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 stamed 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 congregation held its early services at Bennett's Chapel in southeast Seville in the Bennett Settlement, later known as the McGlon Settlement. In 1884, they moved to Garland's Store. A wood frame church was built here in 1886, and it was destroyed on November 11, 1910, by a fire started by oil lamps. Rebuilding under the supervision of Rev. R.E.L. Folsom, a pastor, carpenter and cabinetmaker, was completed in 1912.
Lake George St. was the main road of early Seville. The town began on the shore of Lake George to the west, but when the railroad came through here, the settlement moved eastward to be near it.
The first railroad depot was built on the west side of the railroad tracks, to the east of here, with logs donated by a local sawmill and labor volunteered by Seville residents. It was claimed to be the only log depot ever built in the U.S. It was torn down and replaced by a frame depot in 1927.
In about 1882, William Kemble Lente began construction of the Hotel Seville. He intended it for passengers of his Seville and Halifax River Railroad, and completed it before the first train arrived in Seville. The hotel had double wings, accommodated 60, and had amenities including a billiard room, public and private bathrooms, a tennis court and two landscaped acres surrounding it.
Ownership of the hotel was placed in Lente's Seville Company. Lente was known as the Squire of Seville, and worked tirelessly and diligently for the town. He committed suicide on September 2, 1889, at his home on Lake George, known as "Shell Grove."
Also during the 1880s, a brick building on Lake George St. housed the Garland Store and the City Hall.
Seville incorporated twice, because it allowed its first charter to lapse. The second incorporation took place in 1925.
Nellie Robinson served as the first president of the Village Improvement Association, founded by a group of ladies in 1917 who desired to clean up the village. A clubhouse was built for them on this road, beginning with one room and later expanding to three.
After moving from above a saloon on the corner of Moore and Russell Sts., the Baptists built their first sanctuary here of pine with cypress shingles. Rev. Dennis Spencer served as its pastor. The lumber for construction came from Spencer's mill on Cornelia St. and planed at another mill north of Seville.
In early Seville, families buried their dead near their homes. Several of these graves from the late 1800s are located in a plot on the south side of this nondenominational community cemetery, which was established in 1906. The land was acquired from the Masonic lodge and James C. Robinson (1851-1934).
The Methodists had a separate cemetery on Coleman Rd.
This lake was formerly known as Long Pond or Long Lake. Along its eastern shore near Pine Island and Braddock's Hammock has been found evidence of two bands of Indians who lived here. The level of this lake was lowered by the digging of a drainage ditch in 1930 to Lake George, making additional land available for truck farming.
Mr. Green owned land where the railroad tracks cross into Putnam County, 3.1 miles north of here, which he sold in 1856 to W.G. Braddock. The Braddocks developed a small town there named Mason. It no longer exists.
This congregation organized in 1869, and its first sanctuary was built by Rev. Stephens, opening on February 20, 1869. The present building was completed in October of 1963 while Rev. A.M. McCree was the pastor.
Before 1909, children in this area attended community schools which began as private schools, then became public when they were recognized by the county board of education. The Mason Young School opened on August 26, 1909, in this two-story house which was remodeled as the first central school in Seville. Students also attended the Hale School near the county line, the Lake Juniata School to the northeast, the Braddock School to the northwest, and the McGlon School to the southeast.
The Mason Young School was replaced by a four-room schoolhouse in 1913 which forms the north end of the present school. In the early 1920s, the community schools closed and all elementary students attended this one. Older children were bused to Central High School in Barberville until 1924.
The southern portion of the present Seville Public School was built as a high school in 1924. At the time, B.K. Jones was the principal, supervising eight teachers for all twelve grades. The high school students transferred to Pierson in 1960.
The northern portion of this building formerly stood alone as a service station, with gasoline pumps out front. One of its later occupants was Two Guys Service Center.
Included in this small cemetery are the graves of Mary Lou Braddock, Sam (1856-1926) and Julia Harris (1871-1964), Stephen Harris (a Confederate veteran), and Jessie H.J. McGlon (1830-77).
This was the route of the old Black Bear Trail, which ran from Canada to Florida. It was generally followed by the Dixie Highway. It was paved in about 1920, increasing tourism.
This church was started during the early 1930s. The present sanctuary was rebuilt in August of 1986 while Rev. Alvin J. Mosley was the pastor.
Bakersburg was platted in 1890, showing three roads - Seville-DeLand Public Rd. (now US 17) and Volusia Ave. (now CR 3) running north and south, and Palmetto Ave. running east and west.
This congregation was founded in 1939, and the present sanctuary opened on February 14, 1976.
A school was constructed here of heart pine in about 1900. One of its early teachers was Arthur Botts, who later became the county school superintendent.
The school eventually closed and the children attended classes in Pierson. The school building was sold to Albert Yarborough, who converted it into a boarding house. A.M. Bennett bought it in the 1920s for use as his home, and Darwin Bennett bought it at public auction in 1954. After renting it for a few years, it burned down.
The first school in the area had opened by 1885 in a log building located in an oak grove not far west of here. Mrs. Shep Bennett was its teacher.
Jacob J. Raulerson and his wife, Alice Clifton, lived in a large two-story wood frame home with double layer porches on three sides, located close to this corner.
Andrew J. "Grandpa" Baker settled in Barberville in the 1850s, then moved to Spring Garden, Volusia, Marion County, Merritt Island, and in about 1880 finally settled here. His son, Malcolm Baker, built a 20-room hotel here near the proposed railroad tracks.
The hotel was later owned by Dr. M.E. Mead, who came here after the Civil War and practiced medicine. He sold the hotel to Henry Price and Aaron Baker. It was eventually torn down and carted away.
This cleared area was the place for community gatherings and picnics in early Bakersburg.
This property was once the Bennett Settlement, to which the Zachariah Bennett family moved in 1867 from Bulloch County, Georgia. They built the first church in the area, a log building known as Bennett's Chapel, with Rev. H. McGlon as its first minister. The church later burned down. This area was also known as the McGlon Section or Settlement.
The land later became the CY Ranch, owned by Claude Yelvington. He founded the Pierson Rodeo.
Volusia: The West Side, by Arthur E. Francke, Jr., Alyce Hockaday Gillingham, and Maxine Carey Turner (West Volusia Historical Society 1986)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules.