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.
Chiefland is named after an Indian chief who lived here, ruling over several sub-chiefs in the surrounding area. This town was served by two stagecoach routes in 1845, Lukens-Vista-Clay Landing-Long Pond, and one from the east coast to the northern part of the state.
The first mayor after incorporation in 1929 was Etter Usher, Sr.
The first Chiefland post office was established in the northeast part of town in 1889 with H.S. Rogers serving as its first postmaster. At the time, Chiefland had a general store, schoolhouse, sawmill and grist mill.
The Chiefland post office was located here in 1913.
Chiefland was surveyed in 1913 for Chiefland Development Company, which set aside this land in the center for a park and a town hall. The park is named after Claude E. Rodgers, an officer in that company.
This park includes the former city hall, a buried time capsule to be opened in 2076, and a flagpole dedicated by the Chiefland Womans Club in 1959 and 1995.
Many of the Black residents of Chiefland and the surrounding area are buried in the Chiefland Community Cemetery on the southwest corner and the Mt. Olive Cemetery on the northeast corner. The oldest legible gravestones date to the 1920s.
This two-story home of Isaac P. Hardee was designed by his second wife, Susan Bryant, using a cracker-style plantation layout, similar to a Saddlebag plan. Equal space divides the house down the middle. Hardee moved to this area from South Carolina in the mid-1800s.
Before the house was moved here to preserve it, it rested on heart pine blocks and features a high pitched roof, central fireplace and extensive porches. Where the driveway met NW 11th St. were the stables and fodder loft. The kitchen was in a separate building to the northeast of the main house.
This cemetery was established in 1860, and includes the graves of several of Chiefland's pioneers. Included is the grave of Isaac P. Hardee (1817-1879) with two headstones. The second replaces the first, which eroded to illegibility and now lies on the ground.
This simple wood frame building was erected in 1910 for railroad workers who were laying track for the Seaboard Railway, which came through here in 1913. In 1982, it was modified to be a single family residence. It features a hip roof, plus a projecting polygonal bay with a gable roof.
The first school was built by Graham Carter in about 1914 in a field. In 1915, the town's second school was built, facing north, on land which later became Orange Ave. In 1926, it had its first graduating class. Five years later, it merged with the brick schoolhouse at Hardeetown to form Chiefland High School
This congregation organized in 1861 on the front steps of Isaac P. Hardee's home in Hardeetown. Its first sanctuary was located about a half mile west of Chiefland. At that time, the log church was known as The Antioch Church. From 1861 to 1863, it doubled as the schoolhouse.
A new church was built a mile northeast of the old one in 1885. The congregation moved to Hardeetown in 1911, and called itself the Hardeetown Methodist Church. In 1931, it was renamed the First United Methodist Church of Chiefland.
This church organized in 1914 on the east side of town as Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. Rev. J.W. Griffin served as its first pastor.
Civil War veteran Silas Weeks had a store here.
This octagonal structure was built in 1921 as a bandstand. After the walls were enclosed, it was used as the town hall until 1938. In 1959, it was moved to the edge of town near the Chiefland Cemetery and was used for Boy Scout meetings. The Chiefland Woman's Club moved it to its present location for use as a library.
In 1867, the Masonic Brown Lodge No. 51 was chartered and located in Levyville. It was named for Thomas M. Brown, an active Mason and the inventor of the post office box. The lodge moved a new two-story building in Chiefland in 1916. It was replaced by this one in 1965, and the wooden one was demolished.
This run-down cemetery contains the remains of several early residents of Bronson. The earliest are likely those of Scottie Pearl Marshburn (1899-1906).
This congregation organized in 1867 with five members. Their pastor was Elias J. Knight, who also preached at Levyville, Rocky Hammock, Otter Creek and Fort Fannin. The first sanctuary was erected in 1868 at a cost of $400.
The second sanctuary was built in 1886 east of the site of Bronson High School on a lot donated by W.R. Coulter. One of the signers of the charter was Dr. James M. Jackson, Sr., whose son, Dr. James M. Jackson, Jr., moved to Miami in 1896. Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital is named after him.
This Victorian Revial style church was moved here in 1920 and features a bell tower covered with metal shingles and verge board trim. Its 11 Queen Anne sash stained glass windows date to 1886.
An education annex was built in 1926, a recreation center in 1947, and the church was remodeled in 1950. A two-story parsonage built next door in 1901 was torn down in 1969.
The first Levy County courthouse was in a settlement known as Soldom, and then Mount Pleasant. The name was changed to Levyville in 1866. In May of 1869, W.R. Coulter donated the land for construction of a new courthouse. W.D. Jones started building it in 1870 for a cost of $2,200. It was finally finished in 1874 by Thomas Davis.
It was replaced by another building in 1906 utilizing the same design as the courthouse in Starke, except with a center dome replacing a corner tower. It was built by Wagener & Dobson of Montgomery, Alabama, and was torn down during the 1930s. The present courthouse was designed by Henry L. Taylor and built in 1927 by O.R. Woodcock, who utilized some of the material from the 1906 building. This is a Classical Revival style building with a fan light at the arched entryway, windows topped with keystone lintels, and a copper roof and cupola.
The first sanctuary for this congregation was built in 1885. It was moved to a neighborhood farm to make room for the construction of the present building.
This town is named after a prominent man who settled here in about 1839, and set up a mill and a trading post.
The eastern building of this campus was constructed in 1935-37 as a W.P.A. project. It was dedicated "To Our Youth" in 1939.
This congregation organized in 1870 as the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The stained glass windows in this church were created in 1920, when this sanctuary was built.
This depot was constructed in 1929.
This building with the glass bricks housed the Perkins State Bank from 1935 until 1991. It is now the library.
This home was built in 1906 by L.C. Hester. It features a hip roof, corbeled chimney decorations, a shed roof porch with an angled entry, and two gable dormers.
This land was deeded to the city on October 10, 1914, by J.B. and P.A. Epperson. The park includes a generator that was part of the property purchased by the city in 1923 from the Williston Manufacturing Company for $33,000.00. The generator was used for seven years, and provided a capacity of 100 kilowatts.
This church building features nine Queen Anne style sash stained glass windows.
This congregation organized in 1876. The present sanctuary was built in 1944 and was remodeled in 1986.
The town is named after Jesse Mercer Willis, who founded it prior to 1885. He is buried here. Williston had the first school in the county with two teachers.
Williston was chartered as a town in 1897, and became a city in 1929. This city hall building was constructed in 1956 while E.T. Bailey was the mayor.
A Place Called Pine Hill, by Robin Hardee Bender
Country Roads of Florida, by Bill McMillon (Country Roads Press 1994)
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)
Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, (University of Florida Press 1989)
"Off the Beaten Path": The History of Cedar Key, Florida 1843-1990, by Jesse Walter Dees, Jr. and Vivian Flannery Dees (Rife Publishing 1990)
Romantic and Historic Levy County, by Ruth Verrill (Storter Printing Company 1976)
Search for Yesterday: A History of Levy County, Florida, (The Levy County Archives Committee 1986-1990)
Yesterday's Florida, by Nixon Smiley (E.A. Seeman Publishing, Inc. 1974)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules.