Earleton in Alachua County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Earleton, Florida

Photographed by Mike Stroud, 2011

1. Earleton, Florida Marker

Inscription. 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 the Civil War began, Gen. Earle owned a 2000-acre cotton plantation north of here and had 50 slaves, making him one of the largest slave holders in Alachua County. A colonel of the Seventh Florida Regiment, Earle joined Capt. J.J. Dickison’s Company H for the 1864 Battle of Gainesville, leading an infantry of ninety men down what is now E. University Ave. After the war, Earle became a director for the canal company connecting Lake Santa Fe to Lake Alto and president of the Green Cove Springs to Melrose Railroad. His son-in-law, German botanist Baron Hans von Luttichau (1845-1926) created the “Collins-Belvedere Azalea Gardens” in Earleton, introducing Formosa

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azaleas to Florida. Earle is buried in the family plot at Eliam Cemetery in Melrose.

St. John’s Episcopal Church and Cemetery were established at this site in the late 1870s by English settlers. Completed in 1880, the church was one of the first carpenter gothic chapels in Florida. It was at the time known as the mission at Balmoral and the Lake Santa Fe Mission. When Trinity Episcopal Church (still standing) was completed in Melrose in 1886, this smaller church was sold for $15 and torn down. The cemetery was established in 1878 and held between 60-70 graves at the turn of the 20th Century. Little is known about who is buried there because the records were lost when the Diocesan headquarters burned during the Jacksonville fire of 1901. The only legible headstone belongs to Emma Lucy Hilton, who was born in England in 1827, and died in Earleton in 1884. On the banks of Lake Santa Fe (east of here) sat the Balmoral Hotel, which catered to northern tourists who came by train to Waldo and then by steamboat through the Lake Alto canal. Balmoral was an impressive two-story, U-shaped structure and a popular resort through the 1880s,

Earleton, Florida Marker, reverse side image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 20, 2011

2. Earleton, Florida Marker, reverse side

until the 1894-95 freezes ruined the local economy. The hotel was turned into a private residence and eventually burned. No trace is left.

A Florida Heritage Site

Erected 2008 by Historic Melrose, Inc. and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-625.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • War, Mexican-American • War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1856.

Location. 29° 44.32′ N, 82° 6.271′ W. Marker is in Earleton, Florida, in Alachua County. It is on County Road 1469 north of NE 77th Lane. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Earleton FL 32631, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Florida.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At

Earleton, Florida Marker near NE 77th Lane image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 20, 2011

3. Earleton, Florida Marker near NE 77th Lane

least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Melrose United Methodist Church (approx. 3.8 miles away); Trinity Episcopal Church (approx. 3.9 miles away); The Historic Banana Community (approx. 3.9 miles away); Melrose (approx. 3.9 miles away); Melrose World War II Memorial (approx. 3.9 miles away); Melrose World War I Memorial (approx. 3.9 miles away); Melrose Civil War Memorial (approx. 3.9 miles away); Melrose Woman's Club (approx. 4 miles away).

Earleton, Florida Marker with the St. John's Cemetery, as mentioned image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 20, 2011

4. Earleton, Florida Marker with the St. John's Cemetery, as mentioned

Earleton, Florida image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 20, 2011

5. Earleton, Florida

St. John's Cemetery
Earleton, Fl.
Granite Blocks Mark
Unidentified Graves
Est. 1878

St. John's Cemetery - One of many unidentified graves. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 20, 2011

6. St. John's Cemetery - One of many unidentified graves.

..."Little is known about who is buried there because the records were lost when the Diocesan headquarters burned during the Jacksonville fire of 1901."...

Earleton, Florida Marker, seen along State Highway 200A (County Rd 1469), looking north image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 20, 2011

7. Earleton, Florida Marker, seen along State Highway 200A (County Rd 1469), looking north

Credits. This page was last revised on March 2, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 29, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,480 times since then and 126 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on March 29, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.