Instructions:
1....Print this file.
2....At its end, click on "rules" to see a copy of the trail rules, 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.
(Note: The mileage numbers assume a walk beginning and ending at the same location. To make this a one-way hike, leave a vehicle at Owens-Illinois Park, begin walking at site 1, and subtract 7.8 miles from the numbers shown below.)(7.8)
This church was founded in 1869. The first sanctuary was replaced by this one, built a few miles away. This building, with windows that came from the old First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, was moved here in 1969 when US 301 was widened.
This home was built in about 1910, and has been considerably reduced in size from the original. Frank Parker worked at the brickyard of the Campville Brick Company and died in 1918. Mrs. Parker remained here into the 1920s.
During the 1880s, this home was built for W.H. Kayton from New Bern, North Carolina, who owned a half interest in a nursery with brothers R.J., J.S. and B.F. Camp in 1883. Later, the home was acquired by brickyard worker Aaron Flowers.
This house was built for Mr. Canova in 1918. He served as the telegraph operator at the depot, and was later transferred to Waldo. The house was acquired by storekeeper Ernest Long during the 1920s.
In about 1880, Benjamin Franklin Camp built this home for his bride, Annie Britt. They lived here for about 20 years, and then moved to High Springs to find more timber for their sawmill. The house was sold to B.F.'s nephew, J.A. Maultsby, who lived here until 1926.
It was then sold to Cockwood Flowers, who then sold it to Oscar and Aris Tillman in 1938. They hired a carpenter who worked for two years installing plumbing, electricity and a new roof, and the Tillmans moved in during 1940.
The house has two-story verandas on the front and back, and a bay window on the north side. This house was occupied by Mrs. Tillman until her death in 1983.
The three Camp brothers founded the town along the Peninsular Railroad in 1881. They sold subdivided town lots with deed restrictions which prohibited the sale of liquor. The Camps ran a saw and planing mill, general merchandise store, cotton gin, grist mill, orange groves and a thriving nursery. By the mid-1880s, Campville grew to a population of 250.
This house was owned by R.J. Camp's sister-in-law, Mrs. Williams, and her husband. They sold it in 1887 to Mr. and Mrs. Neil Mathews. Mr. Mathews ran a sawmill and was in the turpentine business. Their daughter, Flora, was born in the house in 1889. In 1913, she married Dr. George Sherouse, and they lived in this house from 1933 to 1971.
James Dyess, a justice of the peace, county commissioner, farmer, and store owner, married in 1904 and lived elsewhere until this house was completed in 1923. There was a store nearby, which was later moved to Orange Heights. Mr. Dyess also served as the postmaster. The Campville post office opened in 1881 and closed in 1966.
Nurseryman and store owner E.E. Stokes built this home in 1902, with fireplaces and dormers. In 1947, Harry and Alice Sherouse Rozier acquired the house and removed the fireplaces and dormers.
This congregation was organized in 1855 by Rev. Edward Lawrence King. They built a log church on this site and established a cemetery, with the earliest grave being that of I.F. Cheves, who died in 1855. Others buried here are from the Cameron, Ormond, Adams, Lewis, Tillman, Beckham, Hope and Boulware families. The present sanctuary replaced the old log building.
This home was owned by farmer John and wife Pearl Torode, an early family in this area. They moved back to West Virginia and sold the house to Earnest Beckham. It was later owned by the Blackwell family.
The town of Windsor was settled and named by English cotton planters in 1846. During the 1850s, the residents tried to have the railroad come through, and in the 1860s they attempted to lure the East Florida Seminary here. Gainesville was instead selected for both.
This home, with its unusual tower-style bay window, was owned by farmer Lucius Nichols and his wife, Maggie Torode. Harvey and Louise Smith, a farmer and teacher, also lived here.
A major industry here was citrus, which was severely damaged by major freezes in December of 1894 and February of 1895. Another freeze in February of 1899 with six inches of snow ended that business.
Mr. and Mrs. Julius Mann came here from Chicago in 1894 with their daughter, Louise Mann Finklea. She operated this store, the last one in Windsor, from 1939 through 1972. She died in 1979, two months before her 100th birthday.
The Windsor post office was established in 1884. It was located in this building until 1936, when it was eliminated.
This home with the hipped gables was built by William Byles in 1888, and he lived here with his wife and son, George. After his parents died, George lived here alone until 1930, when he married Eunia Torode. George was a justice of the peace, store owner, and farmer. In 1951, Prof. W.K. McPherson and his wife, Margaret, acquired the home.
During the 1880s, this was the Wesley Chapel Methodist Church. The Baptist congregation met upstairs in a store elsewhere in Windsor, then moved in here and made it the Baptist Church. It is now privately owned.
R.H. Kelly built this 1 1/2-story house in about 1884, an example of Stick style rural architecture using a wood frame and clapboarding. There are large rooms on each side of the wide central hall on the first floor. The second story has an interesting balcony and dormers. Later owners were the Story, Valentine and Neilson families. In 1973, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Middleton bought it and restored the exterior. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This home dates to the 1850s or 1860s, and has a double pen floor plan with a central chimney. Each of the two rooms has its own front door. Instead of nails, the boards are put together with wooden pegs. The dormers and the rear wing were added by the Caulkins family when they renovated during the 1980s. Some of the gingerbread trim is original.
This house was once owned by Carl Sigsbee Wilkinson, a commercial fisherman and farmer. Another resident here was Archibald Wilkinson.
During the 1890s, Windsor had a doctor, a real estate office, and three stores. There was a grist mill, two sawmills, and factories which manufactured boxes, cedar baskets and fertilizer.
In about 1902, this home was built for Confederate veteran and U.S. senator Gen. John Alexander Roseborough and his wife, Mary Eliza King. The lumber was cut from trees growing on the property.
With Gen. and Mrs. Roseborough lived daughter Maude, who married railway express agent Thomas Moore King. They and their six children lived here and it remained in the family until the 1960s, when Bessie King sold it to the Harrell family.
Alachua County, Florida Historical Tour Series: Rochelle, Cross Creek, Island Grove, Hawthorne, Campville, Windsor, by Alachua County Historical Commission (1984)
Bonnie Melrose, by Zonira Hunter Tolles (Storter Printing Company, Inc. 1982)
Florida's History Though Its Places: Properties in the National Register of Historic Places, by Morton D. Winsberg (Florida State University 1988)
Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, (University of Florida Press 1989)
History of Alachua County 1824-1969, by Jess G. Davis (Alachua County Historical Commission 1969)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules.