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.
McIntosh is named after Col. John Houston McIntosh, who owned a plantation near here which may have included the townsite from the early 1820s until its destruction during the Second Seminole War in 1835-41. Col. McIntosh had a colorful reputation while serving under Gen. Duncan L. Clinch as a member of the Georgia 4th Regiment in that war. He had a sugar house near the later residence of O.D. Huff.
In 1913, McIntosh had a population of about 300 and incorporated with S.B. Robinson as its first mayor.
The McIntosh Historic District was created in 1983 to encompass 38 blocks. It includes Frame and Masonry Vernacular style structures, many with Queen Anne, Victorian and Gothic features, and some Bungalows.
This Victorian Revival home was built in 1890 for William M. Gist, a founder of McIntosh who moved here from Maryland in the early 1880s with his wife, Alice Fenby. In May of 1885, he helped survey the town for its then owners, Percy and Eugene Van Ness of Baltimore. Blocks were platted 300 feet square, and this pattern has not been changed by subsequent development.
Col. Charles Brush administered his father's estate, which included the land comprising this town. Brush filed the first plat in 1885 and offered to donate a lot to any settler who would build a house of a certain value. J.S. Neal took him up on his offer, and began to build a house at this location. However, it was struck by lightning before it was completed, and burned down.
The Gists bought this lot in 1890 from Neal and built this home that year. In 1893, his wife died from childbirth complications and he married Ella Nelson. During that year, Gist built another house and sold this one to W.G. Norsworthy. It was turned into apartments in 1946. Eric and Sandy Weidegreen bought the house in June of 1975 and restored it to its original appearance. Beginning in 1993, it was owned by Roberta Beam.
The home is built entirely of pine and has six fireplaces which served as the original heating source. It was later supplemented by natural gas. The kitchen was originally separated from the main house and connected by a breezeway. The rock wall was built by Mr. Norsworthy's brother, a stone mason, prior to World War I.
This Victorian style house was built in 1885 and owners have included the Thomas and McFadden families.
This Victorian Revival style one-story wooden church was built in 1907. It features a corner entry, art glass windows, and a bell tower. The 11 ornamental opalescent windows date to the original construction. The Sunday school building north of the sanctuary was built in 1949.
This Frame Vernacular style home was built in 1910. It was the home of S.H. Walkup.
This Victorian style home of the Flewellyn family was built in 1895.
This is a one and one-half story Bungalow, built in 1920.
This church was founded in 1898. There are 15 Queen Anne sash stained glass windows which date to its original construction date of 1904.
This two-story home was built in 1920.
This one-story Victorian style house was built in 1989.
This building served the town by providing ice and cold storage, and the original insulated doors may still be seen. It was later turned into an art gallery.
This predominantly white cemetery serves McIntosh and Boardman, and contains the family plots of many who were prominent in those communities. The older headstones, dating to the 19th Century, include those of the Smith and Walkup families.
This cemetery contains the remains predominantly of the black residents of the area.
Revs. S.M. Simmons and A. Means organized this church in 1882. The present sanctuary was built in 1966 while Rev. U.L. Ulma was pastor.
This is a one-story Frame Vernacular and rock style home dating to 1920.
This home was built in 1925 with a Mediterranean style.
this is a Frame Vernacular style home which was built in about 1920. It was later turned into an antiques store.
This 20th Century style building was constructed in 1930.
In 1925, this was originally built as a Gulf Gas service station. Its style was typical of the mid-1920s stations.
This Frame Vernacular style building dates to 1920. Much of the original wood has been replaced.
This structure was originally built in about 1920 with a Frame Vernacular style. Much of it has been replaced with concrete block construction.
In 1898, this two-story house was built with a Victorian style. It was the home of the Estridge family.
This is a wood frame Bungalow, built in 1900.
This one-story frame Bungalow was built in 1900. It was the home of J.H. Batemen.
This one-story Frame Vernacular building erected in 1910 was the residence of the servants of the Brown family, who lived on 9th St. (US 441).
This is a Frame Vernacular style home built in 1893. It was the residence of the Bateman family.
This Victorian style home was built in 1893, and was the home of the Gamble family.
This small home was built in 1910 for the servants working at the adjacent home of William Christian.
This two-story house was built in 1910 and was the home of William Christian and his family. Its architectural style has been described as Period Revival.
This thoroughfare was previously known as wire road, as it paralleled the telegraph wire that passed through this area. When the road, following the path of platted 9th St., was paved and widened, some of the commercial buildings near the railroad tracks were moved here for greater exposure.
This large two and one-half story Classical Revival style house was built in 1910 and was the home of William Randolph Brown.
This Victorian style church has 15 Queen Anne sash stained glass windows that date to its original construction date of 1903. This was the second church built in McIntosh.
This one and one-half story building was erected in 1920 with a Frame Vernacular style and initially used as a packing house.
This packing house was built in 1895, the same year that a devastating freeze hit this area and essentially wiped out the citrus industry. The building is Frame Vernacular in style.
This Frame Vernacular style packing house was built in 1925.
This is a one story Frame Vernacular style house, built in 1920.
This one-story home is another example of the Frame Vernacular style as it appeared in 1920.
This 1895 house is Victorian in style, and was the residence of J.A. Murrell.
This church was first known as Marvin's Chapel when it was located in Boardman, a mile and a half away. It was rolled on logs and pulled here by mules. The eight Queen Anne sash stained glass windows date to 1890. All denominations used it until the Baptist Church was built in 1903.
This building was erected in 1910 and contained the telephone exchange. It has a Frame Vernacular style and one of the few basements in McIntosh. It later was converted to a residence.
Built in 1893, this two-story Victorian style building was originally located "downtown" near the present post office, and during the 1930s it was moved here up the hill by mules. This later housed Donna's Boutique and Antiques Plus, and then the Village Antiques.
This house was built in 1900 and was the home of J.C. Turnipseed, the first Clerk of Session at the Presbyterian Church. He also owned the main general store.
The Victorian style house has dormers on the roof and the second story. Later owners include Robbie and Mitzi Roess.
This one-story house was built in 1920 as a Bungalow with some Prairie style elements.
This home was built in 1892 and was the home of Emmett Flewelyn and his family. The one-story home is Victorian in style.
This house was built with a Frame Vernacular style in 1893.
This one-story home was built in 1896 with a Frame Vernacular style.
This house was built in 1925 with a Spanish Revival style.
This 1925 house consists of one and one-half stories plus a basement, constructed with a Classical Revival style.
This is one of few Spanish Colonial buildings in McIntosh, erected in 1925.
This one-story Frame Vernacular house built in 1896 is where the Smiths' servants lived.
This home was built in 1888 by W.E. Allen, who was McIntosh's first postmaster. It stayed in his family until the 1940s, when it was converted to apartments. The home features ornate rafter brackets and Italianate style quadrifoil attic vents.
Later owners Dave and Margie Karow refurbished the home, replacing heavy porch columns which had been added during the 1940s. Materials from an old house in Ocala were used to restore the porch. It is operated as the Merrily Bed and Breakfast.
This is a two and one-half story Victorian style house, built in 1896.
This one-story house was built in 1895 in a Victorian style. It was later owned by the Bennett family.
This was the two-story home of J.S. Neal, built in the Victorian Farmhouse style in 1893.
Nehemiah Brush's estate was being managed from Baltimore, and S.H. Gaitskill became the local land sales agent. He was assisted by William Gist and attorney Maj. George R. Fairbanks. This house was built by Gaitskill in 1884, and was the first Victorian style home in McIntosh.
Dr. J.L. Strange made an agreement with the elderly Gaitskills. He agreed to take care of them for free until they died, and they agreed to let him inherit the house. When Strange became the owner, he converted it to his medical office as well as his home. Strange owned the home into the 1970s, and several aspects of his ownership have been preserved. One of the interesting items is a small door in a screened panel in the back of the house, through which black patients could pass specimens or reach in their arms for shots. A separate examination room was entered through the back of the house for black patients whose problems were serious enough to warrant further treatment.
W.M. Gist built this home in 1893 for his second wife, Ella. Turned columns support a highly ornamental rail and there is a two-story bay on the front. The interior moldings are much more ornate than in Gist's first house, built only three years before. Instead of the customized mantels and staircase that were found in his first house, this second one used those which were pre-formed.
Dr. J.L. Strange converted the house into a hospital in the early 1940s. The attic was transformed into rooms for nurses. In the 1970s, the house was purchased by Gene and Pat Tully.
Ella Gist served as the first president of the Presbyterian Church's Women's Auxiliary.
This Frame Vernacular style one and one-half story building was built in 1920 for the packing of vegetables. Vegetables replaced citrus as McIntosh's chief crop in 1895. Not long after 1920, Florida's vegetable-producing area shifted to areas further south.
This building was renovated after it was purchased in 1987 from Jack and Peggy Steele. Later, it was used by Mr. Gardiner for the storage of antique carriages.
The Florida Southern Railroad was constructed in 1881, and Florida Southern Railway Co. and the heirs of Nehemiah Brush agreed in 1883 to establish a flag station in McIntosh. A regular station was to be built when business necessitated it. This wood frame depot was built in 1895 and the town was linked to Palatka, Gainesville and Ocala by a 3.0 gauge steel rail track.
The railroad merged with the Plant System in 1895. It was used for shipping citrus and vegetables until 1965. The Friends of McIntosh in 1974 restored the building to its 1913 appearance.
This Frame Vernacular structure was built in 1893 and used as the Baldwin Packing House. It later was converted into a residence.
This was the Christian and Neal Packing house, built in 1896 with a Frame Vernacular style. The town was platted as McIntosh in 1885 and replatted as Makintosh in 1888 to subdivide the blocks close to the railroad, such as this one, for commercial uses.
This commercial building was built with a Frame Vernacular style in 1894.
This general mercantile store was part of the original commercial district. It was built in 1894 with a Frame Vernacular style.
This structure was erected in 1980 using bricks from the adjacent building. It is dedicated to the memory of Lois Dickson.
In 1894, this 19-room hotel was started by Charles H. Bateman for Florida Southern Railroad passengers needing food and lodging. Construction was halted after the great freeze early in 1895, and it was completed later that year by R.P. Baldwin. Owners have included the Batemans, the Burrys and Betty McKoone.
The two-story Victorian style wooden building features a double porch. The hotel stopped taking guests in 1964 and was turned into a private residence. In 1977, an old open packing house located next door was torn down.
This building, constructed with a Brick Vernacular style in 1960, has served as a bank, Masonic hall, and a post office.
This two-story store was built in 1895 with a Frame Vernacular style. It was later converted to a residence.
This house was built in 1896 with a Frame Vernacular style.
This two-story Victorian style home was built in 1894.
On this site was the Victorian style packing house built for W.G. Norsworthy in 1894. It was later used for storage.
This Victorian style house was built in 1894.
The Neal residence was built in 1891 and is Victorian in style. It was later owned by the Baldwin family.
This two-story home was constructed in 1889 with a Victorian style. It was owned by the McCormicks and later by the Neals.
This house, owned at times by the Price and Lois Dickson families, is Frame Vernacular in style and was built in 1891. Later owners included John and Betty Thompson.
This land was donated in 1889 for construction of a school, which was built by local residents. By 1905, there were about 70 students enrolled.
This one-story home is Frame Vernacular in style and was built in 1920.
This home was built in 1888 and is Victorian in style. It was owned by the Walker and Grainger families.
This building was constructed of field stone in 1935 as a W.P.A. project, replacing a series of gazebo-like structures on this block. The original plat did not reserve land for a park, but the developers donated this block for Van Ness Park, named after developer Eugene Van Ness.
In the park is a memorial to Edwin F. "Snake" Walkup, the founder of Walkup Lumber Co. in Archer. He served as a member of the Town Council in McIntosh and was active in the town's activities.
Florida Historic Stained Glass Survey: Sites of Historic Windows in Public Facilities in the State of Florida, by Robert O. Jones (Florida Members of the Stained Glass Association of America 1995)
Florida's History Through 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)
Guide to the Small and Historic Lodgings of Florida, by Herbert L. Hiller (Pineapple Press, Inc. 1991)
Historical and Archaeological Survey of Marion County, by Withlacoochee Planning Council (1981)
Click to see a copy of the trail rules.