map (db m48982) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Crenshaw Hotel — Site of the First Melbourne Hospital |
| | This is the original building erected by Harry Crenshaw in 1926 and opened as a hotel and apartments in April of that year.
On February 2, 1928, the hotel became the Melbourne Hospital, operated by Dr. and Mrs. I.M. Hay who came here from St. Augustine.
The building served as the area's hospital for nine years, then reverted back to the Crenshaw Hotel and apartments.
The building was completely restored and reopened as a hotel and apartments in May, 1980, by W. C Hersom. — Map (db m48646) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Eau Gallie Bridge to the Beach |
| | The first wooden bridge from Eau Gallie to "Eau Gallie Beach" was started in 1924. The bridge was formally opened in February 1926. Soon after John R. Mathers began plans to build a bridge from the barrier island to the tip of Merritt Island. That bridge, spanning the Banana River was completed in 1927.
The Eau Gallie bridge frequently caught fire. Joe Wickham, who was chief of the volunteer fire department, recalled that during one period the bridge caught fire 16 times in a two week . . . — Map (db m52543) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Eau Gallie Public Library |
| | This library is the second oldest library in Brevard County. It was founded by the members of the Avilah Club in 1898. Its first location was in the Eau Gallie Post Office (See marker on Highland Avenue.)
The Eau Gallie Woman's club took over the function of the library about 1939. The library was then located in Ella Rossetter's insurance office on Ninth Street (now Eau Gallie Boulevard.)
The library at various times has been located in a restaurant, the city hall and the Civic . . . — Map (db m48983) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Eau Gallie Yacht Basin |
| | Aaron Bennett established the Eau Gallie Yacht Basin in 1896. But even before that the basin was the terminus of a steamboat line in the days before the railroad reached Eau Gallie.
Phillip David Barbour, a native of Louisville, KY. was the man who really developed the Yacht basin, beginning about 1920.
He established the Eau Gallie boat concern and made improvements to the harbor. During the period of Barbour's ownership, yachtsmen from all over the country kept their yachts here and . . . — Map (db m48984) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Eau Gallie Yacht Club |
| | The Eau Gallie Yacht Club was completed in January, 1912, at a cost of $3,000. The officers of the club were George F. Paddison, President; Col. C. W. Fowler, Vice-President; J.E.M. Hodgson, Secretary and Treasurer. J.A. Carr was Commodore. The initiation fee was $10, with annual dues at $5.00. A life membership cost $100. The club had a registered membership of 40 with two being life members. A motor boat contest was held each February with valuable prizes offered. In the early part of the . . . — Map (db m48987) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — First Post Office Site |
| | Here at what was once known as Hatterman's Point, in the early years, John Cornthwaite Hector settled and had a store built, completed in 1880 by carpenter U. D. Henderson of Eau Gallie.
Hector was described as "tall, heavy-set, with white hair and a great square beard. He was strong as a bull." Most of the time he wore a ridiculous bowler on his head. This was influenced, undoubtedly, by his British origin.
In 1878, when Hector first appeared in the area, he was about 43 years old. . . . — Map (db m48889) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Florida East Coast Railroad |
| | Henry M. Flagler, Florida East Coast Railroad owner, was influenced to extend his railroad south from Rockledge by a Melbourne resident: E.P. Branch. The railroad tracks were built into Eau Gallie about 1892. Considerable delay was experienced in building the railroad bridge over the Eau Gallie River. The tracks reached Melbourne June, 1893, and the first train reached Melbourne July 3, 1893 (a Monday). The same day the Melbourne State Bank opened its doors. The day before, the first service . . . — Map (db m50308) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — F-610 — Florida Institute of Technology |
| | A 37-cent donation, given to Florida Institute of Technology founder Jerome P. Keuper (1921-2002), would launch one of the most remarkable stories in American higher education. Keuper, a scientist working at Cape Canaveral, founded Florida Tech in 1958 to meet a critical need for scientists and engineers in America's race for space. Florida Tech quickly attracted the world's foremost rocket scientists to its halls. It awarded its first honorary doctorate in 1962 to astronaut Virgil "Gus" . . . — Map (db m53822) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Front Street |
| | Front Street was the original business section of Melbourne. It came into existence in the 1880's as dry goods stores, grocery stores, a fish house boat building and the post office were located along the waterfront.
In 1894, Melbourne's second newspaper, The Melbourne Times, was founded in a building on Front Street. The population of the town at the time was 157.
The Riverside Hotel was on the east side of Front Street. A city dock extended 1,400 feet into the river and steamboats . . . — Map (db m48886) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Gen. John B. Castleman House |
| | This house was built prior to 1900 by Gen. John B. Castleman, a veteran of the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. Gen. Castleman, from Louisville, KY., used this as his winter home for many years.
The General was active in political and civic affairs in Kentucky, and here in Florida enjoyed cruising the Indian River in his yacht. He was one of the prime movers in the building of the first Eau Gallie Yacht Club.
Gen. Castleman died in May, 1918, in Louisville, Ky.
Sponsored by: Dr. and Mrs. Jack Bechtel — Map (db m49039) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Ginter Building |
| | In 1926 the Ginter Building was constructed by Clifford Ginter. It was built as a professional building with natural wood floors and high ceilings. The Ginter Building went up during an era of expansion in Eau Gallie, the Florida land boom of the 1920's.
There were no doors or windows on the north side of the building because the railroad cut was there. The Ginter's later acquired the cut. The north section of the building had been used as a store. Several doctors had their offices in the . . . — Map (db m49359) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Harbor City Hotel |
| | A spur track for the Florida East Coast Railway was once located on the north side of this site. The track went out on a dock where freight and passengers were loaded onto river boats for the journey south.
In 1902, the East Coast Lumber and Supply Co. built its planing mill and novelty works at this site. A waterwheel powered by an artesian well created electricity for the mill.
In 1925, the Harbor City Hotel was built here. Estimated cost of the building was $150,000. The name was . . . — Map (db m49042) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Henegar School Complex |
| | The western most building of this complex was built in the period 1919-1921 and the first high school graduating class graduated May 12, 1921 with 13 students.
The building was soon overflowing and six "shacks" were built to care for the surplus students.
The High School building (western building) was completed in 1926. William Christen was the architect.
Even that was insufficient and the "primary" building (now destroyed) was erected in 1928.
The year 1921, when this . . . — Map (db m49940) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Highland and St. Clair Street |
| | The Florida East Coast Railway arrived in Eau Gallie on May 20, 1893. The first engine arrived on June 24, 1893. A ticket from Jacksonville to Eau Gallie was $7.00. Eau Gallie was the terminus while construction continued to Miami. A "Y" was built in downtown so that trains could turn around and head back north. A spur line ran down to the Indian River where the library and city park are located. Cargo was transported onto the steamboats for transportation south for three years thus creating a . . . — Map (db m49248) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — History of the 1900 Building |
| | 1924
The midway city of Melbourne boasts the grand opening of the Melbourne Hotel. Built by developer Elton Hall.
Late 1920's to Early 1960's
Several specialty shops, a barbershop, a taxi dispatch station and drug store enjoyed bustling business on the first floor. The Van Croix Theatre was built adjacent to the building.
1960's
U.S. Route 1 was widened to allow for increased traffic flow… an end to store front parking for the first floor shops.
1970's
The . . . — Map (db m50745) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Hodgson Brothers Store and Boatways |
| | Alexander R. Hodgson, H.U. Hodgson and John Edwin Hodgson, brothers, together with their families,came to Eau Gallie about 1883. they founded the Hodgson Brothers mercantile business at this
location in the 1890s. they later added a marine
ways and machine shop
For a number years the Hodgsons operated a
small steamboat in connection with their
business, as well as having an orange grove on
the south side of the Eau Gallie river.
When John Edwin Hodgson died in june, 1918, the
whole town . . . — Map (db m49046) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — F-538 — Holy Trinity |
| | First organized in 1884, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church was erected in 1886 on land donated by Lucy Boardman, who also provided plans for the building. Founding members of the congregation included the Goode, Campbell, Miller, Ely, Ellis and Grubb families as well as Hector McBride, Gibbs, and Mason. The church built of virgin Georgia heart pine, was located south of Crane Creek. Members from the north side of the creek arrived by boat and after 1895, by footbridge. The building was moved in . . . — Map (db m52927) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Houston Pioneer Cemetery |
| | The pioneer Houston family built its first home just southeast of this location. It was customary in those days of the nineteenth century to bury the dead on the family property, thus this cemetery was established in 1883 when 27 year old Samuel Houston died on February 17, 1883.
The first settlers, John C. Houston (July 18, 1813 to Nov. 22, 1885) and Mary Virginia Houston (Feb. 19, 1823 to Feb. 13, 1894) are buried here as well as other family members and the children of the Braddock, . . . — Map (db m49047) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — F-572 — James Wadswsorth Rossetter House |
| | Descended from 17th Century New England pioneers, James Rossetter (1863-1921) was born in Hamilton County, Florida. Rossetter arrived in Eau Gallie in 1902 and became a leader in the local fishing industry, harvesting the many local waterways as a charter partner of the Indian River & Lake Worth Fish Company. Later, he would form his own wholesale fishing enterprise and would go on to develop a fish pound at the Bight of Canaveral, precursor of Port Canaveral. The James W. Rossetter House began . . . — Map (db m49214) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Land Yacht Port-O-Call |
| | Land Yacht Port-O-Call, travel trailer park, originally for Airstream trailers only, was begun in 1969 on 21 acres leased from Melbourne Airport. In 1979 seven and one half acres were added to the park, making room for a total of 647 trailers.
Much of the work of developing the park was done by the residents themselves who were retirees from all across the United States and Canada. The park became a small community with its own post office, recreation hall and library. As in most . . . — Map (db m52376) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Little Red Schoolhouse — Melbourne Florida's First School |
| | Melbourne's oldest surviving schoolhouse built 1883 by John Goode at his house on the river. Both black and white students, attended 5-6 summer months, sat on benches. Wrote on slates, drank from well near by. Bought by South Brevard Historical Society and moved to FL Tech 1970.
Marked 2005 Abigail Wright Chamberlin, Daughters of American Revolution & South Brevard Historical Society — Map (db m55420) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Melbourne Hotel |
| | The Melbourne Hotel was first opened on the evening of September 23, 1924, with several hundred guests in attendance.
Elton Hall was the promoter of the hotel and celebrated his 36th birthday on the day of the opening.
That same year (1924), the Melbourne Municipal Band was organized (D.P. Barber, Director), the Melbourne State Bank opened in the "banking rooms of the hotel," prize fighter Jack Dempsy stopped at the Maddox Cafe in Melbourne, and a bear was killed near the city by . . . — Map (db m50320) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Melbourne Ice Plant — This building is on the National Register of Historic Places |
| | This building was started in December, 1926, by Florida Power and Light Co. as a 150-ton ice plant. The plant was to be built in units, with the first unit having a 50-ton capacity. Cost of the building was about $100,000.
However, the ice plant never went beyond the 50-ton capacity, probably because other ice plants were built closer to the South Florida vegetable fields.
Before this plant was built, one in Fort Pierce shipped ice to Melbourne on the Florida East Coast Railway. . . . — Map (db m48887) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Melbourne Public Library |
| | The library began in Mrs. Campbell's store called The Bazaar, on lower New Haven Avenue, in 1918.
It soon outgrew the store, moved to a building on the corner of New Haven Ave. and Vernon Place, then across the street to the display room of the Ford Motor Co.
In 1922, the books were moved to the office of Dr. I. K. Hicks, upstairs over the Ford Motor Co.
Outgrowing Hicks' office, the books were stored in a feed store on Melbourne Court for a time.
The first library building . . . — Map (db m50307) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Myles Building |
| | This building was erected in 1913 and contained a billiard parlor and restaurant on the ground floor, and the Midway Hotel upstairs. The Melbourne Times moved from its Front Street location to this building almost as soon as it was finished, and remained here about four years.
Following Prohibition, the billiard parlor became Shorty's Bar, and it is said that mobster Al Capone once played pool here.
When the local school needed more classrooms (1916-1920), students had to attend some . . . — Map (db m49939) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — F-441 — Naval Air Station Melbourne |
| | This site was the 129-building Naval Air Station constructed at the Melbourne Municipal Airport at the beginning of World War II. It was commissioned as Operational Training Unit No. 2 on October 20, 1942 and closed on February 15, 1946. The Station was used for training newly commissioned Navy and Marine pilots. There were over 2,200 pilots who trained in Grumman F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat fighter planes. Of the pilots trained there, 63 died in aerial accidents and two enlisted men died in . . . — Map (db m52374) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Old City Hall Complex |
| | Brevard Art Museum was at one time City Hall, police, and fire department of Eau Gallie. Whenever there was a fire, a siren, located on top of the three story roof, would inform all the local volunteers they were needed. Local businessmen on Highland would push the fire truck out of the station onto Highland.
During the depression the city did not have enough money for a new battery for the fire truck. The volunteers would push the truck down Bud Yeager Drive and pop the clutch to start . . . — Map (db m49279) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Old Eau Gallie Post Office and Surrounding Area |
| | This building was the Eau Gallie Post Office circa 1900-1925. Before the advent of automobiles, old-timers recall tying their horses and buggies to the big oak tree in the back.
The building just south of the Post Office was Eau Gallie's first theater, operated by Harry Sample. Movies, stage plays and minstrel shows were shown here and the Eau Gallie school, located at that time across the street, used the theater for theatrical productions.
The two-story building on the corner of . . . — Map (db m49235) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Orange Spot Inn |
| | The original hotel on this site was built in 1884 on property which Richard W. Goode purchased from Thomas Mason first white settler of Melbourne. Mrs. R.W. Goode operated the "Rooming House." She called it the Goode House.
In 1894, the Campbell family purchased the property, enlarged the hotel and changed the name to the Bellevue Hotel. A water wheel and a cement pool were added.
In the early part of the twentieth century, tennis matches were held on the Bellevue's tennis courts and . . . — Map (db m50311) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Population on the Rise |
| | In 1880 about 200 people lived in the cities of Eau Gallie and Melbourne. Eau Gallie's population in 1886 was 50. By 1890 the combined population in and around the two settlements was 374, of which 187 actually lived within the two communities.
In Eau Gallie the population surged from 172 to 329 between 1900 and 1910. This was partly due to the arrival of the winter quarters of the Kentucky Military Institute. Each year the Institute brought about 150 teachers, students and employees to . . . — Map (db m49123) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Roesch House |
| | The exact year the Roesch house was built is unknown. It was probably constructed sometime after 1892. It was constructed by William Russell Roesch. Roesch was made city treasurer of Eau Gallie in 1887. Roesch was also mayor of Eau Gallie numerous times. He served from 1896 through 1897, from 1908 through 1909 and from 1924 through 1926.
President Woodrow Wilson appointed W. R. Roesch as the postmaster for Eau Gallie in 1913. President Wilson reappointed him again in 1918. In 1921 . . . — Map (db m49136) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Site of First Houston Homestead |
| | The first hickory log cabin built by John C. Houston, original settler of Eau Gallie, was erected in this area. Houston came here in 1859 with his older sons and 10 slaves. He had served in the U.S. Army during the Seminole Indian wars and had been stationed at an army fort in Enterprise.
When the large cabin was completed (Houston had 8 children), the pioneer went to get his family. It took 3 weeks to drive the covered wagons and the herd of cattle and horses from Enterprise to the new . . . — Map (db m49240) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Site of the B-24 Crash During W.W. II |
| | On the night of March 26, 1944, three B-24 aircraft were flying loose formation from Chatham field in Savannah, Georgia on a training flight. Somewhere over the Atlantic ocean, two of the planes went down without even giving a distress signal. The third B-24 developed engine trouble, losing power in three engines. As the fourth engine began to fail, the crew tried to land at Melbourne Naval Air Station (Melbourne International Airport). The aircraft crashed just west of the Florida East Coast . . . — Map (db m48979) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — St. John's Episcopal Church |
| | St. John's Episcopal Church parish was founded in 1890, but the church was not built until 1897. The first services were held Feb. 20, 1898. The design of the church is copied from one in Como, Canada, where the Hodgson family formerly lived. The Hodgsons became one of the first families of St. John's. Funds for building the church were raised by having musicals, plays and Valentine day entertainments at the casino on Guava Avenue and at parishioners' homes. The interior beams of the church are . . . — Map (db m49137) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — St. Paul's United Methodist Church |
| | A Methodist circuit rider, with the aid of early settlers in Eau Gallie, erected a small mission cut out of logs on the north bank of Horse Creek. It was finished with a puncheon floor. Travel to the services was by boat. From 1888 until 1900 the Methodists met in the new Baptist church located on the corner of Montreal and Highland Avenue when it was not being used by its congregation.
The Eau Gallie Methodists were issued a charter in 1900 and a building drive was begun. A sanctuary was . . . — Map (db m49237) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — The James W. Rossetter House |
| | James Wadsworth Rossetter, Sr., came to Eau Gallie in 1902. He purchased this property in 1903. The house was built before the War Between the States and is on the former site of the Houston family's slave quarters. One member of that pioneer family was born in the older part of this house. This house has been enlarged over the years to its present size.
Two of the interesting features of the interior of the house are the ceilings and walls which are constructed with small pieces of wood . . . — Map (db m48975) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Tin Can Tourist Campground |
| | Almost this entire block was a campground for tin can tourists in the year 1918(?) - 1923. Travelers from all over the country camped here in tents, homemade trailers and even wooden shelters built on the back of Model T Ford trucks. Out houses and hand pumps provided sanitary facilities and water. Campers washed in outdoor tubs. Cats, dogs and chickens roamed the campground. "Gospel cars" often came to the campground, bringing with them "hell-fire and collection plates". Campers would gather . . . — Map (db m50746) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Trysting Steps and Bluff Walk |
| | Originally wooden steps mounted the bluff, providing a means for pedestrians to go from the front street business section to the hotels and residences along the high bluff.
At the top of the steps, along bluff walk, were the Carelton Hotel, built by Emma Strawbridge, and the Idlewylde Hotel. The Carelton was destroyed by fire in 1904 and rebuilt almost immediately.
(The Idlewyled was also destroyed.) The second Carleton Hotel burned in 1925.
The steps were a popular place for . . . — Map (db m48888) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — Twin Oaks |
| | The two large oak trees that lent their presence to the naming of this house have been damaged and subsequently cut down because of a windstorm. The house has significant history because it was built in the early part of the twentieth century for a Mrs. Glenn whose son, Frank was a student at Kentucky Military Institute. The Institute was located just off Sarno Road, on the south shores of the Eau Gallie River, west of the railroad tracks.
In the period of about 1917-1920, Mrs Glenn's . . . — Map (db m49280) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne — F-764 — William H. Gleason House |
| | The William H. Gleason House was built around 1884 by William Henry Gleason (c. 1830-1902) and his wife Sarah Griffin Gleason. Gleason came to Florida in 1866 with his wife and two sons from Eau claire, Wisconsin, and settled in Dade County. In 1870, he bought a 16,000-acre tract of land in Brevard County and named the area Eau Gallie ("Eau" from his hometown, meaning water, and "Gallie," a derivative of a Seminole word meaning rocky). Convinced the area was likely to develop, Gleason moved his . . . — Map (db m63911) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne Beach — Community Chapel of Melbourne Beach Florida — Non-Denominational — Built in 1892 |
| | This historic Chapel, the oldest Church on the Beaches, has been the center of community religious life since it was built in 1892 on land donated in 1890 by Mr. And Mrs. Henry Whiting.
At a cost of $200 and a donation for interior finishing, the Chapel was constructed by volunteers from the Melbourne Beach Sunday School, a forerunner group of the Chapel.
The first Chapel Service was held on January 10, 1892 and Services were held in the afternoons and seasonally for many years. The . . . — Map (db m52929) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne Beach — Melbourne & Atlantic Railroad — Melbourne Beach Historic Site — Cyrus E. Graves |
| | On this site, in February of 1889, Captain Alfred Wilcox took delivery of a shipment of steel rail that would be used in the building of the Melbourne & Atlantic Railroad. Over the coming months, railroad track would be laid to connect the Indian River with the Atlantic Ocean. Starting on the western end of the Melbourne Beach Pier and running the distance of the pier and then continuing along a straight path to the Atlantic Ocean (where Ocean Ave would later be built) the Melbourne & Atlantic . . . — Map (db m52544) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne Beach — Melbourne Beach Pier |
| | Constructed 1889
Restored 1985
Originally built by the Melbourne and Atlantic Railroad company, this pier was the gateway to the barrier island. A "Port Facility" for tourists, residents, freight, and mail, it supported a standard gauge railroad from the west end of the pier to the Atlantic Ocean one half mile to the east. This historic landmark was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 12, 1984.
The Florida Department of Natural Resources and the Florida . . . — Map (db m53167) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne Beach — F-688 — Myrtle Cottage |
| | Constructed on this site in 1888, Myrtle Cottage was built by Mrs. Hannah Cummings and her daughter Grace, and was the first house in the area known as Melbourne Beach. The house's construction was made difficult by the lack of roads or docks, and while it was being built the Cummings family camped on the beach at the nearby House of Refuge, a shipwreck lifesaving station. After its completion, the family lived in the large house and took in boarders, including Major Cyrus Graves, Mr. and Mrs. . . . — Map (db m52569) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne Beach — F-640 — Old Melbourne Beach Town Hall |
| | This building was constructed in 1908 facing the Indian River Lagoon in the area now know as Ryckman Park in Melbourne Beach. It originally held offices of the Melbourne Beach Improvement Company. The officers, Capt. Rufus Beaujean, son Donald Beaujean and Lawrence Ryckman made plans for the town which included the pier, lot sites, roads, and a railway which ran from the Indian River to the Atlantic Ocean. Eventually, the building became the Melbourne Beach Town Hall and Post Office. In 1953, a . . . — Map (db m53166) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne Beach — F-565 — Possible Vicinity of Juan Ponce de Leon’s Landing |
| | While there is disagreement among scholars, it is believed that this site may be in an area where Juan Ponce de Leon made landfall in April 1513. It has long been thought that this event too place near St. Augustine, based upon studies of de Leon's compass headings that did not account for the inability of 16th century navigators to accurately determine longitude, magnetic compass deviations, or the effects of the Gulf Stream and prevailing winds. Professional navigator Douglas Peck re-traced . . . — Map (db m53148) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne Beach — The Villa Marine |
| | The Villa Marine Hotel was erected in 1912 by W.L. Sweet. Its construction provided a sorely needed boost for Melbourne Beach as a vacation resort, for other well known resorts north and south were by this time outstripping this community in growth, prosperity, and renown.
The concrete block for this building were manufactured on the site. A deep pit was dug to provide sand for blocks and for mortar. Lumber and other materials were brought by boat across from Melbourne.
The Villa . . . — Map (db m52928) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Melbourne Village — F-542 — Original Melbourne Village Hall |
| | This community hall was constructed, circa 1941, as a barracks on the Banana River Naval Air Station. Following World War II, the Naval Air Station became Patrick Air Force Base. In 1948, this building was declared surplus, and sold to the American Homesteading Foundation (AHF), located in Melbourne Village, Florida. The building was barged down the Banana River and Indian River to Melbourne and trucked on the then two-lane U.S. Route 192 to this location. As the center of Village life, the . . . — Map (db m52733) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Merritt Island — SATAN Tracking Antenna |
| | The primary function of the SATAN tracking antenna was to receive radio signals in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) range of 136 to 137 megahertz from orbiting unmanned spacecraft.
In service from 1964 until 1979 the SATAN Antenna supported the tracking of over sixty weather or scientific satellites.
These satellites resulted in our present understanding of weather, earth resources, planetary and interplanetary phenomena. — Map (db m13923) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Satellite Beach — Percy L. Hedgecock — In memory of — 1916 - 1987 |
| | A strong Christian man who cared for the needs of others more than his own. Founder and first Mayor of Satellite Beach. A man who invested his time, talent and resources to help others. Through 16 years of dedicated service as Mayor, from 1957 to 1973, his vision and leadership helped this town of 400 develop into a debt-free city of 10,000 of which all can be proud. Percy's beliefs and legacy to each of us:
God put us on this earth to help others.
Have faith that God is good.
Lead . . . — Map (db m48978) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Satellite Beach — United States Air Force — 1976 - 2075 |
| | The men and women of the Air Force Eastern Test Range proudly dedicate this monument to our national progress in missile and space technology in recognition of the American revolution Bicentennial. Erected on site of support elements for early space development, this marker contains memorabilia symbolic of the great national effort that launched the United States into the space age. To be opened in the year 2075, contents of this time capsule are preserved for use by patriotic citizens . . . — Map (db m57602) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Titusville — F-602 — The Addison/Ellis Canal |
| | In 1911, Edgar W. Ellis and J. H. Beckwith put together a consortium of developers known as the Titusville Fruit and Farm Lands Company. They acquired 22,500 acres in the western portion of the old Delespine Grant with plans to drain marshland in the St. Johns River valley, to make the land usable for agricultural purposes. By 1913, 43 miles of lateral canals had been dug and work began on the Addison/Ellis Canal, which led from Addison Creek to the outlying vegetable fields. The canal was . . . — Map (db m50129) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Titusville — F-558 — The Pritchard House — 1891 |
| | Captain James Pritchard bought a lot from Mary Titus, and in the spring of 1891 contracted Pleasant J. Hall, who had built St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church, to build a Queen Anne style house of heart pine. It appears today much like it did then. On the first floor is a main entrance hall, a stairway to the second floor, parlor and dining room. The kitchen was separated from the main living area by an open passage, now closed in with a side door. A narrow stairway ascends from the kitchen to the . . . — Map (db m25752) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), Titusville — F-486 — Windover Archaeological Site |
| | Discovered by accident in 1982, the Windover site is a burial place of Early Native Americans who inhabited this region 7,000 to 8,000 years ago. The burials were placed underwater in the peat of the shallow pond. This peat helped to preserve normally perishable artifacts and human tissues. The site contains the largest skeletal sample in the New World and the oldest bottle gourd found north of Mexico - two features that add to its significance. It also includes the largest and most complex . . . — Map (db m60342) HM |
| Florida (Brevard County), West Melbourne — F-619 — Union Cypress Railway — 1913-1932 |
| | This 18.5-mile standard-gauge railway was built to carry logs from the large cypress/pine holdings of George W. Hopkins, at Deer Park, to the Union Cypress sawmill just south of Melbourne. Two new and seven used steam locomotives would eventually ride the 50-lb. rails, crossing the St. Johns River on a 2,850-foot wooden trestle south of Lake Sawgrass. This was the first direct route across the St. Johns for 80 miles south of Enterprise, preceding the Kissimmee Highway (U.S. 192) by 6 years. . . . — Map (db m52423) HM |
| Florida (Broward County), Coral Springs — Museum of Coral Springs History |
| | Coral Ridge Properties built the City's first real estate office in 1964 at the intersection of Route 441 and Wiles Road, just outside the City limits. This 30-by-20 foot single-room wooden structure displayed maps and plats of subdivisions, none of which had been built in 1964. In 1966 Coral Ridge Properties built a large administration building at 9551 Sample Road and offered the real estate office to the City, provided they move it. It was moved to 4500 Woodside Drive and became Coral . . . — Map (db m47421) HM |
| Florida (Broward County), Davie — F-534 — Old Davie School |
| | This historic structure was the first permanent school in the Everglades and is now Broward County’s oldest existing school building. The Davie School was designed in 1917 by August Geiger (born 1888), who came to Miami in 1905 from New Haven, Connecticut and later became one of South Florida’s most well known early architects. The school opened its doors in 1918 to 90 students and was in continuous use as a school until 1980. The masonry vernacular, concrete structure is topped by a shallow . . . — Map (db m41666) HM |
| Florida (Broward County), Fort Lauderdale — Evergreen Cemetery — Established 1910 |
| | Many Civil War veterans are buried at Evergreen Cemetery in addition to the founding families of Fort Lauderdale including the Stranahans (who built Stranahan house on SE 6th Avenue), Bryans, Kings, Cromarties (the maiden name of Ivy Julia Stranahan (1881-1971) and the Olivers. This burial place for the early residents of Fort Lauderdale was established by Mr. and Mrs. E.T. King in 1910. In 1910 or 1911, a funeral director from Miami moved many bodies from the first burial ground, in the . . . — Map (db m47423) HM |
| Florida (Broward County), Fort Lauderdale — F-716 — Fort Lauderdale Beaches Wade-Ins |
| | On July 4, 1961, local NAACP president Eula Johnson and black physician Dr. Von D. Mizell began a series of nationally publicized "wade-ins" of Fort Lauderdale beaches. Johnson, Mizell, a third black adult, and four black college students participated in the first "wade-in." As many as 200 African-American residents took part in subsequent "wade-ins" during July and August 1961. The demonstrations were prompted by Broward County's failure to build a road to provide access to "Colored Beach," . . . — Map (db m48852) HM |
| Florida (Broward County), Fort Lauderdale — Indian Haulover |
| | Bahia Mar is the site of a haulover where Indians took their canoes from New River Sound into the Atlantic Ocean. A Second Seminole War fort named for Major William Lauderdale was built near here in 1838. It was active until the War ended in 1842. House of Refuge Number Four, originally built about two miles to the north in 1876, was moved to this site in 1892. Barefoot mailmen walked their weekly route from Hypoluxo to Miami along these beaches. The Coast Guard began using the House of Refuge . . . — Map (db m47419) HM |
| Florida (Broward County), Fort Lauderdale — Mackey Airlines, Inc. |
| | Founded in 1946 by Colonel Joseph Mackey, Mackey Airlines became (August 5, 1952) the first certificated carrier in Broward authorized to engage in scheduled foreign transportation. Operations began January 2, 1953 between Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Nassau, N.P. Bahamas. Increased certification later allowed service to all Bahama Islands from Fort Laudrdale-Hollywood, Miami, West Palm Beach, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Jacksonville. Mackey operated without mail pay or subsidy. . . . — Map (db m61917) HM |
| Florida (Broward County), Fort Lauderdale — F-404 — Old Fort Lauderdale Village |
| | Old Fort Lauderdale Village at the intersection of the New River and the Florida East Coast Railway (F.E.C.) incorporates four turn-of-the-20th century historic buildings. These include the 1905 New River Inn, the 1905 Philemon N. Bryan House, the 1905 Acetylene Building, and the 1907 King-Cromartie House. The New River Inn houses a Museum of History and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built for Philemon N. Bryan from hollow concrete block made on site. Bryan, a . . . — Map (db m63880) HM |
| Florida (Broward County), Fort Lauderdale — The Lewis Family |
| | Coming over from the Bahamas sometime before 1792, Suries and Frankee Lewis and their three sons settled on the banks of the New River and were the first permanent settlers of European descent in what in now Broward County. In 1793, after reports of their presence reached the Spanish royal governor, Juan Nepomuceno de Quesada, in St. Augustine, a reconnaissance expedition was ordered to investigate their settlement and their rumored ties to William Augustus Bowles, a former British army officer . . . — Map (db m63656) HM |
| Florida (Calhoun County), Blountstown — F-324 — Cochranetown - Corakko Talofv |
| | (This is Florida's first bi-lingual marker. The second language is Apalachicola Muskogee/Creek.) Apalachicola Creek Indians permanently settled Calhoun County in 1815; wars forced them out of Alabama. A new Tribal Town was built by Chief Tuskie Hajo Cochrane between Old River and Noble Lake. Cochrane is an anglisized version of his Creek name Corakko pronounced “Cho’thlakko” which means Horse. The 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek recognized Cochranetown with its 100 families as part . . . — Map (db m48489) HM |
| Florida (Calhoun County), Bountstown — F-120 — Blunt Reservation and Fields |
| | This is the western boundary of a reservation set aside the by the treaty of Fort Moultrie and given to John Blunt (Blount) one of the six principal chiefs of the Florida Indians. The Apalachicola River was the eastern boundary. The treaty was ratified January 2, 1824. Signers of the treaty were William P. Duval, James Gadsden, Bernard Sequi, Nea Mathla, John Blunt, Tuski Hajo, Mulatto King, Emathlochee and Econchatimico. Bountstown was named after him. — Map (db m48481) HM |
| Florida (Charlotte County), Punta Gorda — Site of Hotel Punta Gorda |
| | Hotel Punta Gorda, one the first buildings of any kind constructed in Punta Gorda, opened in January 1888 and served over 3300 guests within its first season. The three story building contained 150 rooms, all with a view of the waters of Charlotte Harbor. The hotel, built in the Queen Anne style, included clapboard siding, multi-paned windows, round conical roofed towers, and a hipped roof. Although located in a then remote part of Florida, the hotel had such modern conveniences as gas . . . — Map (db m32408) HM |
| Florida (Citrus County), Crystal River — Bicentennial Park War Memorial |
| | WW I, WW II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Desert Storm heroes. — Map (db m3528) WM |
| Florida (Citrus County), Inverness — F-560 — Historic Citrus County Courthouse |
| | Citrus County was formed from Hernando County in 1887 and Mannfield, in the center of the new county, was chosen as the temporary county seat by the state legislature. After a political tug-of-war and several elections, Inverness was chosen as the permanent county seat in 1891. In June, 1911, the Board of County commissioners adopted a resolution to erect a new building to replace the Victorian style wood courthouse on the square. The 1912 Courthouse, designed by architect Willis R. Biggers, . . . — Map (db m3529) HM |
| Florida (Clay County), Green Cove Springs — F-480 — Fort Fransisco De Pupo |
| | Pupo is first mentioned in 1716 as the place where the trail from the Franciscan Indian missions and the Apalachee (present-day Tallahassee) to St. Augustine crossed the river. The Spanish Government built the fort on the St. Johns River some time before 1737. Pupo teamed with Fort Picolata on the Eastern shore. These forts protected the river crossing and blocked ships from continuing up stream. In 1738 after an attack by the British-allied Yuchi Indians, the fort was enlarged to a 30-by-16 . . . — Map (db m62187) HM |
| Florida (Clay County), Green Cove Springs — Green Cove Springs |
| | High ground along the river and a flowing mineral spring drew the first inhabitants to this area some 7000 years ago, but historic development dates from 1816 when George I. F. Clarke erected a sawmill in this vicinity under a Spanish land grant. The first settlement, called White Sulfur Springs, was established in 1854, with a wharf, a store, and several houses clustered around a public square. During the Civil War, Federal troops frequently skirmished with Confederate forces in the vicinity, . . . — Map (db m63712) HM |
| Florida (Clay County), Green Cove Springs — F-399 — The Bellamy Road |
| | The Old Bellamy Road intersects Highway 17 near this point. In 1824, the First session of the 18th United States Congress appropriated $20,000.00 to develop a public road in the Territory of Florida between Pensacola and St. Augustine. It was to follow as nearly as possible on the pre-existing Old Mission Trail. The St. Augustine to Tallahassee segment was contracted to John Bellamy. He completed this in 1826, using Native American guides and his own slaves. Remnants of the old sand road are . . . — Map (db m62644) HM |
| Florida (Clay County), Green Cove Springs — F-496 — The Village Improvement Association Woman's Club |
| | On February 20, 1883, the Village Improvement Association (V.I.A.) of Green Cove Springs was organized. Meetings were held in members’ homes. Money was raised to beautify the town, most of which was used for boardwalks, and 70 feet of clay pavement was laid. In 1888, the V.I.A. formed a children’s auxiliary known as the Star Branch, and ran the first public library until December 1961, when the Clay County Public Library was formed. A kindergarten was maintained from 1900 to 1904 in the public . . . — Map (db m65099) HM |
| Florida (Collier County), Naples — Lester J. and Dellora A. Norris |
| | In grateful appreciation to
Lester J. and Dellora A. Norris
Acquisition of this park was made possible when Lester J. and Dellora A. Norris arranged the purchase of the land on April 24, 1964, through their St. Charles, Illinois charities.
The Board of County Commissioners of Collier County named the park Delnor Park, as a tribute to Dellora A. Norris, until the state purchased it from the county in 1970 and renamed it Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Recreation Area. . . . — Map (db m15877) HM |
| Florida (Collier County), Naples — Rosemary Cemetery |
| | Opened in 1931, Rosemary Cemetery was originally established on twenty acres of land given by Edward W. Crayton, a prominent Naples citizen and president of the Naples Improvement Company. It served as the town's only cemetery until 1955. The graves of several pioneer families were moved to this site during the 1930's from an earlier cemetery once located at Third Street and Tenth Avenue South in old Naples. Among those believed buried here are John and Madison Weeks, Naples' first permanent . . . — Map (db m15878) HM |
| Florida (Columbia County), Fort White — F-362 — Town of Fort White |
| | The town of Fort White, named for a former Second Seminole War fort built nearby in 1837, was founded in 1870 and flourished briefly after the arrival of the railroad in 1888. Phosphate mining and the growing of citrus and cotton sparked a boom that before 1900 made Fort White the second largest city in Columbia County with a population of nearly 2,000. The boom collapsed when severe freezes in the winter of 1896-1897 destroyed the local citrus industry. Phosphate mining ceased by 1910, and the . . . — Map (db m64600) HM |
| Florida (Columbia County), High Springs — Bellamy Road |
| | Florida Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Near this point, the Bellamy Road crossed the Santa Fe River. The road was named for its builder, John Bellamy, a civil engineer. Approved by Congress in 1824 and completed in 1826, it was the first Federally funded road in Florida, connecting St. Augustine and Tallahassee. — Map (db m3381) HM |
| Florida (Columbia County), Lake City — F-68 — Alligator |
| | Originally called Alpata Telophka, or Alligator Town, this site was a Seminole village, ruled by the powerful chief Alligator, an instigator of the Dade Massacre, which began the great Seminole War of 1835. Following the cessation of hostilities, a white settlement sprang up on the site of the old Seminole village and became known simply as Alligator. Prior to the War Between the States, the name was changed to Lake City. — Map (db m57686) HM |
| Florida (Columbia County), Lake City — Apalachee Trail |
| | The Apalachee Indian Trail of early times
passed in this vicinity through Alligator -
now Lake City - to near the upper mineral
springs - White Springs - on to Tallahassee
via Alapaha.
This marker commemorates, also, the historically prominent Chief Alligator, whose
village stood at head of lake nearby. — Map (db m57642) HM |
| Florida (Columbia County), Lake City — F-350 — Bethel United Methodist Church |
| | Old Bethel Church was first organized by Alligator area settlers as early as the 1820s. The original church was a small log structure located some two miles northeast of this site. In 1855, this building was erected to accommodate a growing number of parishioners. One of only a few Antebellum church buildings which have survived in rural Florida, Bethel Church has served its congregation continuously since its mid-19th century founding. The building has been known in the community as "the white . . . — Map (db m54580) HM |
| Florida (Columbia County), Lake City — Confederate Monument |
| |
CSA
Officers Commanding
Brigadier- General
Joseph Finnegan
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Hopkins
1st. Battalion
Lieutenant-Colonel Theo. Brevard
2nd. Battalion
Lieutenant-Colonel, McClellen
4th. Battalion
Lieutenant-Colonel, John M. Martin
6th. Battalion
This monument erected
to perpetuate in loving memory
the 151 soldiers of the
Confederate Army who lost
their lives in the battle
at Olustee and . . . — Map (db m58161) HM |
| Florida (Columbia County), near Mikesville — F-89 — Town of Leno |
| | Originally called "Keno", for a variation of lotto gambling, the town was settled in the 1860's. Ecclesiastical and commercial pressure changed the name to "Leno" in 1876. A grist and saw mill, cotton gin, stores, and hotel sprang up in the settlement. Railroad construction bypassed the town, and by the 1890's Leno became a ghost town. The site of old Leno (O'Leno) was purchased by the state as a park and forestry station in 1934 — Map (db m64075) HM |
| Florida (Dixie County), Horseshoe Beach — F-439 — The Jackson Trail — Florida Heritage Site |
| | On December 26, 1817, U.S. Secretary of War John C. Calhoun directed General Andrew Jackson to protect citizens trying to settle in Florida. Jackson arrived in Florida with the largest army ever to invade the state to date -- 2,000 Creek Warriors and 1,000 Georgia and Tennessee militiamen. After leaving Nashville, Tennessee, they traveled through Georgia and on to Florida, winding up in Suwanee-Old Town (now Dixie County). Jackson's goal was to remove the Indians, destroy their homes and . . . — Map (db m61566) HM |
| Florida (Dixie County), Old Town — F-55 — Oldtown |
| | Inhabited by the Upper Creeks, Oldtown, often called Suwanee Oldtown, was one of the largest Indian villages in northern Florida. In Andrew Jackson's punitive expedition into Florida in April, 1818, Oldtown was captured. Most of the renegade Indians escaped, but Jackson caught Robert Armbister, a British subject, who was tried and executed for aiding the Creeks in border raids into Georgia. This produced tension between the United States and Great Britain. — Map (db m17712) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Fort George Island — F-271 — Fort George Island |
| | Ft. George Island presents a cross-section of the Florida story. Timucuan Indians inhabited this island when French explorer Jean Ribault landed nearby in 1562. A Spanish mission was established here before 1600 to serve the Timucuans. Known to the Spanish as "San Juan," this island was renamed "St. George" by Georgia Governor James Oglethorpe. He built a fort- Ft. George- here in the 1730's during a British invasion of Spanish Florida. During the 2nd Spanish Period (1783-1821), three American . . . — Map (db m58377) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Fort George Island — Ribault Club Inn |
| | . . . — Map (db m58614) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Fort George Island — F-211 — Site of the Mission of San Juan del Puerto |
| | Marker Front:
The establishment of missions chiefly for the purpose of Christianizing the Indian population was one of the methods used by Spain in attempting to colonize Florida in the sixteenth century. The Mission of San Juan del Puerto was founded in the late 1500's by the Franciscan Order of friars to serve the Timucuan Indians living in the area. While working at this mission around 1600 Father Francisco Pareja prepared a Timucuan dictionary, grammar and several religious books . . . — Map (db m21654) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Ft. George Island — F-544 — St. George Episcopal Church |
| | St. George Episcopal Church, designed by Robert S. Schuyler and built in 1882, is a fine example of Carpenter Gothic, one of the most distinctive varieties of church architecture. Such churches were promoted by Floridas second bishop, John Freeman Young (1820-1885) just after the Civil War. Bishop Young divided north Florida into regions defined by major water bodies. These churches along the St. Johns River included St. George Episcopal Church on Ft. George Island. Using local materials and . . . — Map (db m58981) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — F- 260 — "Mother" Midway A.M.E. Church |
| | Midway A.M.E. Church was organized on Sunday, June 10, 1865, a few weeks after the Confederate Army in Floirda surrendered to the Union Army. It was thus the first black independent church organized in Florida. William G. Steward was sent to Florida by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and founded a church at Midway, a settlement east of Jacksonville, on his second day in the state. Mr. Steward appointed Brother G. B. Hill as the pastor of Midway Church before going on to organize . . . — Map (db m59094) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — "The Great Endurance Run" |
| | On November 24, 1909 the "Autoist" participating in "The Great Endurance Run" reached the "Turn Around Checkpoint" at the Jacksonville City Hall which was located at this exact site. The location marked the halfway point for the "Drivers and Observers" of the eighteen automobiles that took part in the grueling, four day "Endurance Run" from Tampa to Jacksonville to Tampa to promote good roads for Florida. The event did, indeed, foster bond issues and highway construction throughout Florida. The . . . — Map (db m58574) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — 1914 United Confederate Veterans Reunion |
| | On these grounds, May 6-9, 1914, the United Confederate Veterans celebrated their 24th annual reunion. Expecting no more than 25,000 reunion goers, the city was nearly overwhelmed when an estimated 70,000 visitors including 8,000 Veterans converged on Jacksonville. The average Veteran was 74 years old. Citizens met the Veterans at the train depot on arrival to extend the hand of welcome and to provide temporary homes to these honored guests of the city. Additional lodging and meals were . . . — Map (db m58575) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — F-463 — 1960 Civil Rights Demonstration |
| | On Saturday, August 27,1960, 40 Youth Council demonstrators from the Jacksonville Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) advised by local civil rights leader Rutledge H. Pearson (1929-1967), sat in at the W.T. Grant Department Store, then located at the corner of West Adams and North Main Streets, and at Woolworth's Five and Ten Cent Store on Hogan Street across from Hemming Park. Seeking access to the whites-only lunch counters, the youths were met by . . . — Map (db m58011) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — A Very Comfortable Habitation |
| | Historic references to the plantation house on Fort George Island are tantalizingly brief. The first detailed descriptions of the house and structural changes were recorded in the 20th century. From this vantage point, you can see the changes that Gertrude Rollins Wilson, born here in 1872, recounted in her memoirs.
"[In 1869] Mr. Rollins made certain changes; adding two rooms to the Big House by connecting the corner rooms on the east and west, removing the chimney on the west and also . . . — Map (db m40536) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — F-448 — Abraham Lincoln Lewis Mausoleum |
| | Pioneer Abraham Lincoln Lewis (1865-1947) and others founded Florida’s oldest African-American insurance company, Afro-American Life in 1901, which spread throughout the South as far as Texas. In 1926, A.L. Lewis opened Lincoln Golf and Country Club where the famous visited, such as heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (1914-1981). Later Lewis founded American Beach, which in 1935 was a recreational haven for blacks during segregation. Although most noted for the Afro, A.L. Lewis started . . . — Map (db m58382) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — African Identity — African Identity and Archaeology at Kingsley Plantation — African Identity in the Archival Record |
| | The birthplace of African-American archaeology can be traced to Kingsley Plantation, where archaeologists in 1968 first began to search for artifacts that reflected African identity. Many of the slaves that lived here during Zephaniah Kingsley's era (1814-1839) were African-born or the children of Africans. A list of Kingsley slaves prior to his arrival on Fort George Island provides examples of their nationalities or language groups: Ibo, Calaban, Rio Pong, Soosoo, and Zanzibar.
Kingsley . . . — Map (db m40852) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — African Identity — African Identity and Archaeology at Kingsley Plantation — African Identity Discovered Through Archaeology |
| | Artifacts recovered by archaeologists provide clues as to who these enslaved African men, women and children were. This is most easily recognized within the realm of spirituality or religion, which is resistant to change. However, the physical remains of such practices are extremely subtle.
Personal Charms
Blue Beads in doorway of cabins
There is a belief in many African cultures that beads have supernatural powers and can be worn to provide protection from harm. . . . — Map (db m41193) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Camp Site of the Forty-Ninth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry |
| | This tablet marks the camp site
of the
Forty-Ninth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry
Colonel William G. Dows
Commanding
1898-1899
War with Spain — Map (db m58576) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Confederate Memorial 1861-1865 — Jacksonville, Florida |
| |
(East face)
To the Soldiers of Florida
This shaft is by a comrade raised in
testimony of his love, recalling deeds
immortal, heroism unsurpassed.
With ranks unbroken, ragged, starved
and decimated the southern soldier,
for duty's sake, undaunted stood to
the front of battle until no light
remained to illumine the field of carnage,
save the lustre of his chivalry
and courage.
"Nor shall your glory be forgot
While Fame her . . . — Map (db m59799) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Confederate Torpedo Boat David |
| | Tomb
In Memory of my
shipmates of the
Confederate
Torpedo Boat David
Charleston S.C. Oct 5, 1863
Lieut. W.T. Glassell, C.S.N.
Pilot W.J. Cannon, C.S.N.
Fireman Jas.Sullivan, C.S.N.
Chief Engineer
James Hamilton Tomb, C.S.N. — Map (db m57587) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Duval County |
| | 1884 1915
Duval County
Created August 12, 1822, named for
Governor William Pope Duval
Born 1784-Died 1854. Captain Mounted Rangers, War of 1812.
1813-1815, U.S. Congressman from Kentucky
1821-1822, U.S. Judge, Eastern Florida.
1822-1834, First Civil Governor of Territory of Florida.
1838-1839, Member, Constitutional Convention at St. Joseph.
Unifier and developer of Territory of Florida.
Brave, Honest and Able.
In Grateful Appreciation . . . — Map (db m57597) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Duval County Vietnam Memorial and Veterans Eternal Flame |
| | . . . — Map (db m58445) WM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Florida Pharmacy Association |
| | 1887 1987 [100th Anniversary Medallion]
On June 8, 1887, a group of Florida pharmacists met in Jacksonville at the Board of Trade rooms located at the corner of Adams & Main Streets for the purpose of organizing a state pharmaceutical association. At this first meeting of the Florida State Pharmaceutical Association, Dr. Henry (Hy) Robinson, a civic leader in Jacksonville who served as mayor and chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, was elected as the first president. Although . . . — Map (db m59096) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — F-436 — Florida's First African-American Insurance Company--1901-2001 |
| | The Afro-American Insurance Company, formerly the Afro-American Industrial and Benefits Association, was founded in 1901 to provide affordable health insurance and death benefits to the state's African-Americans. Founded by the Reverend E.J. Gregg, E.W. Latson, Abraham Lincoln Lewis, A.W. Price, Dr. Arthur W. Smith, J.F. Valentine, and the Reverend J. Melton Waldron, the Afro's first office at 14 Ocean Street was destroyed by the great Jacksonville Fire two months after it opened on May 3, . . . — Map (db m59633) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Fort de la Caroline — Fort Caroline National Monument — Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve |
| | "[The Spaniards] made a horrible, tragic slaughter of our forces, so great was the anger and hatred they had for our nation. They vied with one another to see who could best cut the throats of our people..." 1565 la Caroline carpenter Nicolas le Chaileux Jean Ribault arrived at la Caroline on August 28, 1565, with reinforcements for the failing colony. On Ribault's heels stood a Spanish flotilla bent on ejecting the French. Escaping near-capture, Ribault sailed south to . . . — Map (db m46573) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Historic King's Road British East Florida |
| | The King's Road, built by the British prior to the American Revolution, began at the St. Mary's River, passed through Cowford (Jacksonville), crossed the St. John's River, it is believed, at present day Liberty Street, approximately one mile east of this marker, and continued south to New Smyrna.
During the Revolution, American troops used this route to make attacks on British forces. The most notable of these engagements was at Alligator Creek Bridge, 30 June 1778. Following this battle . . . — Map (db m60398) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — F-433 — Jacksonville's 1901 Fire — "The Great Fire" |
| | On May 3, 1901 at 12:30 p.m., a fire began at the Cleaveland Fibre Factory, ten blocks northwest of this site. Chimney embers ignited sun-dried moss to be used as mattress stuffing. Fueled by wind and dry weather, the fire roared east destroying most structures in its path. By 3:30 p.m., the fire reached this site, then called Hemming Park. The park and its renowned live oaks were devoured by the flames and only the Confederate Monument survived, its base glowing red from heat. The fire . . . — Map (db m58013) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Jean Ribaut |
| | Jean Ribaut and a party of Huguenots landed the morning of May 1, 1562 on this island. Here they knelt in prayer, beseeching God's guidance and commending the natives to his care. This was the first Protestant prayer in North America. — Map (db m40024) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — John Milton Bryan Simpson — May 30, 1903 - August 22, 1987 |
| | Born 1903 in Kissimmee, Florida. Graduated from University of Florida College of Law 1926. Practiced law,
Jacksonville, Florida, 1926-39. Assistant State Attorney, Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida, 1933-39. Judge, Duval
County Criminal Court of Record, 1939-43, 1945-46. U.S. Army, 1st Lt., serving in the European Theater 1943-45.
Judge, Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida, 1946-50. Judge, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
1950-62, Chief Judge1961-62. . . . — Map (db m60012) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Kingsley Plantation — Fort George Island |
| | The plantation house symbolizes the owners and their freedom. The cabin ruins stand behind you as a testament to the enslaved and their lives of forced labor.
Explore the plantation grounds and discover the stories of plantation owners and slaves. Brochures, exhibits, and an audio program are available. — Map (db m40007) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Kingsley Plantation — Freedom and Slavery |
| | In the spring of 1814, Zephaniah Kingsley relocated his family to this sea island plantation. Over the next two decades he developed his controversial views on race, society, and slavery.
Kingsley was a successful businessman who had strong opinions about how to maximize his profit through the management of his slaves.
"...they [slaves] will, without grumbling, and with very little corporal punishment, perform a great deal of valuable labor in a year, and with profit and . . . — Map (db m40035) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Kingsley Plantation — Plantation Era Florida |
| | The plantation era was a time in our history of opportunity, political contradictions and great cruelty.
For planters, like Zephaniah Kingsley, it was a time for amassing land and wealth. For enslaved Africans who produced the wealth it was a time of dehumanizing and brutal life, but also extraordinary strength, perseverance and faith. All played a significant role in what happened here during that time in our history.
"It will be allowed by everyone, that agriculture is the great . . . — Map (db m40085) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Looking Back |
| | Imagine ... instead of the empty historic building and peaceful riverfront of today, a slave owner's family sits watching from the porch of their comfortable home as cargo-laden boats pass by on the river.
Breezes off the water cool the planter's family. Smells of fresh-baked bread waft from the kitchen. House slaves carry the evening meal to the planter's home. High up on the widow's walk, the owner keeps a watchful eye on his slaves as they hustle across the kitchen yard.
"Oh you . . . — Map (db m40043) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Looking Back |
| | Imagine...instead of a lush green landscape of today, a long dusty road stretches to the slave cabins and field beyond.
Bent over cotton plants, under the hot sun with dust-filled air, enslaved people toil day in and day out amidst the odor of sweat and domestic animals. The slaves constant companions are the relentless mosquitoes and flies.
"The weather early this month was unpleasantly hot...here and on all of the Sea Islands where sickness was little known, it has been very . . . — Map (db m40077) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Millers Creek |
| | David Solomon Hill Miller, Englishman, first settled near here in 1799 and married Anna Hogans Bagley, widow, owner of a Spanish land grant of 300 acres west of this creek. D.S.H. Miller served Spain as Capt. Rural Militia of the St. Johns River, San Nicolas District and as Deputy Surveyor. He surveyed the streets of Jacksonville when it was founded in June 1822. — Map (db m59097) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — New France — Fort Caroline National Monument — Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve |
| | "After... two months... Ribault made port in New France... [where] he discovered a very large and beautiful river ... Ribault erected a column of hard stone on the banks of this river ... The coat of arms of France was carved upon it." René de Laundonnière, 1564, Second-in-command during Jean Ribault's 1562 voyage. On the morning of May 1, 1562, French navigator Jean Ribault first viewed the river you see before you - the St. Johns. He named it the River of May. A day later, staking . . . — Map (db m46575) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home — 1893-1938 |
| | (Front text) Confederate Plot Section Six is the final resting place for the Confederate Veterans who
resided at the Old Soldiers and Sailors Home, a refuge for aged and disabled Veterans. The Florida Soldiers Home
Association was formed in 1888 with Major Albert Russell (C.S.A.) serving as the organization's president. Four years
later, the Soldiers Home Association purchased ten acres of the Whitney Homestead in which to care for aging
Confederate Veterans. Florida's . . . — Map (db m57549) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Old Philips Congregational Church |
| | Constructed in c.1887, the Old Philips Congregational Church is one of the few remaining structures dating from the old Philips Community. Later erased by twentieth century sub-divisions, this rural 19th century community was named after Albert Gallatin Philips, owner of nearby Red Bank Plantation. Although the actual construction date is not known, it appears that the current building, based on its "Carpenter Gothic" style and materials, was constructed soon after the Philips Congregational . . . — Map (db m59098) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Philips ~ Craig Swamp Cemetery |
| | Dating back to the 1840's, the Philips-Craig Swamp Cemetery was a community burial ground for the old Philips settlement originally located along both sides of Old Kings Road (St. Augustine Road). Later erased by twentieth century subdivisions, this rural 19th century community was named after Albert Gallatin Philips, owner of nearby Red Bank Plantation. By 1844 Albert Gallatin Philips and his wife, Martha Anne Hendricks, daughter of pioneer settler, Isaac Hendricks, donated this property for a . . . — Map (db m59099) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Plantation Crops — Grown for Profit and Sustenance |
| | Cash crops, like sea island cotton, indigo, and sugar cane, made a profit for the owner. Other crops, like potatoes, okra, and yams, fed the families of both owners and slaves.
Sea island cotton was highly prized because of its long, strong, and silky fibers, which produced cloth of exceptional quality. It thrived in the salty environment of the sea islands.
Originating in the West Indies, sea island cotton differed from upland, or short-staple, cotton in several ways. The smooth . . . — Map (db m40143) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Plantation Slavery — The Many Faces of Slavery |
| | The exploitation of enslaved people differed throughout the Americas. However, the bottom line was profit for the owner, while for the slave it was loss of freedom.
Slaves were possessions. They were viewed as a valuable commodity to be bought and sold and forced to work. Their owners determined what they did and how they were treated for their lifetimes.
...we are therefore to look for labour to that intrinsically valuable cast of People called Negro Slaves whose productive . . . — Map (db m40501) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Ribault Monument |
| | (Front): This is a replica of the marker placed on or near this spot by Jean Ribaut May First 1562 in taking possession of Florida for France. (Back): Erected by the Florida Daughters of the American Revolution May First 1924 commemorating the first landing of protestants on American soil. — Map (db m46578) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — F-464 — Sinking of the Maple Leaf |
| | Approximately 15 miles up river from this point, the Union transport Maple Leaf was destroyed by a Confederate mine during the early morning hours of April 1, 1864. The Maple Leaf sank to the bottom of the St. Johns River after hitting one of twelve Confederate mines along Mandarin Point. At the time of the explosion, the steamboat was transporting 68 passengers and crewmembers from Palatka to Jacksonville. Passengers included 42 Union sympathizers seeking protection of federal troops in . . . — Map (db m58347) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — F-66 — Site of Cow Ford |
| | This narrow part of the St. Johns River, near a clear freshwater spring was a crossing point for Indians and early travelers. The Indian name Wacca Pilatka, meaning "Cow's Crossing", was shortened by the English to Cow Ford, and Jacksonville was known by this name for many years. This crossing was used by the English when they made an old Timucuan Indian Trail into King's Road." — Map (db m58715) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Skirmish at Cedar Creek |
| | On March 1, 1864, ten days after the Confederate Victory at Olustee, Union and Confederate forces met along this road in a running skirmish. The fight started 2 to 3 miles west of here, 10am, when Union forces advanced out of Camp Mooney (Ellis Rd.) to locate and test Confederate strength in their front. By noon, the outnumbered Union forces had fallen back to Cedar Creek (this location) to make a stand taking advantage of the Creek's natural barrier. The Confederate advance was greatly . . . — Map (db m63832) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Slave Cabins — The Lost Art of Tabby |
| | Constructed nearly 200 hundred years ago, these cabins were home to enslaved people. Following emancipation, former slaves lived here and worked the land. Slowly, individuals and families moved away, leaving the buildings to fall into ruin.
Tabby was a labor-intensive concrete made from oyster shells, sand, and water. Tabby was poured into forms, layer by layer, until it became the buildings in front of you.
The cabin ruins are a connection to the hundreds of enslaved men, women, and . . . — Map (db m40543) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Slave Cabins — Resistance |
| | Slaves actively resisted bondage by purposefully slowing down their work pace, faking illness, or even mutilating themselves in order to lessen their value as human property.
Resisting the inhumanity of their enslaved condition, slaves struggled to maintain a family life. Some African cultural traditions included using song and code to relay hidden messages. This tradition was sometimes used by slaves in their efforts to secretly pass on information in planning escapes.
What would you . . . — Map (db m40657) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Slave Cabins — Strength to Survive |
| | In front of you are the remains of 25 cabins, the homes of 60 to 80 men, women, and children. These people had the strength to survive the misery of slavery.
Before dawn, slaves left for their day's labor, or to use their specialized skills. They returned physically exhausted and hungry, drained by the unrelenting drudgery. At the end of the day, their strength came from family, faith, and traditions.
Alas! Had it not been for my beloved violin, I scarcely can conceive how I could . . . — Map (db m40689) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Slave Cabins — Looking Back |
| | The island's landscape has changed dramatically since the plantation era. Gone are the roofs, fruit trees, wells, and garden plots. Trees and grasses now replace fields once tilled by slaves.
To be a slave was to be a human being under conditions in which that humanity was denied. Their condition was slavery.
Julius Lester, 1968 — Map (db m40847) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Slave Cabins — Voices From the Past |
| | The slave quarters were a place to find identity and strength through family, faith, and shared experiences.
Many American traditions originate from the daily activities and beliefs of enslaved people. Practices that survive today revolve around cooking, singing, dancing, worshiping, and healing. While daily work was individually focused, life in the slave quarters revolved around family and community.
Stories of slave home life lay in the few words left behind in narrative and . . . — Map (db m41248) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Slave Cabins — Growing Up a Slave |
| | From the earliest age, children were trained to do their parents' work. They were terrified of the punishment their parents endured. Parents taught their enslaved children strict obedience so they could survive. And yet, like children today, they still found time to play.
To a cabin in woodland drear
You've come a mammy's heart to cheer,
In this ole slave cabin,
You heart strings grabbin,
Jes lay your head upon my bres,
An snuggle close an res an res,
My little colored . . . — Map (db m41272) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Slaves Cabins — At the Edge between Two Worlds |
| | You are standing at the edge of two worlds. You are leaving the world of the owner and entering the world of the slave.
The cabin ruins before you are a vivid testament to the generations of slaves who lived there. On them depended the prosperity of the plantation. It is impossible for us to imagine what life as a slave was like. No words can describe the cruel hardships they endured.
"This was a very warm climate, abounding with mosquitos...which are exceedingly annoying to the . . . — Map (db m40120) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Spanish Pond — Fort Caroline National Monument — Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve |
| | 500 Spanish soldiers from St. Augustine marched four days through marsh, forest tangle, fierce wind, and heavy rainfall to an encampment near here. Exhausted and hungry they rested in a downpour; at dawn they attacked and captured France's Fort de la Caroline. In 1565 Spaniards, slogging through wetlands like Spanish Pond to overtake Fort de la Caroline, saw an inhospitable environment. Today we see backyards. An open, pristine pine flatwoods once surrounded this spot; today, a . . . — Map (db m46579) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Staking a Claim — Ribault Monument — Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve |
| | During the sixteenth century, France was determined to expand its empire. Spain, the world's leading power, already had a foothold in the Americas, and France wanted to share of the riches the Spanish were gaining through trade and plunder. France's first attempt to stake a permanent claim in the present-day United States of America was at La Caroline. Today the strategic importance of the St. Johns River is still apparent. From the monument you can look east to the mouth of the river and . . . — Map (db m46574) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Task System — Managing Labor |
| | Many crops were grown on the plantation, but sea island cotton produced the highest profit. Grossing and processing it required a complex work structure.
The task system was used to manage the many specialized requirements of sea island cotton production. Often tasks were measured out in quarter-acre increments. Each slave was assigned a task to plow, plant, pick, or gin cotton. Once tasks were done, slaves used the rest of the day to tend to personal needs, including growing their own . . . — Map (db m40499) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — F-149 — The Beginning |
| | Here at the foot of Market St. stood a bay tree which served as the starting point for the original survey of Jacksonville in June 1822. Market was the first street laid off and named. A total of 20 squares were platted, bounded by Ocean, Duval, Catherine and Bay Sts. One of the first lots sold for $12 and was in the center of the present courthouse block." — Map (db m58012) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — The Building of la Caroline — Fort Caroline National Monument — Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve |
| | "Every one of us - noblemen, soldiers, workmen, sailors - worked hard to get our post ready to shelter us from the weather and protect us against enemies." Jacques le Moyne, 1564 la Caroline colonist and artist Measuring a piece of ground in the shape of a triangle, the colonists laid out their fort and settlement. Using shovels, cutting hooks, and hatchets, they cleared the site of trees. The fort and storage barns were erected quickly, with other buildings soon to follow. The . . . — Map (db m46572) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — F-138 — The Huguenot Memorial Site |
| | In 1562, when France was being torn by religious strife, Gaspard de Coligny, Admiral of France, sent two vessels to the New World in search of a refuge for the oppressed Huguenots. Leading the expedition was the Huguenot explorer, Jean Ribaut, who charted a new course across the Atlantic and arrived off the coast of Florida.
On Friday, May 1, 1562, Ribaut's party first landed in the New World here on the east shore of Xalvis Island. In the presence of friendly Indians, the Frenchmen fell . . . — Map (db m33486) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — The Monument to Women of the Southern Confederacy |
| | . . . — Map (db m58820) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — F-508 — The Mungen House |
| | This frame vernacular house was built in 1928 for Doane Martin Mungen, Sr. (1872-1948) and his wife Mary Elizabeth Mungen (1874-1955). It is located in the Oakland neighborhood, which was platted in 1869, and emerged in the 1870s as a working class community. The Mungens moved from 343 East Union Street to a wooded bungalow here that was demolished to build this 12-room house. With time, the rooms on the second level were rented. Later, inside stairs were removed, steps placed on the east, and . . . — Map (db m58750) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — The River of May — Fort Caroline National Monument — Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve |
| | "[H]aving landed [on the River of May's shore]... we saw the chief of that country, ... he ... showed such enthusiasm that he almost lost his composure. He came up to us... repeating ...'friend, friend.'" Captain René de Laundonnière, 1564 Captain René de Laundonnière, on June 22, 1564, arrived in New France with his three ships and some 200 French Protestant noblemen, soldiers, and artisans, landing along the River of May (St. Johns River). The adventurous men and women brought their . . . — Map (db m46555) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Timucuan Friends — Fort Caroline National Monument — Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve |
| | "[The Timucuans] brought us grains of roasted maize,... smoked lizards or other wild animals... and various kinds of roots, some for foods, others for medicine. And when they discovered that we were more interested in metals and minerals, they gave us some of these as well." Jacques le Moyne, 1564 la Caroline colonist and artist Timucuan Chief Saturiba's men crafted a shelter, similar to the one seen here, so Saturiba could sit and watch the colonists build their settlement. When . . . — Map (db m46571) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Timucuan Preserve — Fort Caroline National Monument — Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve |
| | Bound by the Nassau River, the Atlantic Ocean, and the St. Johns River, the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve seeks to protect much of the water and undeveloped land you see from here. Salt marsh, coastal hammock, tidal creeks, and sea and marsh islands compose most of the 46,000-acre National Park site. The Preserve is about people, beginning 6,000 years ago with the native Timucuans. Native American, French, Spanish, English, African-American, and American all had a stake here. . . . — Map (db m46576) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — #148 — United States Railroad Administration Locomotive |
| |
National Historic
Mechanical Engineering Landmark
United States Railroad Administration Locomotive Atlantic Coast Line Class P-5a 4-6-2 No. 1504 1919
During the World-War I emergency, American railroads were placed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration (USRA). To facilitate construction, operation, and maintenance, all new steam locomotives ordered during this period were built to one of twelve standard designs developed by a committee composed of . . . — Map (db m59100) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville — Yellow Bluff Fort — Dedicated to the memory of the Confederate soldiers who defended Jacksonville, 1861-1865. |
| | A Confederate earthworks designed and located by General Robert E. Lee as one of a series of forts for the defense of the Saint Johns River. This fort was occupied by both Confederate and Union forces during the course of the war and is today in its original state. — Map (db m33458) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville Beach — F- 293 — Doolittle's 1922 Record Flight |
| | Aviation pioneers were attracted to Northeast Florida's hard, wide beaches. Pablo Beach, as Jacksonville Beach was known until 1925, served as takeoff or terminal point for several early coast-to-coast flights. The first of these, in 1912, required 115 days to reach Pablo Beach from Pasadena, California. On September 4, 1922, Army Lieutenant James H. ("Jimmy") Doolittle took off from the sands of Pablo Beach in a DeHavilland DH-4 biplane and landed in San Diego less than 24 hours later. He made . . . — Map (db m57600) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville Beach — F-305 — First Settlers At Ruby, Florida |
| | In 1883 construction of the Jacksonville and Atlantic Railroad was begun to serve this undeveloped area. The track was narrow-gauge, running 16.54 miles from the south bank of the St. Johns River to the beach. The first settlers were William Edward Scull, a civil engineer and surveyor, and his wife Eleanor Kennedy Scull. They lived in a tent two blocks east of Pablo Historical Park. A second tent was the general store and post office. On August 22, 1884 Mrs. Scull was appointed postmaster. mail . . . — Map (db m57599) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville Beach — Porter Wood Burning Locomotive |
| | Porter wood burning locomotive
representing type of engine
employed during the 1880's on the
Saint Johns Railway, Saint Augustine's
first passenger line - chartered
in 1858 and in active operation
until 1894. Donated to City
by
Greville Bathe
January 8, 1960 — Map (db m60201) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Jacksonville Beach — F-541 — SS Gulfamerica |
| | This marker commemorates the attack on the USS Gulfamerica on April 10, 1942, during World War II (1941-1945) by a German U-boat just off the coast of Jacksonville Beach. The Gulfamerica, a merchant marine vessel, was on her maiden voyage from Port Arthur, Texas to New York carrying 90,000 barrels of fuel oil. It was one of the first merchant vessels to be fitted with weapons and carried seven naval armed guards in addition to its crew of 41 men. German U-boat, U-123, first fired . . . — Map (db m57687) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Mandarin — F-48 — Church of Our Savior — (Episcopal) |
| | Situated on the St. Johns on a portion of the Fairbanks Grant, this congregation was organized in 1867. The church was completed in 1883 under the Rev. C.M. Strugess, a mission priest assigned to the St. Johns Valley. The church was regularly attended by Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and the west window is a memorial to the Stowe family who were winter residents of Mandarin for many years. — Map (db m62322) HM |
| Florida (Duval County), Mandarin — F-40 — Harriet Beecher Stowe Home |
| | In 1867, Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe and her husband Calvin bought thirty acres of the Fairbanks Grant in Mandarin which served as their winter home until the winter of 1883-1884. The move to Florida was due to plans for philanthropy among the Negroes and a desire to benefit her son's health. While in Florida, Mrs. Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin", wrote sketches called "Palmetto Leaves". The Stowes were active in local charitable and religious activities. — Map (db m62490) HM |
| Florida (Escambia County), Century — Century, Florida / Alger Railroad |
| | Century, Florida Founded in 1900 to house mill employees of the Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company, formed in 1900 by General Russell A. Alger - Governor of Michigan, U.S. Senator, and President McKinley's Secretary of War - and by Martin H. Sullivan of Pensacola. Edward A. Hauss led the company from 1901 to 1957 and pioneered in reforestation to perpetuate timber resources. Century and Alger recall the names Colonel Frank Hecker, Henry Glover, George E. Glover, A.W. Ranney, John Millen, . . . — Map (db m46693) HM |
| Florida (Escambia County), Pensacola — Luna Expedition — 450th Anniversary — February 19, 2009 |
| | In the year of Pensacola's 450th anniversary celebration of the Luna expedition, Their Majesties King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain visited the city to commemorate our community's long Spanish heritage. In August 1559, an expedition led by Tristan de Luna y Arellano arrived in Pensacola Bay to establish Santa Maria de Ochuse,a settlement that predated the founding of Jamestown by a half century and St.Augustine by a half dozen years.Departing Vera Cruz on June 11,1559,Luna was at . . . — Map (db m52515) HM |
| Florida (Escambia County), Pensacola — Pensacola Lighthouse |
| | Construction began 1856, was lit 1859 and is still in use at the present time.
This lighthouse replaced the original lighthouse built 1824, the first lighthouse on the Gulf Coast. — Map (db m50405) HM |
| Florida (Franklin County), Apalachicola — F-413 — Dr. John Gorrie |
| | Dr. John Gorrie (1803-1855) was an early pioneer in the invention of the artificial manufacture of ice, refrigeration, and air conditioning. He was granted the first U.S. patent for mechanical refrigeration on May 6, 1851 (U.S. Patent No. 8080). Dr. Gorrie moved to Apalachicola in 1833 after the completion of his education at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Western District of New York in Fairfield, New York. Motivated by a severe yellow fever epidemic in the summer of 1841, Dr. . . . — Map (db m27028) HM |
| Florida (Franklin County), Apalachicola — F-532 — Fort Coombs - Franklin Guards |
| | The Franklin Guards, a company of Infantry organized in Apalachicola in 1884 by J. H. Coombs and Fred Betterfield, erected the first building in the city to be used solely as an armory in 1898. Made of simulated brick, it was located at the corner of Hight Street and Center Avenue. On May 25, 1900, fire destroyed it and much of the downtown. On July 3, 1900, a committee was formed to build a new armory. The facility was designed by Frank and Thomas Lockwood of Columbus, Georgia and constructed . . . — Map (db m26120) HM |
| Florida (Franklin County), Apalachicola — F-562 — Methodist Episcopal Church South |
| | First United Methodist Church of Apalachicola was established in 1839 when Reverend Peter Haskew was appointed to serve the St. Joseph and Apalachicola Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The original sanctuary, built and dedicated around 1846, was destroyed in 1900 by a fire that devastated the city, burning approximately 70 buildings. The present structure, erected in 1901 on the same site, has been in continual use since that time. The Gothic and Renaissance Revival style was . . . — Map (db m26393) HM |
| Florida (Franklin County), Apalachicola — F-270 — The Raney House |
| | During the 1830's, when the cotton port of Apalachicola was rapidly expanding. David G. Raney built a rather plain, Federal style house at this site. Around 1850, A two - story portico and other features of the then popular Greek Revival architectural style were added to that structure. Raney, a native of Virginia, was a prosperous merchant who was prominent in many of the town's civic affairs. His eight children grew up in this home. A son, George Pettus Raney (born in 1845), served in the . . . — Map (db m26663) HM |
| Florida (Franklin County), Apalachicola — F-134 — Trinity Episcopal Church |
| | This original structure of white pine had previously been cut into sections in New York and floated by sailing vessel down the Atlantic Coast and around the Florida keys before it was erected on this site.
This parish was first organized in 1836 by The Reverend Fitch W. Taylor, Diocese of Maryland, but on February 11, 1837, it was incorporated by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida.
(continued from other side)
Vestrymen at the time of the church's . . . — Map (db m27026) HM |
| Florida (Franklin County), Carrabelle — F-427 — World War II D-Day Training Site |
| | In late 1943, Carrabelle Beach and Dog Island, while they were a part of Camp Gordon Johnston, were used by the US Army 4th Infantry Division to train for the Normandy Invasion on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. The Amphibious Training Center had been officially closed, but it was reopened and staffed for the purpose of training for this important mission. Although the troops had trained for over three years, the amphibious training conducted on this site was the last step before shipping out to England . . . — Map (db m16847) HM |
| Florida (Franklin County), St. George Island — F-319 — William Augustus Bowles |
| | During a storm in 1799, the schooner Fox ran aground off the eastern end of St. George Island. On board was William Augustus Bowles, a British citizen and self-styled leader of the Creek-Cherokee nation. Bowles was bringing gunpowder and bullets, he hoped to re-establish his prominence among the Creeks, drive the Spanish out of Florida, and create an independent Muskogee state under British protection.
The Creeks were the most organized of the southern Indians and still controlled much . . . — Map (db m52650) HM |
| Florida (Gadsden County), Quincy — F-286 — Gadsden County |
| | Gadsden, Florida's fifth county, was formed in 1823. It once ran from Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico, from the Suwannee River to the Apalachicola River. Quincy, the county seat, was incorporated in 1828. Previously known as Middle Florida, the new county was named for Capt. James Gadsden, Army Engineer and later diplomat, who campaigned in this area under Andrew Jackson in 1818. Capt. Gadsden designed and built the fort on the Apalachicola River which bears his name, and in 1855 was responsible . . . — Map (db m29677) HM |
| Florida (Glades County), Moore Haven — F-257 — "Lone Cypress" and Everglades Drainage |
| | Shortly after Florida became a state in 1845. Its leaders began to consider draining the swampy areas of south Florida to create prime farmland as an inducement to settlement. In 1850 Florida received title to all swamp and overflowed lands within its borders, but the young state did not have funds to undertake drainage. Finally in 1881 the state convinced a wealthy northerner, Hamilton Disston, to drain the everglades in return for half the acreage he could reclaim. One of his projects was to . . . — Map (db m16414) HM |
| Florida (Glades County), Moore Haven — Billie Bowlegs III — Chufi Hajo — 1862 - 1965 |
| | In the Ortona cemetery, eight miles west of here, lie the remains of a noble citizen of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, a faithful representative of his people and a true friend of the white man. — Map (db m16423) HM |
| Florida (Gulf County), Port St. Joe — F-119 — St. Joseph Confederate Saltworks |
| | A major Confederate saltworks, with daily capacity of 150 bushels, before completion, was located 200 feet north. Brick foundations were salvaged from ruins of the old City of St. Joseph. Salt processed by evaporation of seawater was one of Florida's two chief contributions to the Confederacy. These saltworks destroyed September 8, 1862, by U.S.S. Kingfisher, by bombardment and landing party action. Destruction of Confederate saltworks was a comparable blow "to the Southern cause as the fall of Charleston." — Map (db m27029) HM |
| Florida (Gulf County), Port St. Joe — The Florida Constitution — 1838 |
| | This memorial is to commemorate the birth of the State of Florida and the assembling of the first Constitutional Convention of this state convened in a building then standing upon this spot in the Year of our Lord 1838.
All men are equal before the law and have certain inalienable rights among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing happiness and obtaining safety. — Map (db m62107) HM |
| Florida (Gulf County), St. Joe Beach — F-115 — Fort Crévecoeur — Fort Crévecoeur Abandoned |
| | (Front): In 1717, on this site, the French began erecting Fort Crévecoeur within Spanish domain. On February 8, 1718, Jean-Baptiste Lèmoyne de Bienville, acting Governor of Louisiana, dispatched his brother, Lèmoyne de Cháteagué to complete this Fort. By May 12, the French occupied St. Joseph's Bay. Cháteagué reported to Bienville completion, on the mainland, opposite St. Joseph Point, the stockaded Fort Crévecoeur with four bastions and garrisoned. Simultaneously Jean Pedro Matamoros de . . . — Map (db m8164) HM |
| Florida (Hamilton County), White Springs — Florida’s Original Tourist Destination |
| | From the Native Americans who first sought the healing sulphur waters of the spring, to the present-day travelers who enjoy the wide variety of recreational opportunities along the Suwannee River and the historical significance of the Town of White Springs, tourists have historically been lured to the natural resources around the Suwannee River’s White Springs.
The Suwannee River, made famous by Stephen Foster in the song “Old Folks at Home,” serves as the backdrop for the . . . — Map (db m44591) HM |
| Florida (Hamilton County), White Springs — The Residents of White Springs |
| |
Florida's native Timucuan Indians lived for hundreds of generations in what is now north Florida and southeast Georgia. Beginning in the 1580s, they were organized into mission villages by Spanish Franciscan priests. While exploitation and epidemics caused native populations to decline, the destruction of Spanish missions early in the eighteenth century by the Carolina militia and their Native American allies also caused the scattering and enslavement of the remaining native populations.
. . . — Map (db m44609) HM |
| Florida (Hamilton County), White Springs — Wars and Conflicts in White Springs |
| | Although residents living here have always been somewhat insulated, outside influences such as war and conflict have historically influenced the Town of White Springs. The Spanish, French, British, and Americans all fought wars to won the peninsula of Florida. The Seminole War proved to be the longest and most expensive war in US history, lasting from 1817 until 1842. Since most of the population of the Florida territory was in north central Florida, most of the early conflicts of the war . . . — Map (db m44512) HM |
| Florida (Hamilton County), White Springs — F-24 — White Springs |
| | These sulphur springs were thought to have medicinal properties and were considered sacred by the Indians. Warriors wounded in battle reputedly were not attacked when they came here to recuperate. Settlers moved into the vicinity in 1826 and the springs became an ante bellum resort noted for natural beauty and good cuisine. The village was a refuge during the War Between the States and many planters brought their families and slaves here for safety. — Map (db m13675) HM |
| Florida (Hamilton County), White Springs — White Sulphur Springs — "Fountain of Health" |
| | White Sulphur Springs was once a popular health resort, attracting large numbers of people to drink the water and bathe in the spring. This structure encircles a natural spring that was thought to possess great healing qualities. An early advertisement claimed the water cured everything from rheumatism and indigestion to dandruff and insomnia.
Constructed in 1908, the building housed a concession area, clinical examination and treatment rooms, and dressing rooms on either side of the . . . — Map (db m44610) HM |
| Florida (Hardee County), Bowling Green — Fort Chokonikla |
| | This leisurely 10 minute, 1/4 mile long trail will lead you to the site of Fort Chokonikla built in late 1849. It consisted of three square blockhouses for defense, and canvas tents for sleeping. No battles were fought here and it was abandoned about one year later due to sickness. — Map (db m62019) HM WM |
| Florida (Hardee County), Zolfo Springs — "Bone" Mizell |
| | was DeSoto County's wag, prairie philosopher, cowboy humorist and prankster. He was beloved for his merrymaking. Bone was christened
Morgan Bonapart Mizell
He was born 1863 and died 1912. Bone is buried in Joshua Creek Cemetery in DeSoto County near Arcadia. — Map (db m24589) HM |
| Florida (Hardee County), Zolfo Springs — Seminole Indian Battle |
| | One of the Last Battles fought with the Seminole Nation ended here on June 16, 1856 with Defeat of the Indians by Soldiers from Ft. Meade. — Map (db m61059) HM |
| Florida (Hernando County), Brooksville — Saint Stanislaus Chapel — Established 1915 |
| | The first St. Stanislaus Church was built here in 1915 by a small group of Polish farmers who had purchased land in this area of Hernando County in an effort to begin a new community. Priests from St. Leo Abbey would come out once a month to celebrate mass and the other sacraments. After a fire destroyed the first church in 1929, the community quickly built the present structure. The onslaught of the Great Depression along with poor soil and disease forced the settlement to be disbanded. This . . . — Map (db m37326) HM |
| Florida (Hernando County), Brooksville — St. Anthony the Abbot Church — Established 1892 — Oldest Catholic Parish in Hernando County |
| | Though mass was first celebrated for Brooksville Catholics at the Hope residence on Easter Sunday 1874 by Bishop Augustin Verot, a formal Catholic mission was not established until 1892. At that time Fr. Roman Kirchner, the Benedictine Pastor of St. Anthony of Padua would regularly travel on horseback up from San Antonio to celebrate mass at the home of Linn B. Sanders. In 1908, the Catholic Women’s Guild was formed to raise funds for a church, which would be constructed that same year at 61 . . . — Map (db m44010) HM |
| Florida (Hernando County), Ridge Manor — F-247 — Fort King Road |
| | Shortly after Florida became a U.S. Territory, Fort Brooke was constructed at the mouth of the Hillsborough River and Fort King was established near the present site of Ocala. In 1825, work was begun by the federal government on an overland route connecting those fortifications. This "Military Road" was improved and soon was known as the "Fort King Road." It was an important transportation and communication link during the Second Seminole War (1835-42), a conflict over the removal of Indians . . . — Map (db m41865) HM |
| Florida (Highlands County), Fort Basinger — F-54 — Fort Basinger |
| | Col. Zachary Taylor had Fort Basinger built in 1837, during the Seminole Wars, on the Kissimmee River 17 miles above its mouth. It was a small stockade which served as a temporary fort and supply station on the line of forts extending from Tampa to Lake Okeechobee. Named for Lt. William E. Basinger of the 2nd Artillery, who was killed in Dade's Massacre, the fort was abandoned at the end of the Indian wars. — Map (db m54083) HM |
| Florida (Hillsborough County), Brandon — Brandon Family Cemetery |
| | The earliest marked grave, dated 1857, was that of Susan Carson, mother of Martha Carson Brandon. Traveling by wagon train, John Brandon, his wife Martha (cousin of Kit Carson) and six sons left Mississippi and arrived at Fort Brooke (Tampa) in 1857. John acquired land in what now is Brandon. They worked the land until tragedy struck when John's beloved Martha died in 1867. John moved away and in 1868 married Victoria Varn, a widow with two children. In 1874 they moved back to New Hope . . . — Map (db m57356) HM |
| Florida (Hillsborough County), Brandon — Brandon Homestead |
| | In 1876 James H. Brandon, son of town
founder John Brandon and wife Martha,
built this large two-story frame home for
his wife Johanna and their seven
children. They loved entertaining guests
in their Folk Victorian southern mansion.
In 1901 William and DocEstelle Brandon
Varnedoe purchased the home. About
1912 Edward Linsley bought it and from
1946 to 1955 his daughter's family, the
Walter Clayton's lived here. In 1960, with
financial backing from John "Rudy" Williams, . . . — Map (db m27201) HM |
| Florida (Hillsborough County), Brandon — Limona — Founded January 12, 1876 |
| | Lakewood Drive, part of old Seminole Indian trails, led to Fort Brooke and "Pease Creek". In 1876 Judge Joseph Gillette Knapp of Wis. settled and named Limona after citrus trees left by the Spanish. In 1877 the Elgin Watch Co. formed Limona Park Ass'n for a winter retreat. Surveyor E. E. Pratt wrote the land was "best in Florida... high, dry... beautiful lakes... clear soft water". Knapp established this cemetery, a church, school and in 1878 a post office. In 1881 he proposed Tampa Historical Society. — Map (db m57213) HM |
| Florida (Hillsborough County), Lutz — Old Lutz Elementary School — Erected 1927 |
| | Has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior August 15, 1996 — Map (db m32216) HM |
| Florida (Hillsborough County), Plant City — Cow Cavalry — In Memory — Co. B 1st Battalion Fl. Special Cavalry C. S. A. |
| | (Front face)1863 - 1865 Erected by Plant City Chapter #1931 United Daughters of the Confederacy November 17, 2007
By 1863 the Confederate Army was suffering severe food shortages. Capt. John T. Lesley was commissioned to recruit from Ichepucksassa (Cork area of Plant City) a company of pioneer men to round up and drive the wild cattle of Florida north to the railroad stations. Many were too young or too old for regular military service. With great effort, along with 8 other companies in . . . — Map (db m46292) HM |
| Florida (Hillsborough County), Plant City — Glover School — Hillsborough County Historic Landmark — circa 1933 |
| | In 1866, freed slaves from East Hillsborough County founded the community of Bealsville-named for Alfred Beal, a member of one of the original families. Since the beginning of the community, education was important to its residents. Instruction first began in 1873. In the 1930s residents made great sacrifices to ensure education for their community--raising $1,100 and donating over 10 acres of land for the school. The Hillsborough County School Board assisted in the construction of a three-room . . . — Map (db m57221) HM |
| Florida (Hillsborough County), Plant City — 81000194 — Plant City High School |
| | This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior — Map (db m55287) HM |
| Florida (Hillsborough County), Plant City — 75000558 — Plant City Union Depot |
| | This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior — Map (db m51654) HM |
| Florida (Hillsborough County), Plant City — Town of Plant City — Incorporated January 10, 1885 |
| | Area one square mile with the center three blocks west of this point. The town plat covered land originally owned by pioneer John G. Thomas; 55 acres platted for Judge Henry L. Mitchell and 65 acres platted for Simon Peter Thomas, son of the pioneer. Mitchell became the 16th Governor of Florida; Thomas became Plant City alderman. — Map (db m51324) HM |
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