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 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.
Newt Johnson's house here was built in about 1930 in a Frame Vernacular style.
This house was built in about 1923 for turpentine businessman D.H. Matthews and his family. The coquina concrete blocks were manufactured in Ocala, and the mantels are made of cypress. The structure features 16 windows across the front of the upstairs. A porte cochere with exposed rafter edges cover the driveway.
His son, D.R. "Billy" Matthews, became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Matthews family lived in this Frame Vernacular style home in the early 1920s while they awaited the completion of their home next door.
This home of Archie and Grace Gay dates to about 1910. It was later owned by Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Johnson and then the Simmons family. The house is Frame Vernacular in style with a hipped roof and asphalt shingles. The front porch was enclosed in the 1950s.
Charles Birt built this home in 1923, and an addition was made in 1935. It was owned by the Laffinghouse family, and was later occupied by a family member, Annie Laurie Manchester. Charles Birt built it with a pyramid roof with a center gable.
This was the home of grocery store owner P.F. Stock. His son, Otto, had a clothing store in Gainesville and his daughter, Freddie, married Toby Sherouse and they lived here. P.F.'s granddaughter, Mrs. Tom Dobson, later owned it. Frame Vernacular in style, it was built in about 1900.
This Commerical Masonry structure was built in about 1910.
This commercial block structure dates to 1945.
The original portion of this Frame/Block Vernacular style house was built in 1863 for the Tillis family. The present front was added in 1933. Later owners included Jesse J. and Martha Jane Colvin Gay.
This 1920s Frame Vernacular home was owned by the O'Hara family, and then by Mr. Lewis, a banker. From 1943 to 1970, it was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in about 1915.
This Commercial Masonry building was constructed in about 1930. It was used as the office of state legislator Sid Martin.
A large building at this location started as the home of the Berkstresser family, and was later occupied by Francis J. Hammond. For a time, it was a boarding house known as the Center Hotel, and was later converted to an apartment house. It was built in about 1890 in the Frame Vernacular style.
The town is named for James Madison Hawthorn, and this house was built for his son, Sam. His wife handpicked wood from the swamp for use as fireplace mantels. In 1879, the name of the post office was changed to Jamestown in his honor, but he instead said that he would prefer it be named after his last name. The change was made on March 19, 1880. For whatever reason, the Post Office Department added an extra "e" at the end of the name.
This house was built in 1881 and was given by Calvin and Cynthy Waits to their daughter and her husband, Pauline and James M. Hawthorn. James and his second wife, Ella McFadden, built additions to the house by 1911. In 1919, Dr. and Mrs. George Floyd arrived in Hawthorne and purchased this house. Dr. Floyd served as the town's family doctor until he retired in 1951.
This Masonry Vernacular style building was constructed in 1922. In later years, the building has been used as a church.
This structure dates to 1920.
This structure was built in about 1907, and was formerly located on SE 71st Ave. It is Frame Vernacular in style, with a Gothic influence. By 1993, the church's congregation outgrew the building and erected a new one next door. Local realtor Jane Segal spent three years raising money and having it moved to this site. On January 26, 2002, it reopened as the Hawthorne Historical Museum and Cultural Center.
The Peninsula Railroad was completed from Waldo to Ocala in 1879, but bypasseed the settlement of Morrison's Mills. Near the railroad grew the community of Jamestown, renamed Hawthorne in 1880. The Florida Southern Railway crossed the Peninsular at Hawthorne in 1881.
This home began as a log house, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Waits prior to 1900. The house was remodeled in 1905, and four years later, newlyweds Col. and Mrs. R.B. Baker moved into the then four-room house. Baker was a farmer and rural mail carrier.
This portion of town was once known as Waits Crossing because the Waits family owned land here, near the crossing of the two railroad lines. There was a rivalry between the Waits and Hawthorn families.
This Frame Vernacular structure was built in about 1941 by Albert Bates, and was the residence of Mattie Bates. The formerly open front porch has been enclosed.
This Frame Vernacular style house was built in about 1930 for Reid and Flora Morrison. It was later acquired by R.B. Baker III.
Around 1900, this Frame Vernacular style house was owned by J.W. Strange, who worked on the railroad. It was later owned by Mr. Surrency, who was a manager of the Phifer land holdings.
This Bungalow was built during the late 1920s by farmer Joel Smith.
Before 1900, this was the home of F.W. Tyson, who operated the Coca Cola bottling plant. He also delivered oil. An addition to the house was made in 1921.
This Frame Vernacular style house was built for Sallie Holden shortly after 1900.
This home was built in about 1880. In 1927, the then-owners, the Stringfellows, sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hemintoller. It is Frame Vernacular in style with a Greek influence.
This mid-1920s Bungalow was owned by barber Edwin Bates, who was also known for his violin playing. It was later occupied by Will Baker. It has a Campville brick exterior, front dormer, and French doors.
Edwin Bates built this Frame Vernacular style home for Mr. Jackson, a railroad worker, in 1927. The construction materials came from one of the Hammond warehouses.
This Frame Vernacular style house was built in 1944.
This Commercial Masonry style building started out as a bank, organized in 1911 with A.L. Webb as the president. The land had been donated for the bank by Francis J. Hammond. It was later converted to a drug store, with an antique mirror that had originally hung in a Jacksonville hotel.
This commercial block was built in about 1929 as a store and was converted to a movie house for white patrons in the late 1940s. It has also been used and remodeled by the Jehovah's Witnesses.
This is a Commercial style structure, built of concrete and brick in 1935.
This was built in the early 1880s and served as the post office and residence of Emmet Johnson, and then was sold in 1897 to William H. and Emma Berkstresser. Mr. Berkstresser was the postmaster from 1897 to 1916 and from 1922 to 1927. The first floor was the post office and the owners lived upstairs. The overhanging second story porch was added in the 1940s. Later owners include Ina K. Morgan.
This is a Commercial block dating to the 1940s.
After Elizabeth Berkstresser, the mother of William H. Berkstresser, fell and broke her hip, this home was built for her in 1911. This allowed her to be closer to downtown, as she had formerly lived out in the country. She and her husband, David, had come here in about 1882 from Pennsylvania.
This general store was built in about 1900, and sold clothing, hardware, and cold drinks. The Spivey house was across Johnson St. The city library bought the house lot in 1968 and is now the site of the library.
In December of 1907, the original Francis J. Hammond store was burglarized, and the burglars attempted to cover their tracks after attempting to blow open the safe. It was quickly replaced by the present warehouse. There was a Hammond Store next door, which was dismantled and the lumber was used in a Bungalow on SE 220th Terr.
This Commercial brick and concrete building was constructed in 1929.
There was an old Indian and trading trail near here, traveled by William Bartram in 1774, and later used as a frontier road. A north-south road crossed it near here by 1840. The original post office was established in 1853, named Morrison's Mills after the Morrison family who operated a mill nearby. It was also unofficially called Waits Crossing after another local family.
The prior wood frame city hall burned down with all of the city records. This one was built in 1939 to replace it. As a W.P.A. project, men worked ten hours a day for $1 per hour. The bell in the tower over the front door came from the old schoolhouse.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in about 1880 for Francis J. Hammond, a grandson of James Madison Hawthorn. Francis sold it to his brother, Thomas, who passed it to his daughter, Ella, and her husband, Aubrey Middleton. The house had a back porch which was removed for a 1961 rear addition.
The center portion of this building was already standing when William Shepard Moore and Virginia McGraw More bought it in 1882 and turned it into a hotel the following year. The north wing built in the 1870s used to be the old school house, moved here from another location. The south wing was built in about 1900. Moore's Hotel had the first running water and carbide lights in the area. Northerners stayed here when they came to Hawthorne to hunt quail. The area was also popular with fishermen.
The footprints in the sidewalk were left by six-year-old Francis Moore in 1923. The hotel was converted to apartments in 1948.
This two-story gabled ell cottage was originally built for Marion Hulme in about 1908, but an illness prevented him from occupying it. A.L. Webb, a banker, became the first occupant. It was later owned by Elliot and Ruby Waits. The wraparound porch was been enclosed.
This congregation organized in 1853 and built a sanctuary of which little is known. It was later replaced by the larger building next to the present sanctuary, now used for classrooms.
This Frame Vernacular style house was built in about 1920, and was the residence of Mabel White.
This early 1900s home was owned by Miss Sharmon and originally had a two-story veranda in the front. Later owners included the Graft family.
This Frame Vernacular style home was owned by Miss Sharmon and dates to about 1930. Later owners included the Merritt family.
This Frame and Masonry Vernacular structure was built in 1930 and was used as the store of P.T. Lewis, and later by Mr. Merritt.
This house, built in the 1920s in the Frame Vernacular style, was known as the Grandma Waits house. Later, the Tidwell family owned it. It is constructed of wood tongue and groove, with a foundation on brick piers.
Nattie Hawthorn Knabb, an original member of the Hawthorn family, lived here, as did her grandson. It was built during the 1930s with an irregular plan and a wooden clapboard exterior. There is a shed roof over the porch supported by two square wood columns.
This house was built in 1910 for Mr. Barnett, the owner of a dry goods store. Later, it was occupied by the T.C. Holden family, which was involved in the turpentine business during the 1920s. Later owners included the Nallys.
The Woman's Club was established in 1912 by Lulu Peacock. This building was constructed by George Peacock and served as the first office of Dr. George Floyd. It is covered with horizontal wood siding and has large sash windows. The Woman's Club remodeled the house in 1950 and 1971.
In about 1911, this building was constructed as the sanctuary of the Presbyterian church. Mr. O'Hara bought it in 1936 and modified it to serve as a residence.
This was built in about 1920 with a Frame Vernacular style with Bungalow influences. The front porch has a gable roof supported by brick piers with square wood columns. Later, it was owned by Ernestine Miller.
This was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Martin. Dr. Floyd acquired it later and used it for his medical office until he retired in 1951. Later owners include David and Eva Morris. It has a metal-covered pyramid roof.
This church was organized on December 5, 1890, with 34 charter members. This wood frame sanctuary was erected the following year on this lot, purchased for $55 from James M. Hawthorn. It shows a simple Victorian Revival style.
In 1989, this 1914 frame cottage was modified for use as a pastor's office and counseling rooms for the First United Methodist Church. It features a central front dormer on the hipped roof and classical columns supporting the roof of the front porch.
Charles Birt built this home for himself in 1914, initially dark brown with light trim. Birt was active in building homes in Hawthorne in the 1910s and 1920s. The front porch has a shed roof on five wooden columns. It was originally dark brown with white trim.
This 1930s Bungalow is constructed of wood clapboard. It has end gables and exposed rafter beams.
In about 1910, this home was built for cotton grower Edgar Lee Johnson. Later, Frank Newton and Mildred Johnson acquired it and added the dormers in 1944. Further remodeling was done in 1950 by F.W. Cole.
This house was built for E.I. and Ola Johnson during the mid-1930s. E.I. was active in the turpentine business. Later owners were Harry and Aggie Baker. It is a cottage which shows some English influence in its style, with a gable over the front door and matched paired windows on either side of the door.
In about 1911, this wooden frame cottage was built by Charles Birt for Mr. and Mrs. P.A. Stamps. They sold it to Glen D. Moore in 1913, and he added a bathroom, sleeping porch and casement windows. Two more rooms were added in 1925, and more remodeling was completed in 1950.
This Frame Vernacular style home was built in about 1900. It features a shingle roof and cross gables. This home may have been originally owned by the Townshend family. Lottie Mahlin, the widow of a businessman, lived here during the 1920s and rented a portion of it as apartments. A later owner was Alma Gillis.
This Frame Vernacular style home, built in 1916, was occupied by Frank and Blanche Morrison during the 1920s. It is L-shaped and features a front gable and open porch.
This stucco-covered concrete block house was built in 1945 with a Colonial Revival style. Later, it was owned by the Bezzy family.
This 1940s home is Frame Vernacular in style and was the residence of Viola Williams.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in about 1940. It was the residence of Charlie and Belma Williams.
This, like many others in this neighborhood, is a 1940s Frame Vernacular house. It was the home of Julia Manns.
This Frame Vernacular home, the residence of Gussie Robertson, dates to 1900.
This Bungalow, built in about 1930, features a metal shed roof over its front porch.
A recent owner of this Frame Vernacular home, dating from about 1940, was David Flanders. It features a gable roof and vertical wood siding.
This 1930s house was built with a Frame Vernacular style.
"Pop" Herring was one of the owners of this Frame Vernacular home, built during the 1930s. It has a low pitched gable roof and a shed roof on the front. This is a reclad one-story house with a newer, larger one built next to it.
This home of Amos and Thelma Herring was built in 1900 with a Frame Vernacular style.
This Frame Vernacular house was built in about 1930.
This is another 1930s Frame Vernacular house.
This church organized in 1882. This is its second church building, erected in 1953. It is built with a Masonry Vernacular style with a gable roof.
This is a Frame Vernacular house, built in about 1930. Recent owners include sisters Eunice Jenkins and Gladys Johnson. This house features a medium pitched hip roof and a brick pier foundation.
This is another 1940s Frame Vernacular house, owned by C.R. Williams.
This Maggie Shell Parker home was built in the early 1930s with a Frame Vernacular style. It is built with an L-shaped plan and a cross gable roof.
This Frame Vernacular style house was built in the 1920s and renovated in 1943. It was the residence of Chester Shell's mother.
This 1930s home is built with a Frame Vernacular style.
In 1942, this house was built with a Frame Vernacular style over a concrete foundation. It was the residence of Alice Green, and later Rose Carey. The gable roof has exposed eaves, and the front porch is topped with a shed roof.
This home of Elizabeth Greene was built in about 1940 with a mixture of Frame and Masonry Vernacular styles.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in 1947.
This Frame Vernacular house was built in about 1920.
This Frame Vernacular style home was built in about 1930.
This frame English style cottage was built in about 1940 by the Connodys. It has a high front gable over the entrance and a tall chimney.
This home of Ferris Johnson was built in 1947 with a Frame Vernacular style and a Cape Cod influence. Johnson was the town's druggist from 1933 to 1966.
Alachua County, Florida Historical Tour Series: Rochelle, Cross Creek, Island Grove, Hawthorne, Campville, Windsor, by Alachua County Historical Commission (1984)
Florida Historical Markers & Sites, by Floyd E. Boone (Gulf Publishing Company 1988)
Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, (University of Florida Press 1989)
Historic Hawthorne, Florida: Survey and Plan, (University of Florida 1996)
History of Alachua County 1924-1969, by Jess G. Davis (Alachua County Historical Commission 1969)
Yesterday's Florida, by Nixon Smiley (E.A. Seeman Publishing, Inc. 1974)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules.