Floridiana Magazine

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Wood and Swink General Store and Post Office Evinston, Florida

When the Evinston post office opened in 1882, the cost to mail a first class letter was just three cents!  Since then, stamp prices have increased, the landscape of the town has changed (although not drastically) and the hours of the post office have been cut back.   But one thing has never changed: the importance of this building to the residents of Evinston.

When we pulled into the parking lot of the Wood and Swink, there were no other cars in the parking lot.  A flag flew above the building, and an old mail slot could be seen on the outside with a sign that read “Letters” above it.  The old wooden door stood open – an invitation to take a step inside to a time when running into the local general store for a bottle of soda or your mail meant running into your neighbors and chatting the day away.

We were greeted by Mike Ballard, Evinston’s PSE (or postal service employee), as he calls himself.  He only works part-time, since the post office hours have been cut way back.  Ballard is used to people just stopping by and asking about Florida’s oldest working post office.  And he’s more than happy to share the history.

The Evinston Post Office takes up a small corner just inside the Wood and Swink General Store. The original 16 mail boxes are still in use but are surrounded by newer ones. There are about 90 boxes in all, with 50 to 60 rented.  There are no rural routes in Evinston.  All mail is delivered to the post office.

The original boxes are to the left of the silver ones.

The building was purchased by H.D. Wood in 1906 and has been in the Wood family ever since.  One of those family members, Freddie Wood, Jr. is still a fixture at the store.  Freddie works in his garden in the morning, brings his produce to the store and takes his usual seat inside this old wooden structure.  He offers up the history of the building and of the community to anyone who wants to listen.  Wood admits some people find it fascinating his family served as postmasters for about a hundred years.

“I am the grandson of a postmaster, the nephew of a postmaster, the son of a postmaster and the husband of a postmaster!”

His dad was postmaster for 44 years – the longest in Florida history.

The post office isn’t the only reason residents stop by the Wood and Swink.  They come to share stories, catch up on news of the locals or just to say hi.  With current Saturday hours of only 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., Saturdays are typically slow.  Ballard says, “Either no one shows up or everyone shows up!”  And then there are the curious who have heard about the post office and make a special trip to this little piece of history – sometimes just to have a post card cancelled with the Evinston post mark.

The shelves are still stocked with items that were either sold or used in the store.  A collection of Elvis memorabilia is prominently displayed (Freddie’s wife is a big Elvis fan), old albums fill wooden crates and old family photos are hung from the shelves.

The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 and efforts are in the works to raise funds through the Wood and Swink Preservation Society to restore and protect the old building.  Who knows how long this gem will survive in today’s economy, but it’s a must-see for those with an interest in old Florida.  Not only can you get a glimpse of history, but you can also hear a local story or two and buy some of the freshest produce around!

NOTE:  The Wood and Swink General Store and Post Office is located on County Road 225 in Evinston on the Alachua – Marion County border.  They are currently open Monday – Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

It’s always a good idea to check their website for hours ahead of time.

Dudley Farm Historic State Park

Growing up in the 70s, I remember watching “Little House on the Prairie” and reading books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  The amount of work it took to run their farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota seemed foreign to me.   I couldn’t imagine how families could survive.

Visiting the Dudley Farm Historic State Park in Newberry rekindled some of those childhood memories and curiosities. Stepping back in time to the mid- to late 1800s, had me asking those same questions all over again.  How could life be so simple, yet so difficult at the same time?

As I walked up to the farm and took a quick look around, I saw what I was expecting: a main farmhouse, a variety of other structures, pastures for the livestock and a garden.

The open gate invites visitors up the path to the two-story main farmhouse – the heart of the farm.  The old house, complete with its original furnishings, provides a glimpse into how the family lived.  The ground floor consists of four rooms – three bedrooms and a living room, all the same size, arranged around a central hallway. Looking inside the bedrooms, you can only imagine how 14 people slept in the house.  No one got their own room.  In fact, with several beds in each, four or maybe five children shared each room and at least one of the rooms served a dual purpose.  A quilting frame hangs from the ceiling and can be raised when not in use.

 

When not in their bedrooms or working, a living room with old wooden chairs arranged in front of the fireplace set the stage for family time.

Off the back of the house is a separate kitchen with dining room – built apart from the main house to prevent damage from fire or smoke from cooking on a wood stove.  It was a place for the family to gather for meals after a long day on the farm, a place to share their daily stories of farm life.

 

Other buildings on the farm include the outhouse, a dairy shed and canning house, a smoke house for preserving hog meat, and a general store, which was originally located outside the front gate. There is also a working cane syrup complex.   Of course, life on the farm wouldn’t be complete without livestock.  Cracker cattle and mules can be seen in the pasture; turkeys and chickens can be seen in their pens.

 

There are days when the farm is in full operation, when visitors get to see volunteers in period clothing demonstrating some of the chores and experiences of farm life.  It was a quiet Saturday when we visited, so we were able to take a self-guided tour.  And while it is nice to leisurely roam the farm on our own, I can only imagine it abuzz with activity.

If you want to check out this living history working farm for yourself, Dudley Farm is located about seven miles west of Interstate 75 on State Road 26 (Newberry Road), between Gainesville and Newberry. The park is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  There is a $5.00 fee per car to visit the park.

Historical Note: The Dudley family moved to the area from South Carolina before the Civil War.  The farm, as it is today, was developed in the 1880s.  It was donated to the Florida Park Service in 1983 by Myrtle Dudley – the last of three generations to live and work here.  Dudley Farm is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

Manatee Viewing

Whenever I see manatees in their natural settings, their beauty and mystery never cease to amaze me.  I’ve seen them playing in the Gulf of Mexico just offshore of Englewood Beach and I’ve seen them in springs and canals. And each time is like the first.

Here are a few of my favorite manatee viewing areas:

Blue Spring State Park, Orange City:  Blue Spring is a designated manatee refuge and during the colder months of the year, hundreds of these gentle giants can be seen in the spring.  There are numerous observation areas along the spring run, as well as a boardwalk that goes to the spring itself.   Please visit my earlier blog post on Blue Spring State Park to learn more.

Hanging out in the spring run at Blue Spring State Park

Manatee Springs State Park, Chiefland:  Manatee Springs is one of the state’s largest springs and is also a National Natural Landmark.  Water from the spring run flows into the Suwannee River before it meets the Gulf of Mexico. Watch the manatees from the boardwalk or from the shoreline.

From the shore at Manatee Springs

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville:  A manatee observation deck overlooking the Haulover Canal provides the perfect spot to watch the marine mammals. Another area close by is across the bridge to the boat ramp.  I actually saw more playing there than at the observation deck itself.  Again, most of the manatees can be seen during the spring and fall when the weather is a little cooler.

Mom and calf at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge (from the boat ramp)

Other places you might want to visit for manatee viewing:

  • Fanning Springs State Park, Fanning Springs
  • Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River
  • Tampa Electric’s Manatee Viewing Center, Apollo Beach
  • Lee County Manatee Park, Ft. Myers

A few pointers boaters at Manatee Springs

The best time for viewing aggregations of manatees is from November through April when they are finding their way into the warmer waters.  Water activities are suspended in the state parks during the winter season because of the manatees.

Enjoy the view!

A Step Back in Time: McIntosh, Florida

If you ever get a chance to just meander along some of Florida’s backroads, do it.  There is an abundance of treasures to be found.  On this particular trip, we set out specifically for McIntosh, a town with a population of 452, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

Located off U.S. Highway 441, McIntosh is less than 20 miles south of Gainesville.  Not that you would get lost, but it is easy to find your way around town. Avenues are named A – J, and streets are numbered 1st – 12th.  Those streets and avenues are lined with towering oak trees with branches that seem to be reaching out and inviting you to take “a step back in time.”

This quaint community is home to more than 60 structures that qualify as historic buildings.  According to the National Register of Historic Places, the buildings include packing houses, churches, houses and the train depot.

One of the numerous churches in McIntosh | Photo by Doris Keeler, Floridiana Magazine

McIntosh History

Its history dates back to 1849 when land that included McIntosh was purchased at a government auction held in Micanopy. Development took off after the Florida Southern Railroad was built in 1881.  The route covered 81 miles from Palatka to Gainesville and Ocala and, when the train depot was built around 1895, it became the hub of citrus and vegetable shipping in the area.

McIntosh hasn’t changed in more than 80 years.  After the last train passed through in 1974, a local group known as The Friends of McIntosh purchased the depot and restored it.  The depot now houses a museum of railroad memorabilia. From the ticket counter to the baggage area, visitors can take that step back in time and experience a slice of life of old Florida railroad history.

McIntosh Train Depot | Photo by Doris Keeler, Floridiana Magazine

We visited for the sole purpose of attending the McIntosh 1890s Festival, sponsored by the “Friends” every October.   The group works to “preserve and enhance the natural and historic beauty of McIntosh,” and  sponsors the festival to assist in those efforts.  Live music, craft vendors and food lined the streets for this one day event which drew more than 35,000 people from around the state. (The first festival in 1974 drew 4,000 visitors.) Money from the event is used to fund a variety of projects, including scholarships, park infrastructure, funds to the local school and assistance for other community needs.

McIntosh 1890s Festival | Photo by Doris Keeler, Floridiana Magazine

A trip to McIntosh is the perfect way to spend a Saturday, whether you’re attending the October festival or just looking for a relaxing day.  Take a detour off the Interstate and enjoy more of the real Florida.

“You can’t travel the back roads very long without discovering a multitude of gentle people doing good for others with no expectation of gain or recognition. The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines. Some people out there spend their whole lives selflessly.”   Charles Kuralt, Journalist

Blue Spring State Park

Away from the crowded beaches and major theme parks that attract millions of visitors from around the globe, is the natural Florida. Places where nature is left intact and is preserved.  Places where you can witness the beauty of the “old” Florida.  The Springs.  And there are a lot of them.  In fact, geologists have estimated there to be more than 900 springs in the state, including Blue Spring State Park.

Blue Spring State Park in Orange City is home to the largest spring on the St. John’s River.  With more than 2,600 acres, the park offers something for just about any nature lover. Or manatee lover.

Blue Spring State Park

Manatee Season

Blue Spring is a designated manatee refuge and is the winter home to hundreds of West Indies manatees. Manatee season here runs from mid-November through March and is one of the biggest draws to the park.  The water is a constant 72 degrees, so when the mercury drops, the manatees find their way into the spring run and the spring itself.  On a cold winter morning, with steam rising from the spring, manatees can be easily spotted.  Manatee watchers count them daily and record  their numbers. Since guests are  not allowed to get into the water, several lookouts are strategically located and allow you to stand above the spring to view these gentle giants.

On the day of our visit, with temperatures of 35 degrees and wind chills much colder, 270 manatees were counted.  The following day, that number jumped to 377.


Historical Site

The park is also an historical site. The Thursby House, a two-story frame structure, was built in 1873, at the height of the steamboat era, by Louis Thursby.  It was the hub of activity along the St. John’s River and hosted steamboat passengers as they traveled up and down the river.

Other Amenities

For water lovers, there is canoeing, kayaking, boating, fishing, swimming, snorkeling and certified scuba diving (with a partner).  Just be advised, no water activities are allowed in the spring or the spring run during manatee season.

For campers, there are six cabins, each with two bedrooms, and 51 campsites.  For those just wanting to get away for a day and enjoy a nice picnic in the park, there are plenty pavilions to help you do just that.

Make sure also you take the boardwalk (1/3 of a mile) through the hammock to the spring.

Orange City is located on Highway 17 between DeBary and DeLand.  The park is four miles off 17 on West French Avenue.  The gates open at 8:00 a.m., but will close temporarily when the parking lot is full.  Admission to the park is $6.00 per car.

Florida History through Post Cards

Much of Florida’s early history can be experienced in post card collections that have survived the test of time.  If you’re lucky to have had someone in your family save the cards and pass them down, you know what a treasure they are.  Not only do you have the history depicted on the front, but if the post cards have been used, you have a record of eyewitness testimony on the back. I am not a serious deltiologist (a person who collects and studies post cards). My own collection has come from a variety of sources: my family, trips to antique or thrift stores (even in other states), and online stores like Etsy.  And while I like to actually hold the cards, there is also an online collection of 8,000 Florida postcards in the Florida Memory Project that houses images I would not be able to see otherwise.

With a growing personal collection of post cards, I have divided them into categories for the ease of sharing.

The first batch includes what I call  post cards of the “true Florida,” cards that represent what others think of when they think of our great state.  Join me as we explore the many facets of Florida as told through these unique pieces of history.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park

“I do not understand how anyone can live without some small place of enchantment to turn to.”                          Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Cross Creek

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Front of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlling house

Two hours away from the hustle and bustle of Orlando city life, lays that “small place of enchantment.”  The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park sits between Orange Lake and Lochloosa Lake in Hawthorne, Florida about 19 miles southeast of Gainesville.  Nestled along Cross Creek, it was the homestead of Rawlings, the Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Yearling and author of many other books depicting cracker life.

A small county road leads into the park.  The unpaved parking lot sits off to the side, where you are directed to place your $3.00 park admission into the provided envelope and insert into a small wooden box.  From there, you are free to wander the grounds of the Rawlings homestead, a 72-acre home site featuring nature trails, citrus trees, a barn, garden, tenant house and the main farmhouse.  Not all of the buildings are the originals, but rather true-to-life replicas.

On the morning of our visit, we were the first ones to arrive and the only ones on the first guided tour of the morning.  A gray bearded park ranger, dressed in denim overalls, a plaid shirt and hat provided a very in-depth history of the grounds.  We began at the barn for an introduction to the history of the park before moving to the house itself.  Stepping inside the old cracker house was like stepping back in time.  Through the arrangement of the furnishings and the tales of the old homestead, it was easy to envision Rawlings living at Cross Creek.  A typewriter, pack of cigarettes, and other personal items sat on a handmade table on the screened-in front porch – a favorite place for Rawlings to sit and work.  If you let your mind wander, you can almost hear the clackety-clack of the old typewriter as she worked on her stories….

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“Who owns Cross Creek? The red-birds, I think, more than I, for they will have their nests even in the face of delinquent mortgages.. It seems to me that the earth may be borrowed, but not bought.  It may be used, but not owned.  It gives itself in response to love and tending, offers its sesonal flowering and fruiting.  But we are tenants and not possessors, lovers, and not masters.  Cross Creek belongs to the wind and the rain, to the sun and the seasons, to the cosmic secrecy of seed, and beyond all, to time…”

 ~from Cross Creek

The guided tour through the house lasted about an hour.  With each new room came new insight into the life of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. If you have read any of her books, it is easy to connect to many of the sights of the homestead. If you haven’t, or if it’s been awhile since you have, pick up The Yearling or Cross Creek, read them, then head on over to the park. Some of the scenes in those books come alive inside the walls of this old house.

There are too many stories to tell about the house and the life of its famous occupant.  It is a piece of history you need to experience for yourself.  There is a $3.00 per person charge at the end, but if you’re a Florida history buff or an avid reader, it’s worth it.

The park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. October through July (closed August and September).  The house tours are offered Thursday through Sunday.

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Find out more at: https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Marjorie-Kinnan-Rawlings