One merely needs to examine U. S. Postal archives to determine
how important a player the railroad had been during the early development of
central Florida. CitrusLAND, as it exists today, began forming during the latter
half of the 19th century, and railroads served a major role in that
development.
Florida's Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1887
All summer, this RAILS & TRAILS blog discussed a dozen
early independent railroads, each crisscrossing central Florida during the
1880s. Privatized railroads tamed a remote wilderness known then primarily as
Orange County, Florida. A 3,000 square mile area, the first train began running
over central Florida’s soft sugar sand in November, 1880. More than a dozen
railroads started up between 1880 and 1890.
Lake, Osceola and Seminole Counties did not exist in the year
1877, and 45 post offices that year provided mail service for all of Orange
County. The following year though, talk of at least three new trains in the
county kicked off a decade of unrivaled growth. Over the next three years, 18
new post offices opened, including such present day Railroad Ghost Towns as
PAOLA, SNOWVILLE and WILLCOX.
A total of 83 post offices opened in Orange County between 1878
and 1890, with most (57) being established between 1883 and 1888, the same time
frame as most railroad start-ups. Many a city along 1880s CitrusLAND railroad
lines eventually became Ghost Towns, but so too did the trains that helped get
these towns established.
No planned city better exemplifies the rise and fall of
railroad Ghost Towns better than CRESTON, Florida, on Johns Lake, south of
present day Winter Garden. Founded in 1887, the city of 240 plus acres was to
be serviced by the Tavares, Apopka & Gulf Railroad. The want-to-be city however
was established the same year as Florida’s Yellow Fever epidemic. Out of
hundreds of planned town lots, only two sales were recorded. (CitrusLAND is proud to announce that we donated all of our extensive research on the town of CRESTON to Winter Garden Heritage Foundation.)
CRESTON, Orange County, Florida 1887
Place names today, locations along the more than a dozen railroads included such towns as: PALM SPRINGS; MARKHAM, CLAY SPRINGS; HIAWASSEE; FOREST CITY; PLYMOUTH; FORMOSA; GABRIELLA and many others.
Today, many all of the old railroad beds throughout central
Florida have been removed, leaving behind narrow 50’ right of ways that have
been converted into an excellent trail system. Where once steam locomotives
huffed and puffed between one local town and the next, today, joggers, bikers
and exercise enthusiasts enjoy outings on natures best trail system.
HISTORIC RAILS became TODAY’S LOCAL TRAILS!
Each previous RAILS & TRAILS post is available at this Blog Site for your reading pleasure. Copyright 2016, Richard Lee Cronin.
ARRIVING SEPTEMBER 21, 2016,
Part One - Rick’s Blog:
PHILOCLEA of TALLAHASSEE
Florida’s Forgotten
Frontierswomen
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