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 was the point of arrival and departure for the community. Capt. John Thomas Lowe established the post office here in 1883, with Jefferson Lowe as the first postmaster.
Capt. Lowe wanted the name of the post office to be Lowe's Landing, but Mr. Hamlin, the postmaster at Cedar Key, instead suggested Anona for the anona sweet apple trees which were brought here from Key West.
To get to the island, "The Dinkey" railroad spur line crossed here on a bridge. It met up with the S B Railroad east of here at Indian Rocks Junction. From a house here in later years, Mr. Griswold collected fares for motorists wishing to drive over the old railroad trestle, which ended on the island at the site of the present Indian Rocks Beach City Hall.
Opening in 1905, the jacknife trestle railroad bridge was the first bridge to the island. On weekends, the wood-burning locomotive would take excursionists there. After the Atlantic Coast Line abandoned its spur line, boards were placed across the trestle ties for foot and horse traffic. The bridge was removed as a navigation hazard in 1928.
At this corner was a building used by Mr. Griswold as a general store. Prior to that, it was located at the landing to the northwest and used as a post office by Jeff Lowe.
The first recorded burial here was that of J. Henry Whitehurst, the son of J.H. Whitehurst, in 1880.
Rev. James Summers Kilgore died in 1886, and may be the next person buried here. He and his wife, Rhoda, came to Pinellas County from South Carolina during the early 1850s and homesteaded 100 acres here.
The cemetery later became part of Serenity Gardens, but the memory of the separate community of Anona was preserved by the plaque dedicated here on April 21, 1985. On April 4, 1981, the George and Ann Sturgeon Memorial Rose Garden was opened here.
In 1872, settlers of Lowe's Landing celebrated their first church service here. Rev. John Wells, a circuit rider, conducted it in the home of Mrs. Woodward. Capt. Thomas Lowe donated the land for construction of a sanctuary, originally operated as a community church serving people of all faiths.
The first sanctuary was a rough board house, constructed in 1874, and served also as the schoolhouse. In 1882, the congregation began work on a new building at the urging of Rev. Hitchcock. It was not ceiled on the inside or painted until 1888. To get the paint, costing $12, the congregation traded the former church building, valued at $10. That building is now the Youth Lounge and classroom adjacent to the Chapel of Prayer.
Electricity was added in 1926, and about then the building was turned to face the highway. Harold Crist made a sign which identified the church, and it was hung out front.
It was known as Anona Community Methodist Church from 1939 to 1968. The adjacent house and property was bought by Marian Lewis and donated to the church as a parsonage in memory of her father, Charles C. Lewis. A new social hall and several classrooms were added in 1953.
A new parsonage was built in 1958 at 3936 Harbor Heights Dr. The old one was sold and moved to make room for a parking lot. In 1960, the two-story educational building was added. The old sanctuary was converted to a chapel, the 1882 annex was divided into classrooms, and a new sanctuary was completed in 1971. Its appearance has been described as a large boat, a spiritual ship on the sea of life's troubled world.
A settlement was established here in 1859 by Capt. John Thomas Lowe, with 80 acres purchased from the state. Lowe had arrived that year on his schooner, the "Sea Drift". He established a trading post and donated land for the church and cemetery. The community was first named Lowe's Landing, then Anona, and was later incorporated into Largo.
What was the majority of Anona is now part of Randolph Farms.
In 1884, Albert G. Wilcox bought 40 acres here, adjacent to the land of the Meares family. In 1951, the Wilcox Bros. Nursery was established by Norman E. and Everett D. Wilcox. The florist shop was opened in 1964 by David D. Wilcox.
In about 1900, the Anona School was relocated to this site. The present brick structure was erected in 1918, then consisting of two rooms.
On this site, Richard Maurice Meares founded the Indian Rocks Nursery in 1912. It was one of the largest plant nurseries in the state during the 1940s. It was sold during the 1970s, and was later the site of Harvest Temple Church of God.
Heritage Village is a 21-acre complex where over a dozen historically significant buildings have been assembled. It was started in 1976 by the Pinellas Historical Commission, the Board of County Commissioners and the Clearwater Junior League. Williams/Walker Architects were involved in its design and planning. In the center of it is the Pinellas County Historical Museum.
This 13-room Victorian style home was built in 1907 by David Starr on a high bluff overlooking Clearwater Harbor. It is typical of the upper middle class winter resident home in this area. In 1976, it was placed on a barge and moved here.
Henry Plant's company built this Frame Vernacular style house in 1896 near the present Belleair Country Club. In 1912, it was purchased by Rev. Robert Sumner. It was moved here in 1976.
This small fisherman's cottage was built in 1878 by Joshua Boyer in Tarpon Springs, and was later enlarged. It was reduced back to its original size of 14 feet square and moved here in 1978.
This church was built in 1905 on the corner of 2nd St. and 4th Ave. in Safety Harbor. It was moved here in September of 1978.
This is a replica, built during the 1980s, of the orginal 1895 Williams Park bandstand in St. Petersburg.
This home was built in 1888 in the S. Greenwood section of Clearwater. It is presently the office of the Pinellas County Historical Society.
George Washington Moore built this home in 1879 on N. Highland Ave., near Sunset Point Rd. in North Clearwater. This grove house, constructed with board and batten siding, has five rooms and an outhouse.
This barn was built in 1911 by Capt. John Thomas Lowe and his son, Wesley, on Indian Rocks Rd. near Lowe's Landing. Across the road was Serenity Gardens, the Anona Cemetery, and the Anona Methodist Church. Capt. Lowe's house near the barn has since been torn down.
Wesley married Mary Pinder and built a house which has since been moved to the Haas Museum in St. Petersburg. The barn was moved here in 1977.
This replica was constructed in 1996 to house the 1917 La France fire engine which was used by the Belleview Hotel Fire Department in Belleair.
This house was built in 1888 by Wesley B. Lowe and his father, Capt. John T. Lowe. Inside, it features an exhibit on their family.
This is a 1987 replica of the Harris School, which was built in 1912 by William B. Harris and used for classes until 1923. It was located on Haines Rd. in St. Petersburg. This was built to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Pinellas County School System.
This two-story house was constructed of shaved pine and cypress logs in 1852, and is the oldest surviving structure in Pinellas County. It has front and back porches, with breezeways on both the first and second floors. It began as the home of James P. McMullen, a captain in the Confederate army. After the Civil War, he grew cotton and herded cattle.
In 1903, it was bought by S.S. and Jessie Coachman for use as a summer retreat, and in 1910 they made it their permanent home. Coachman was an early settler of Clearwater and the five-story Coachman building erected for his grocery store was the first large brick building in that town.
The house was damaged by a fire on November 29, 1976, and was moved here in 1977.
This Seaboard Coastline depot was built in 1924 in North Tampa near the present Busch Gardens. In it is a railroad museum. It was moved here in December of 1978. The caboose dates from 1967.
This was built as the H.C. Smith Grocery Store in 1915 on the southeast corner of 6th Ave. S and 5th St. in St. Petersburg. The garage was added in about 1925. It was moved here in 1988.
This was the home of Daniel McMullen, built in 1868. It was moved here in 1992 and serves as a fiber arts center. Until it was moved to Heritage Village, it was the oldest continuously lived-in house in Pinellas County.
This house, originally located at 12152 Ridge Rd., was built in 1915 by Jessie Ancil Walsingham. It was moved here in 1984 and restored ten years later as a pioneer doctor's office, surgery and pharmacy.
This congregation organized in 1958 and held its first service in the Municipal Building on the island on September 7, 1958. They bought seven acres from the Indian Rocks Nursery for $30,000 and built the present church in 1959-60. A wing was added in 1962.
Anona had a primitive log school here beginning in 1893. The property was owned by Richard Meares, who offered it as a school location since his crippled daughter couldn't walk to the previous school, located on the present site of the Methodist Church. In about 1900, it was replaced by another school to the north.
These groves were started in 1922 by J.S. Hill, on 20 acres purchased in 1915, and 40 acres acquired later. He and his wife, Lillian, built a fruit packing plant here in 1936, and since then expanded it several times.
Near here, centuries ago, stood a major Timuca Indian village.
The legend of Chief Chic-a-Si begins with his becoming ill near Ocala, and his friend Chief Nu-Wa suggesting that he be taken to a healing spring near some large rocks near this site. The chief drank from the spring and regained his health. The tribe returned each year as a pilgrimate and to fish. Settlers observed the Indians on the rocks, and named the place Indian Rocks.
The place of the rocks is now the site of this trailer park. Once, there were four trees said to each have a branch bent to point the way to the spring. One of those trees still survives.
Before the development of the trailer park, on the shore here was Ross Johns' Fish Market.
In November of 1916, a 15-foot wide wooden toll bridge to the island was opened here. It was built by Dr. Robert McMullen, Don McMullen and J.M. Hardage. To recoup the $7,000 construction cost, a 25 cent toll was charged. In 1937, the county bought it for $16,350 and eliminated the toll.
On the bridge was a house in which lived Capt. Kenneth M. Ransom until 1955. He had a fish house near the Cathedral Shop.
In 1886, L.W. Hamlin built a house here on stilts. It burned down in 1912. His son, H.H. Hamlin, replaced it with the Cathedral Shop.
The shop had stained glass windows which reminded some of a cathedral. It was run as a gift shop by Marian Ray, who also made shell jewelry and was a wardrobe mistress for Ringling Bros. Circus. It was enlarged and remodeled in the late 1930s, while it was operated by Tommy Thompson.
Dr. Max Friedlander served as postmaster from 1914 to 1923, and ran the post office from a small building here. It also served as his general merchandise store, real estate office and medical office.
In addition to the businesses next door, the Friedlanders ran the Gulf View Hotel at this location. It burned down in 1927.
The house here belonged to Jimmy Meares, the son of Wesson Meares. It and the Cathedral Shop were torn down in 1961 when Horace Hamlin, Jr. built the Indian Spring Marina.
When Harvey K. Hendrick moved from the island in 1906, he built a home here. It was occupied by his daughters Ida and Nellie for many years, and sons John and Eddie built their own houses nearby.
This home, built in the 1910s, was bought after World War II by George Klotz. At the time, he managed Coquina Cove Trailer Park.
Camillus B. Brandon was the postmaster from 1923 to 1941, and the owner of the general store at the southeast end of the Old Bridge. He and his family lived in this house built in the 1910s.
Frank Brandon, the son of Camillus Brandon, lived here with his wife Jeannette in this house built in the 1910s. The large cedar tree was brought by L.W. Hamlin and J.H. Hendrick from Cedar Key before 1900.
This house was built in about 1920 by W.H. Harris, who operated the Indian Rocks Dairy. Later that decade, the house was acquired by Louis Palmer and his family, who in 1948 developed the Gulf-Vu Mobile Home Park.
Chester Ochs bought bees in 1919. After World War II, he bought this land and established the Honey House, from which he sold honey and grapefruit. He sold the bees in 1980. Later, the building was turned into the Chester Ochs 4-H Educational Center.
This new bridge, serving Haven Beach, was opened on July 4, 1958, for a cost of $720,000. One of the buildings demolished to make room for the approach to the bridge was a little cottage bought by Ralph and Sybile Loewer in 1941. They named it The Pines Restaurant, and it was renamed Little Bohemia later when it was acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Paty.
George Wesson Hammock and his wife, Mary Whitehurst, lived in this brick house. They first engaged in the cattle business, and then diversified into other activities.
Florida Historical Markers & Sites, by Floyd E. Boone (Gulf Publishing Company 1988)
Florida's Pinellas Peninsula, by June Hurley Young (Byron Kennedy and Co. 1984)
Indian Rocks: A Pictorial History, by Indian Rocks Area Historical Society (Great Outdoors Publishing Company 1985)
Largo: Then 'til ..., by Bicentennial History Book Committee (Largo Area Historical Society 1975)
Surf, Sand & Post Card Sunsets: A History of Pass-a-Grille and the Gulf Beaches, by Frank T. Hurley, Jr. (1977)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules.