Instructions:
1....Print this file.
2....At its end, click on "rules" to see a copy of the trail rules, print it, and then click where indicated at the end of the 3-page rules and patch order form to get back to the list of Florida trails.
3....If you want a hand-drawn map showing the locations of all of the sites, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Steve Rajtar, 1614 Bimini Dr., Orlando, FL 32806.
4....Hike the trail and order whatever patches you like (optional).
WARNING - This trail may pass through one or more neighborhoods which, although full of history, may now be unsafe for individuals on foot, or which may make you feel unsafe there. Hikers have been approached by individuals who have asked for handouts or who have inquired (not always in a friendly manner) why the hikers are in their neighborhood. Drugs and other inappropriate items have been found by hikers in some neighborhoods. It is suggested that you drive the hike routes first to see if you will feel comfortable walking them and, if you don't think it's a good place for you walk, you might want to consider (1) traveling with a large group, (2) doing the route on bicycles, or (3) choosing another hike route. The degree of comfort will vary with the individual and with the time and season of the hike, so you need to make the determination using your best judgment. If you hike the trail, you accept all risks involved.
This building was constructed in 1935 with a Mediterranean Revival style. It shows an irregular floor plan with a hip roof and cross gable and gable extensions. An arcaded end porch extends toward the facade, and is interrupted by a square tower with a hip roof, frieze, pilasters and arched openings.
It is the largest project in Davenport constructed with federal relief assistance. It was built with help from the Federal Emergency Relief Agency essentially as a meeting hall. In 1939, with help from the Works Progress Administration, they added a recreation area with a pool, tennis and shuffleboard courts.
This Mediterranean Revival style building opened in September of 1927. It cost $15,054, and utilized plans drawn up by Scroggs & Ewing, an Augusta, Georgia, firm. Before designing this building, that firm had done about 475 projects, including notable homes in Augusta and in Aiken, South Carolina. This city hall was one of the few in Florida. Construction was supervised by Streater Brothers Construction Company of Lakeland.
This city was originally known as Horse Creek, a name given by the railroad. It was also informally known as Mo Water. In 1886, the name was changed to Davenport, either after Col. William Davenport who commanded Fort Davenport about 12 miles northwest of here during the Seminole Wars, or a conductor named Davenport on the South Florida Railroad. The earliest settlers during the 1880s included James Bowen, Henry Goodman, Leslie More and the Means family. The town officially incorporated in March of 1915.
Located on the first floor of the city hall building is a museum, opened in 2002, which includes a vintage fire truck. Upstairs is a reading room restored to earlier decor, with books from the 1920s Davenport Library.
This "flat-iron" shaped building was constructed in 1925 with Mediterranean Revival style elements. The $20,000 construction cost was financed by Pennsylvania native John L. Schmidt. He was educated in Germany as an electrical engineer and established the first automobile service station in Davenport in 1919. At the time, only three local residents owned cars. In about 1921, Schmidt opened a Studebaker dealership. He served four terms on the town council.
This building is made from hollow tile and brick. It contained three gas tanks, a large showroom and garage space for 30 cars.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in about 1911, and is the second-oldest structure remaining in Davenport. It was the home of Harry Whoolery, a Pennsylvania native who helped incorporate the town. He was a house contractor and served on the town council in 1915. This home was used by him for a time as a hotel and boarding house, and has been restored as a bed and breakfast, tea room and gift shop.
This home was built in about 1925. Stylistically, it is known as Frame Vernacular, a term which applies to about 55% of the buildings in Davenport. It refers to common wood frame construction techniques employed by lay or self-taught builders. Popular magazines helped to disseminate information about architectural trends, and the railroad provided affordable and efficient transportation for manufactured housing materials.
This was built in about 1925, and is considered to be Masonry Vernacular in style. Constituting about 11% of the buildings in Davenport, the term is applied to common masonry construction techniques employed by lay or self-taught builders.
This was constructed in 1925-26 by Emmett Nicholson, a contractor from Atlanta who arrived in Davenport in 1925. It shows a Mediterranean Revival influence and is made from solid poured concrete with steel-reinforced beams, making it strong like a bomb shelter. Its wood beams are 2" x 12" and it has 12' to 15' foot ceilings. It has no air conditioning, and the inside temperature stays at about 78 degrees year-round. It originally was about 1200 square feet with two bedrooms and one bathroom, and later was enlarged to 1800 with four bedrooms and two bathrooms by the Sedore family, who have lived in it since the early 1970s.
Built in about 1925, this home is Mediterranean Revival in style, a term applied to about 14% of the buildings in Davenport. It is an eclectic style containing architectural elements with Spanish or Mideastern precedents. The style was popular in Florida during the 1920s, and continued after the collapse of the boom period into the 1930s. Many older buildings were remodeled to add Mediterranean Revival elements. This house has a wooden frame, covered with stucco. It was built by Emmett Nicholson and its first owner, a Mrs. Davis, lived here for 66 years.
Built in about 1925, this two-story home is another example of Frame Vernacular construction. In Davenport and much of the rest of Florida, frame vernacular homes are typically one or two stories with a balloon frame built of pine or cypress, and are supported by brick piers. Early versions include steeply-pitched gable roofs to accommodate attics.
This home was built in about 1926 with a Frame Vernacular style.
This school was built in 1927 with a Classical Revival style. Replacing a small one-story two-room wood frame school completed in 1918, this two-story brick building was designed by James M. McMichael, an architect from Charlotte, North Carolina. McMichael had opened his practice in about 1902 and designed about 20 churches in the Carolinas from then until 1929. One of his most well-known is the Byzantine Revival style First Baptist Church of Charlotte. This school was one of the few McMichael designed in Florida, and was done near the end of his career.
Construction of the $58,000 school was supervised by Streater Brothers of Lakeland. John, Joseph and William Streater had moved to Lakeland from South Carolina in the early 1890s and also built schools in Auburndale and Mulberry, the Winter Haven Methodist Church, the Polk County Trust Company and three schools in Lakeland, and the Stockton Building and a brick factory in Jacksonville.
This is Davenport's sole example of Classical Revival architecture. It has a typical symmetrical facade dominated by a full height porch with classical columns. A cornice with dentils extends across the facade.
As of 2003, the school was expanding to include grades K-8, with older students attending schools in Dundee and Haines City.
This home built in about 1925 shows Colonial Revival influences. It was the home of W.H. Reed, and was one of the largest constructed during the 1920s. Others who lived here were George Spangler and the Palmer family.
This home built in about 1926 has a Mediterranean Revival appearance. Examples of this style often incorporate elements such as flat or hip roofs, often with parapets; ceramic roof tiles; stucco; entrance porches, often with arched entrances; casement and double-hung sash windows; and ceramic tile decorations.
Built in about 1925, this home has a Mediterranean Revival style.
This Frame Vernacular house was built in about 1927. Local legend says that it's haunted.
This home was started in 1925 and completed in 1928 and is the single example in Davenport of the French Eclectic style. That style generally includes steeply-pitched roofs, often with flared eaves and exposed rafter ends. Secondary structures often protrude from the main body of the house, and on large homes there are often towers or turrets, and dormers piercing the roof. Large chimneys are usually prominent. This home is a modest example of the French Eclectic style.
This was the home of a pair of spinsters who started the citrus candy industry, described later in this hike plan. It has a large kitchen which was set up as a candy production facility. The slab for the detatched garage was poured in about 1900, and the garage had its own plumbing and electricity, so it may have originally served as a dwelling.
This was built in about 1926, and is one of the 15 examples of the Craftsman style which still remain in Davenport. Most were constructed from the late 1910s through the 1920s.
This was built in about 1925 with a Mediterranean Revival style for Frank W. and Mary Crisp. It is located in what was known as Poinsettia Hills, an exclusive and restricted section of Davenport.
Mr. Crisp was a graduate of Clemson University, and arrived in Florida in 1913 to work as a field manager of the Wilson & Toomer Fertilizer Company of Jacksonville. He helped organize the Holly Hill Grove and Fruit Company in 1918 and served as its general manager during the 1920s. He helped organize the Davenport Building Corporation and Orangeland Homes Corporation in 1924, the Davenport Investment and Securities Corporation and the Davenport Lumber and Supply Company in 1925, and Holly Hill Fruit Products, Inc. in 1927. Mr. Crisp served on the town council, the Polk County Chamber of Commerce and the school board. He was also one of the local businessmen who owned the Davenport Times, a bi-weekly newspaper edited by W.S. Allen which first appeared in 1925.
Later, this was the home of Ray Cromer and C.C. Collins, who was the mayor of Davenport in 1932.
This home was built in about 1925 as the residence of Salomon M. Foss, who served on the Davenport town council from 1937 to 1947. It later was the home of Hans Brue, a plumber.
This is Davenport's sole example of the Tudor Revival style, characterized by steeply-pitched roofs, usually side-gabling, decorative half-timbering, stucco exterior walls, and massive end-exterior chimneys often located in the front of the home.
This is a Mediterranean Revival style home, built in 1923. It was the residence of Bayard Floyd, who worked as a horticulturalist with the Holly Hill Grove and Fruit Company. Floyd was trained in botany at Indiana University and received his master's degree in horticulture at the University of Missouri. He was recruited in 1923 by Lorenzo Wilson to supervise the local laboratory and citrus research. Floyd helped organize the Holly Hill Fruit Products Company in 1927 and served as Davenport's mayor from 1939 to 1945.
This was built in about 1928 with a Frame Vernacular style.
This home was built in about 1930 with a Craftsman, or Bungalow, style. The word "bungalow" comes from the Bengalese "bangla" or "banggolo", a peasant hut developed for use by the British in India. Typically, the Craftsman style homes are one or one-and one-half stories with a low-pitched gable roof with wide unenclosed eave overhangs. Roof rafters are usually exposed and knee braces appear under the gable ends.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in about 1925.
This 1921 home was built with a Frame Vernacular style.
This was built in about 1925, and is an example of the Colonial Revival style which comprises about 5% of the buildings in Davenport. The term refers to a rebirth of interest in the early English and Dutch houses of the Atlantic Seaboard. It was introduced at the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. Initially, this building was used for a lumber company headquarters. It was later turned into a four-bedroom house.
This is a Frame Vernacular home from 1915.
This Mediterranean Revival style residence was built in about 1925. This thoroughfare, known as Bay St., was Davenport's early main east-west road. In the mid-1910s, it was developed with a median lined with eucalyptus trees.
This Craftsman style home was built in about 1925.
Built in about 1925, this home was built with a Craftsman style.
This Mediterranean Revival house was built in about 1925.
This is another Frame Vernacular home, built in about 1925.
Erected in about 1925, this small home is built with a Craftsman style.
James St. and the next few blocks to the north constitute Jamestown, a historically black neighborhood. The flourishing citrus groves during the 1910s resulted in the establishment of this neighborhood. By 1920, it consisted of about seven families from Florida, Georgia and Texas. Most of the residents of Jamestown worked in farms, groves or sawmills and many were members of St. Mark's A.M.E. Church, still located at the corner of Redding Ave. and 42nd St. or Friendship Baptist Church, which since 1931 has stood at 104 W. Hibiscus St. Some of the streets are named after the earliest families, which included the Fullers, Gambles, Gaynors, Jacksons, Mastons, Murphys, O'Neals and Reddings.
This was the South Florida Railroad, established in 1883. The first station was built about a half mile north of downtown and the two daily trains would stop only if they were flagged. A second station was built in 1915 and the third in 1926 at the intersection of Bay St. and the Dixie Hwy., costing $11,000. The railroad later became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, a predecessor of the CSX System.
This Mission style building was constructed in 1925 to provide Davenport with a new city water system. That same year, the Davenport Times newspaper began publication.
Originating in California, the Mission style is found almost solely in states with a Spanish colonial heritage. It was popular in Florida for a short time during the land boom and was used for schools, depots, tourist hotels, and two-room residences. Usually, a building of this style has a flat or hip roof, a curvilinear parapet or dormer on the main or porch roof, ceramic roof tile, and entrance porches with arched openings. This building rests on a poured concrete foundation.
This home was constructed in about 1920 with a Frame Vernacular syle.
Built in 1926, this is another example of Frame Vernacular construction.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in about 1925.
This was built in about 1916 and is Frame Vernacular in style.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in about 1918. It shows a front-facing gable roof surfaced with 3-V crimp metal panels. The roof is pierced by a gable dormer and brick chimney.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in about 1920.
Built in about 1915, this home has a Craftsman style.
The land across the street to the east was developed as a green space known as Wilson Park in 1921 by the Holly Hill Grove and Fruit Company.
The Holly Hill Grove and Fruit Company was a division of the Wilson & Toomer Fertilizer Company of Jacksonville, which had been formed in 1893. In 1918, this division was formed with a 40-acre tract, which by the mid-1920s expanded to 5,000 acres. The company's office was located in a small wood frame building until 1929, when this Colonial Revival building was completed.
Citrus played an important role in Davenport and all of Polk County. The Davenport Citrus Grower's Association was formed as an affiliate of the Florida Citrus Exchange in December of 1915. Lloyd Neil of Missouri was among one of the largest grove owners, with 60 acres. E.G. Howell had 18 acres.
The Holly Hill project included package deals which offered prospective investors a free town lot with the purchase of grove land at $25 per acre. On each town lot, the company planted 7 grapefruit trees, 7 pineapple orage trees and 7 Valencia orange trees. The typical price of $500 to $600 per grove included 5 years of grove maintenance by the company. Discounts were offerd for purchase of multiple properties, and a $100 credit applied if a home was erected by the end of 1921.
The building has now become a residence.
This home is historically associated with Frank B. Hitchcock, an early community leader. The home was built in about 1914 with a Frame Vernacular style.
Hitchcock helped to incorporate Davenport and in 1915, was one of the organizers of the Davenport Citrus Grower's Association. He served on the town council from 1916 to 1920.
This home was built in about 1925 with a Frame Vernacular style.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in about 1911 for D.A. Tyler. He helped to incorporate Davenport, served on the town council for several years, and by 1915 was cultivating a 5-acre orange grove. The foundation is I-shaped and has a side-facing gable roof with a hip extension.
This is a Frame Vernacular home built in about 1909 for the T.J. McKnight family. Mr. McKnight arrived here from Lakeland in 1906 to work for the Parrish Turpentine Company, and was one of the first to plant citrus groves in Davenport after the turpentine still shut down. McKnight also served as Davenport's first fire marshall.
This home was later owned by Margaret Hall, an Indiana native who moved to Davenport in about 1910, and Vaughn Woods, a former mayor of Davenport.
This was built by the Davenport Development Company in 1912 with a Colonial Revival style. Its first occupant was Clifford Corbin Farmer, a realtor who owned the Farmer Saw Mill. He boarded his Ohio clients in the home, which he called "Farmdale".
In about 1919, the house was acquired by the Holly Hill Grove and Fruit Company, which renamed it the "Lake View Club House". As a clubhouse, it was used for guest lodging and as a temporary office during the 1920s. Later owners included Frank Crowe in the late 1920s and P.V. Crowmartie in the 1930s. Descendants of the Cromarties, the Ackroyd family, acquired the house which is now sometimes referred to as the Ackroyd house.
This Craftsman style home was constructed in about 1920.
This Masonry Vernacular building was constructed in about 1930 to house Sun Dial Citrus Candies. The business was started in about 1928 by Maude Blodgett and Katheryn Stillman in their home on Palmetto St., and then was moved to The Mart. They saw a good future in candy, and financed the construction of this building. By 1933, they sold the business to C.S. Taylor, a businessman from Winter Haven. Some believe that it wasn't a typical sale, and that the recipes were actually stolen. Taylor renamed it "Taylor's Tropical Sweets" and added on to the building in 1935.
The company still operates west of Davenport on US 27 as Webb's Citrus Packing & Candy Factory, Inc. This building now houses the House of God church.
This Episcopal retirement home began as the Holly Hill Inn, used for housing prospective buyers of the Holly Hill Company. It was constructed with four rooms in 1920, expanded to 26 in 1928, and added twelve four-room cottages in 1935. It was remodeled and turned into the Bishop Gray Inn in 1952.
This building associated with the citrus industry is one of the two in Davenport considered to be Industrial Vernacular in style. This characterizes buildings constructed for explicit commerical and industrial applications, and has a wide variety of architectural elements. This one was built in about 1925.
This road was part of the Dixie Highway, which was the dream of Carl Fisher of Indianapolis. He had made his fortune in the new auto industry, and wanted to build a highway from Chicago to Miami. When news got out, many communities formed associations to lobby for inclusion on the route.
The Dixie Highway Association met in Chattanooga and chose a route passing through Gainesville, Ocala, Winter Park, Orlando, Kissimmee, Bartow and Arcadia, rejoining the coastal route at Palm Beach.
In 1915, Fisher led an auto cavalcade from the Midwest to Miami, popularizing auto trips to Florida. The Dixie Highway was officially open for traffic in October of 1925 from the Canadian border at the northern tip of Michigan to Miami. This section of the Dixie Highway was paved in 1917 by the McDonald Construction Company, turning a rutted cow path into a relatively comfortable road.
This Masonry Vernacular structure containing four apartments was built in about 1946.
This church organized in 1911.
This was built in about 1926 with a Dutch Colonial Revival style, which is notable for its expansive gambrel roof applications. This home was the "Glen Falls" model offered by Sears, Roebuck & Company through its catalogue. A prospective homeowner could order all of the materials and plans from Sears and have it delivered by train, to be assembled by himself or a local builder.
Built in about 1924, this is another example of the Craftsman style.
This is a Masonry Vernacular home, constructed in about 1940.
This Mediterranean Revival style commercial block was built in 1925 at a cost of $25,000, to replace previous wood frame stores. Construction was supervised by the Bowen and Baker Construction Company of Haines City, which had been opened in about 1920. Thomas Bowen helped organize and served as secretary of the Davanport Lumber and Supply Company. Bowen maintained an office in this building for a time during the late 1920s. Also located here were a pharmacy, general merchandise store, drug store, meat market and bus station.
It has a rectangular plan with a flat roof, shaped parapets and barrel tile cresting. It is decorated with medallions and decorative escutcheon plates. Also featured are arched, blind clerestories. A pair of items which made it stand out were a rear delivery entrance and a fancy marquee.
This two-story business block was built in 1926 at a cost of $30,000. Mr. Brenner arrived here from Ohio in 1925, and served as the president of the Davenport Lumber and Supply Company. That business supplied the materials for the construction of this building, as well as the city hall and several residences. Residents of this block have included the Justice Grocery, Conroy's Store and Stanley's Watch Repair and Department Store.
This is one of the largest examples of Masonry Vernacular construction in Davenport. It has a rectangular plan and has a flat roof and straight parapet. A tile headmast identifies the building, which sits on a poured concrete foundation.
This Masonry Vernacular commercial building was completed in 1927 at a cost of $22,000. Its first occupants were Trumble's Hardware and a beer parlor. For a time, the town council chambers were located here, as was a citrus candy factory. From 1928 to 1970, the Davenport post office was located here, and during the 1950s, so was the Hi-Way Soda Shop. Other tenants include Bill William's Barber Shop, the Veteran's Barber Shop, Arnold Torgeson's Jewelry Store, a real estate office, a hardware store, an automotive parts store, and a mobile home office.
From Beginnings to Boom, by Bernice More Barber (Cromer Printing, Inc. 1975)
Historic Properties Survey of the City of Davenport, Florida, (Historic Property Associates, Inc. 1996)
History of Polk County, Florida, by M.F. Hetherington (The Mickler House 1971)
In the Midst of All that Makes Life Worth Living - Polk County, Florida, to 1940, by Louise K. Frisbie (E.A. Seeman Publishing, Inc. 1976)
Yesterday's Polk County, by Louise K. Frisbie (E.A. Seeman Publishing, Inc. 1976)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules.