Blog Archives

Homestead Coral Castle

5/24/2023

"Many stories and wild theories emerged over the decades about Leedskalnin and how he built his castle. Some say he levitated the blocks with psychic powers, or by singing to the stones. Others suggest Leedskalnin had arcane knowledge of magnetism and so-called "earth energies."
As tempting as it is to view the amazing park through a veil of mystery, in fact we know how the castle was built. Creating a structure like the Coral Castle today could probably be accomplished in a few months with a construction crew and modern machinery. But Leedskalnin worked alone using basic tools like picks, winches, ropes and pulleys.

Leedskalnin himself said that that he did it using hard work and the principles of leverage. The tools he used to quarry the rock are on display at the Coral Castle, and several old photos depict the large tripods, pulleys, and winches he used to move the blocks. Though the quarried stone slabs are large, they are actually lighter than they appear because the rock is porous." Source: Live Science
Read more about Coral Castle ... Only in Your State

Homestead Historic Train Depot - Click Here

Madison

5/23/2023

The City of Madison was founded on land secured from Madison C. Livingston, May 2nd 1838, and established as the county seat after its removal from San Pedro. An early political center, it was along the escape route of Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckenridge in 1865. The town played a prominent role in the development of tobacco, livestock raising, and conservation in North Florida. Home of North Florida Community College, the area’s economy is based on agriculture and industry.
Cotton planters settled the town of Madison in 1838, though there were residents here before that. The county was established in 1827 and by 1850 the county population had grown to more than 5,000 people.

The world’s largest longstaple cotton gin was located in Madison before the boll weevil arrived in 1916, and wiped out the cotton industry. The “cotton years” memories are preserved in a small park near the Amtrak railroad station in the south side of town. In the park is a 16-foot drive wheel for a 500 horse power engine that once pulled 65 gins in what was said to be the world’s largest cotton processing plant.”

The oldest house in town, still occupied, was built in 1849 and a small wooden Episcopal church, built in 1843, is still in use.

In the center of Madison is the Wardlaw-Smith-Goza house, a stately mansion that dates from 1860 and served as a Confederate hospital during the War between the States.
Also, in the heart of downtown Madison is the Four Freedoms Park. The park is a beautifully landscaped city-block area containing a large gazebo, and the Four Freedoms monument. This famous monument honors Colin P. Kelley, a former Madison County resident who was recognized as the first U. S. hero of World War II and who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery and valor in combat.

Read:
Steam Engine: Here HMdb
The town: Madison

Live Oak - town and Train Depot

5/22/2023

They say that that the more north you go in Florida, the more South you are. This certainly applies to the town of Live Oak. Just west of the intersection of I-75 and I-10, Live Oak is shaded by the canopies of ancient oaks, dripping with Spanish moss. The town's pace mimics the Suwannee and Santa Fe rivers that bound it. The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park may best embody Live Oak’s assets, offering canoeing and hiking in the wilderness. Source: Live Oak

Live Oak Train Depot - click Here

The Graffiti Bridge

Earlier this year, I learned of a location between Live Oak and Ellavile where there was an abandoned bridge that trailblazers for abandoned structures had found. We tried to locate it when in the Panhandle, thought we did but were redirected by surveyors who believed the bridge we were looking for was removed. Not convinced we continued a web search and learned we were indeed at the correct location. So, with a passion to close this 'treasure hunt', Ginger I again passed through the area and did locate the graffiti bridge over the Suwannee River. Got it!

Today, the story was validated, we were ate the correct bridge, it is called the bridge to nowhere and indeed it is a favorite location for Florida history buffs and artists. Below are photos (first series of 3) we captured and those following I downloaded and post from this story Only in Your State. Review that article, interesting history.

Largo - Botanical Gardens and Heritage Village

5/22/2023

The Florida Botanical Gardens inspires and delights visitors of all ages. Florida' s finest formal gardens, scenic landscapes and natural habitats unfold across 150 sun-kissed acres. A beautiful wedding garden is offered featuring the beautiful mosaic designs along with more than 25 gardens and display areas delight nature enthusiastics including the Tropical, Daylily, Bromeliad and Butterfly gardens.

A Rose Garden shows off a dazzling array of species perfect for the Florida climate. Take a few minutes to marvel at the wildlife, including alligators, that call the Gardens home. Stop by the Botanical Bounty Store for a souvenir or gift sporting a horticultural flair. Source: The Botanical Gardens

Heritage Village
This living museum features a fascinating collection of restored homes and buildings on 21 wooded acres. The historical museum is the centerpiece of this park and features two museum galleries with exhibits. Spinning, weaving and other demonstrations are regularly held.
Source: Heritage Village - See Website

Florida Southern College

5/22/2023

Frank Lloyd Wright was an influential architect of the twentieth century. In 1938, the Florida Southern College president, Ludd M. Spivey, approached Wright with the task of transforming the 100-acre lakeside orange grove into a modern campus. The collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture at Florida Southern College is called Child of the Sun.

The name for the architecture came from Wright's idea of removing the "uninspired" buildings of the existing campus and replacing them with a campus that would, according to Wright, "grow out of the ground and into the light, a child of the sun. "The works by Wright include the following:

Annie Pfeiffer Chapel – First completed Frank Lloyd Wright building, begun 1938, dedicated 1941, French-door balconies restored in 2007
Buckner Building (originally the E.T. Roux Library) – begun 1942, completed 1946
Ordway Building (originally the Industrial Arts Building) – begun 1950, completed 1952
Danforth Chapel – begun 1954, completed 1955 ... and more

The present campus comprises 70 buildings on 110 acres of land and is home to the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.

Lakeland

5/22/2023

Southern Florida College Photos - Here

Train Depot Photos and more - click Here

Key Biscayne - Cape Florida lighthouse and sunset

5/21/2023

"Standing tall and majestically along the south end of the Key Biscayne shoreline, the Cape Florida lighthouse is a staggering sight. It’s not hard to imagine the towering structure once guiding mariners and fisherman in the 1800s, back before LED navigation lights and other standard lighting fixtures found on modern-day boats.
It’s a beautiful piece of history, left over from a not-so-kind history of Indian attacks, Civil War battles, hurricanes and other harrowing and heroic times in Florida history, and it’s a treasure that has withstood more than its share of wear and tear over the decades.

In fact, the Cape Florida Light – which sits as a stately landmark within Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park – remains the oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade County, though it has been reinforced and refurbished several times since its original build in 1825." Source: Cape Florida Lighthouse

London, England

5/21/2023

London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and retains its medieval boundaries. Source Wiki, images from random web search and personal photos.

Naples - the pier, the sun

5/21/2023

The city of Naples was founded in 1886 by former Confederate general and U.S. Senator John Stuart Williams and his partner, Louisville businessman Walter N. Haldeman, the publisher of the Louisville Courier-Journal. Throughout the 1870s and 1880s, magazine and newspaper stories ran stories about the area's mild climate and abundant fish and likened it to the sunny Italian peninsula.

The name Naples caught on when promoters described the bay as "surpassing the bay in Naples, Italy". By the summer of 1888, Naples had a population of about 80 people, and the first hotel opened in 1889. Source: Wiki

Naples Historic Train Depot - Click Here

Hollywood - teenage vacations and train depot

5/20/2023

A personal memory of family vacations in Hollywood Beach (60 years ago recently visited)

Hollywood Train Depot - Click Here

North Thonotosassa - Hillsborough River State Park

5/20/2023

Just minutes from downtown Tampa, this diverse park offers a refuge from city life with seven miles of nature trails and wonderful wildlife viewing. The park has natural and historical significance. Stroll along the river rapids, enjoy camping, explore historic structures, and even have a picnic or view scenic landscapes. Source: Hillsborough River State Park

Gulfport

5/20/2023

This small town of 12,000 is nestled along Boca Ciega Bay not far from where you take the impressive Sunshine Skyway across Tampa Bay down into the Bradenton and Sarasota region. The town is actually a tad older than St. Petersburg because a railroad man named Peter Demens built his Orange Belt Railway from Central Florida to this location.

It was originally named Disston City in 1884 after Hamilton Disston, an early northern businessman who had purchased millions of acres of Florida land. Demens pushed the railroad on south and in 1888 named the end of the line St. Petersburg after his home town in Russia.
Disston City was renamed Bonifacio, then Veteran City, and finally in 1910 it settled on the name Gulfport. Source: Florida Backroads Travel

Personal Note: this is one of our favorite Low-Light towns, with pubs, restaurants and more nicely lit with artificial light. It s a great place to chill, watch the sunset and enjoy great food. (see additional photos on Google Photos)

Gulfport, MS

5/20/2023

Gulfport, Mississippi, one half of the Gulfport-Biloxi section of the Gulf Coast, was very nearly destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. The city has been gradually reconstructed, and the surrounding natural areas have been rebuilding themselves as well. Visit the barrier islands that form Gulf Islands National Seashore, a parkland along the Mississippi Sound. A ferry runs from Gulf Port to Ship Island, with unspoiled white beaches and tidal pools, boardwalks and historic sites to explore.

(open) Vero Beach Train Depot

5/20/2023

Source: Vero Beach https://www.visitflorida.com/travel-ideas/articles/vero-beach-old-train-station-and-museum/

Ft Walton and Destin Beach

5/19/2023

Destin and Fort Walton Beach ... these communities were visited on our most trip to Mississippi. They are best known for white sands and emerald waters. Destin has the title of 'The World's Luckiest Fishing Village' and boasts one of the biggest fleets of charter fishing boats in the country. These two towns are resort communities with both vacationers and fishermen visiting year-round. An abundance of hotels, rentals, boardwalk shopping and of course many restaurants are there for visitors. We found limited historical areas to explore.

However, in Fort Walton we found one of three Florida coastal Indian Mounds dating back hundreds of years, in addition to an old Schoolhouse and Post Office over 100 years old.
Resource: Ft Walton Beach

Trilby Train Depot (now in the Pioneer Village - Dade City )

5/19/2023

The Trilby Depot built in 1896 and a 1913 Porter Steam Engine were previously located in the nearby town of Trilby, once the third largest railroad yard in Florida. The steam engine was used for 50 years by the Cummer Cypress Co. to haul logs to its sawmill in Lacoochee. The logs on the truck are estimated to be between four and five hundred years old.
Resource: Trilby Train Depot and Pioneer Train Museum

Cross Creek - Marjorie Rawlings

5/18/2023

This old Florida homestead walks one back in time to 1930s farm life when Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings lived and worked in the tiny community of Cross Creek. Her cracker-style home and farm, where she wrote her Pulitzer prize-winning novel "The Yearling" and other wonderful works of fiction, has been restored and is preserved as it was when she lived here. Source: Florida State Parks

Inglis - Train (Patterson-McInnis)

5/18/2023

This locomotive, known locally as "Three Spot", often pulled 30 to 40 cars as it transported logs from area woodlands to the Patterson-McInnis Sawmill. Originally a wood burning engine thought to be built around 1915, it was converted to steam during its service, which ended about World War II. Source: HMdb Database

Blountston Train

5/17/2023

Formed in 1909, the Marianna & Blountstown Railroad offered shortline service in the Florida Panhandle. Steam locomotive #444 was in operation when the M&B's first diesel engine arrived in 1947 and rests today on the exact location of the old M&B roadbed. Passenger service was offered until 1929, and the road handled agricultural and lumber products until it abandonment in 1972. Interchange with the Louisville & Nashville was maintained at Marianna. At 29 miles in length, the little train was Florida's shortest common-carrier railroad. Source: M&B Train Locomotive

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Personal Notes - - - - - - - -
Traveling backroads and trying to avoid some of the Rt 10 expressway, we always travel through Blountstown. Our travel route starts in Red Beach and Rt19 to Rt98 (Passing St Marks Lighthouse via Lighthouse Road) to Rt267 (passing Wakulla Springs Lodge) towards and onto Rt20 through Blountstown. Then we searched the wb for historic train depots we learn THERE IS LOCOMOTIVE worth finding. Finding? .... we past the site every month and pass within 50 yards for the last year. Great locomotive and great to hop on board carefully and carefully shoot the interior.

Blountstown - Pioneer Village & Train

5/17/2023

"At Panhandle Pioneer Settlement, a living history museum in Blountstown, founder Willard Smith stands inside a small building that houses an old Florida store and post office. It is a hot Saturday afternoon in June and, as he is most days, Smith is there greeting visitors with a friendly, “Y’all come in.”

Known as Clarksville General Store, this building serves as the five-acre Settlement’s hub, a welcome center and gift shop where tours begin and many end with an ice cold Coca-Cola. It is one of 18 buildings – most dating from the early 1800s to the 1940s – in this simulated agricultural community that offers a peek into Northwest Florida’s past." Source: Bountstown

Blountstown Train Photos - Click Here

Archer Train Depot

5/16/2023

The Archer Railroad Museum is housed in the historic Seaboard Air Line depot, built around 1900. Archer was founded in 1859 as a shipping point for area farms on David Levy Yulee's newly constructed railroad and was named for Florida's first Secretary of State, James T. Archer. The museum houses memorabilia of the town's growth -- from trains and local industry to the people who have made up the community. Source: Visit Natural North Florida.

Personal Note: it was a terrible rainy day and we drove briefly in town and was able to catch one more site.

Punta Gorda - Town of Murals

5/16/2023

Punta Gorda was the scene of massive destruction after Charley, a Category 4 hurricane, came through the city on August 13, 2004. Charley was the strongest tropical system to hit Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and the first hurricane since Hurricane Donna in 1960 to make a direct hit on Florida's southwest coast.[8] In the years following the storm, buildings were restored or built to hurricane-resistant building codes.

The new buildings, restorations and amenities concurrently preserved the city's past while showcasing newer facilities. Source: Wiki

See also Punta Gorda: 17 things to do in an Old Florida riverfront town ...
Florida Rambler - Gateway to the Authentic Florida

See Also Punta Gorda: Town of Murals
Punta Gorda Historic - Mural Society

Personal Note:
Our visit was limited to finding and shooting murals. The town is attractive and looks clean and updated. We did not have an opportunity to see the impacts of Hurricane Ida in late 2022. We will be exploring lots more since our daughter and family have moved to Punta Gorda, enjoying their new home on 7 acres ... inland. The are many unexplored area in the southwest and Ginger and I plan to photograph and explore ... "knock, knock - we've come to visit"

Everglades City

5/16/2023

The area around Chokoloskee Bay, including the site of Everglades City, was occupied for thousands of years by Native Americans of the Glades culture, who were absorbed by the Calusa shortly before the arrival of Europeans in the New World, but by the time Florida was transferred from Spain to the United States in 1821, the area was uninhabited. A legend says that Seminoles planted potatoes along what is now the Barron River during the Seminole Wars, in the vicinity of the present Everglades City.
Source: Vist Everglades City

Everglades City Historic Train Depot - Click here

Everglades City Train Depot

5/16/2023

"The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) ran between Immokalee (40 miles north) and Everglades from 1928 to 1956. It carried passengers as well as freight and was an important link for the tomato farms in the area. The station, in typical Spanish-style stucco popular in Florida, was used in the 1957 film "Wind Across the Everglades: starring Burl Ives and Gypsy Rose Lee.

The tracks were torn out in 1959 and the building, which was extended to include a banquet room, became a popular restaurant." Source: HMDB

Homestead Train Depot

5/14/2023

The Homestead Seaboard Air Line Railway Station is a historic depot constructed by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in Homestead. It is the southernmost Seaboard station and the southernmost railroad station in the United States still standing at its original location.

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad was established in 1900, operating nearly 4,000 miles of track running from Richmond, Virginia down through Jacksonville and ending in West Palm Beach. Solomon Davies Warfield, chairman of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad at the time, extended the railroad further into South Florida to Miami in 1925 and subsequently extending it even further to Homestead in 1927. Source: Homestead