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.
Near this site was a ferry crossing on the road from St. Augustine to Fort King (Ocala) and then to Fort Brooke (Tampa). A military post was established here and in 1838 was known as Fort Pilatka. It was permanently abandoned by April of 1843.
Judge Isaac Hopkins Bronson and his wife, Sophronia, moved here from St. Augustine in 1853 to live on a tract deeded to him by Robert Reid the year before. This Greek Revival style home named Sunny Point was built in 1854. Judge Bronson was one of the first three state supreme court justices of Florida, and was buried on the grounds, and later was moved to Oak Hill Cemetery.
Its location on the river made it strategically important, and it was occupied by troops of both sides during the Civil War. Its third floor windows were used as a lookout to spot soldiers coming up the St. Johns River. After the war, Mrs. Bronson sold the property to Charlotte J. Henry, who operated a school for freed slaves. She married Nathaniel P. White and after they died, the house passed to their nurse, Mary Mulholland.
In 1914, Mulholland subdivided the tract and began selling lots. In 1946, the main house was divided into apartments and was owned by a series of people before the city acquired it in 1966.
The Putnam County Historical Society was established in 1961, and this property became its headquarters. it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 1972.
This Greek Revival building dates to 1838, and is the oldest surviving structure in Palatka. It was built as quarters for officers serving at Fort Shannon during the Second Seminole War. In the museum is a large collection from several periods of the history of Putnam County.
This home dates to 1864 and has a Frame Vernacular style.
This is another 1864 Frame Vernacular house.
This Queen Anne Victorian style home was built by Marcus Loeb for Judge Julian Calhoun between 1878 and 1883. It is operated as a bed and breakfast with four guest rooms, also known as The Minute Maid Bed & Breakfast. It is known for its encircling verandas, multigabled roof and stained glass windows.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in 1903.
This is another 1882 Frame Vernacular home.
This home built in 1911 has elements of both the Colonial Revival and Bungalow styles.
This house was built in 1909 with a Colonial Revival style.
This Frame Vernacular house was built in 1884.
This 1892 house has a Victorian style.
This 1885 house has a Frame Vernacular style with some Queen Anne highlights.
This 1885 Frame Vernacular style house shows some French Colonial details.
This 1885 Frame Vernacular home has Victorian details.
This home built in 1882 has a Greek Revival style.
This Colonial Revival style home was built in 1885.
This is an 1886 home built by Marcus Loeb with a Queen Anne style. Notice the steps at the street for entering high carriages.
Loeb arrived in Palatka during the early 1880s and opened a clothing store. He also served as president of the telephone company and vice president of the East Florida Savings and Trust Company. From 1884 to 1886, he served on Palatka's city council.
This 1896 house has a Victorian Gothic style.
This 1886 house shows a combination of Queen Anne and Shingle styles.
This 1909 French Colonial home received a major renovation and new roof during 1999.
This home was built in 1915 with a Frame Vernacular style.
This 1909 house has a Frame Vernacular style.
This house was built in 1915, also with a Frame Vernacular style.
Stylistically, this 1896 home is a combination of Queen Anne and Eastern Stick Victorian.
This 1885 house has a Frame Vernacular style.
This was built in 1884 with a Frame Vernacular style.
This Shingle style home was built in 1924.
Adam Finley was a free black who worked as a barber and acquired this property in 1883. His son, Eugene Finley, owned Finley's Barber Shop on St. Johns St. and was active in community activities. Eugene's son, Dr. Harold E. Finley, became a renowned protozoologist, researcher, and head of the Department of Zoology at Howard University.
The Emmanuel Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1873 and built a frame church on this site. It was remodeled in 1912, then enclosed in a red brick shell. In 1969, the Methodists and United Brethren merged, and the name was changed to the present one. The present church was built in 1981 while Rev. T.E. DuBose was the pastor.
This congregation organized in nearby Newtown in about 1866 and in 1875 built its first church building at the northeast corner of Emmett and Hotel Sts. Its members purchased this land in 1904-05 and built the present sanctuary between 1908 and 1912. The stained glass windows were made by the Empire Glass studio in 1908.
The Oklawaha Valley Railroad, originally called the Ocala Northern, arrived in Palatka during the 1890s. Its terminal was located here.
This congregation was established in 1869. The church includes 15 Queen Anne style stained glass sash windows made in 1885.
This railroad depot was built in 1907-09 for $25,000, and was later owned by CSX Transportation Corp. It is a Richardsonian style brick masonry structure with a hip roof. It features bracketed eaves, hexagonal dormers, and a rusticated course.
In 1892, the country board of public instruction erected two buildings on Reid St., one for white students and one for blacks. Central Academy for blacks was accredited in the mid-1920s, the first black Florida high school to attain such a status. It burned down in 1936, and classes were temporarily held in various churches and halls.
It was rebuilt here in 1937 and merged with the white Palatka South High School in the 1960s. The building was converted to the County School Board Service Center.
This is Palatka's first modern shopping center, developed in 1954-56 by Clyde D. Middleton, Sr.
These ornamental gardens were created by the W.P.A. in 1933 and were maintained by the city until 1970. They became part of the Florida State Park System that year.
Water flowing under a sandy ridge flanking the western shore of the St. Johns River created the steep ravine in the gardens. Grasses and shrubs gradually covered the slopes of the ravine, slowing down the process of erosion. Eventually, trees also became established and formed the present mixed hardwood forest.
This W.P.A. project consists of 50 limestone columns from which all U.S. state flags are flown on public holidays.
This is a Victorian Revival style home built in 1890. It features ornamental half-timbering on the gable areas and applied wood ornamentation around the veranda.
In 1897-98, The Women's Fortnightly Club was formed under the leadership of Betty Peyton Welch, the wife of Dr. George E. Welch. It was later called the Palatka Woman's Club and dedicated its clubhouse on Reid St. in November of 1917. The present clubhouse was dedicated on May 18, 1949.
Crill St., which is now part of SR 20, is named after Dr. Edward S. Crill, who practiced medicine in Palatka, served as a state senator, and in 1889 organized the East Florida Savings and Trust Company.
This 1923 home has a Frame Vernacular style with Colonial Revival elements. Its claim to fame is that Babe Ruth stayed here. That likely occurred in 1941, while he taught at a baseball school in Palatka.
This 1915 house is classified as a Bungalow.
This Bungalow was constructed in 1926.
This Colonial Revival style home was built in 1940.
This was the home of Judge Forward, built in 1855 with a Frame Vernacular style and Colonial details.
This 1903 home has a Victorian Frame Vernacular style.
This 1905 house is a Bungalow.
This Bungalow was built in 1914.
This Bungalow was built in 1912.
This brick house was constructed in 1912.
This 1919 home has a Brick Vernacular style with Colonial Revival details.
This 1909 home has a Colonial Revival style.
This home was built in 1856 with a Frame Vernacular style and Victorian details.
This is another home in which Babe Ruth stayed. It was built in 1902.
This house was built in 1905.
This Frame Vernacular house was built in 1905.
This home built in 1915 shows a Colonial Revival style.
This home was constructed in 1884.
This large frame building was constructed in 1917.
This Colonial Revival home was built in 1886.
This 1884 home has a Frame Vernacular style with Georgian elements. It later became the home of the Palatka Art League. Across the street in the 1880s was the saw and lumber mill owned by D.A. Boyd.
In the 1880s, this was the site of the J.T.& K.W. railroad depot. Across the street to the east was the Mechanics fire engine house.
This home was built in 1853 with a Frame Vernacular style and Greek Revival details.
This 1887 home shows an Eastlake style.
This 1915 Frame Vernacular house has Colonial Revival details.
This 1865 home is another built in the Eastlake style.
This home was built in 1882.
This 1876 Frame Vernacular home has both Georgian and Victorian details.
This is a Victorian Gothic style home, built in 1884.
This home was built in 1887 with an Eastern Stick style.
This 1885 house shows a Victorian Gothic style.
This Queen Anne style home was built in 1886 and was the residence of Sherman Conant, the general partner of Florida Southern Railroad and vice president of Palatka National Bank. It features an encircling veranda and polygonal turret with a tent roof. It is part of the Palatka South Historic District, placed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 17, 1983.
This is another 1884 Frame Vernacular style home.
This 1884 Victorian Frame Vernacular style home also shows some Eastlake details.
This was built in 1923 with a Craftsman style.
This home was built in 1909 with a Frame Vernacular style with a Greek Revival influence.
This 1884 home has a Frame Vernacular style with some Eclectic details.
This home was built in 1908 with a Greek Revival style.
This site was acquired from the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in April of 1913. On it was built this school, later turned into school board offices.
Ocie M. Webb moved here from Alabama in 1945 and bought out Max Becker's business at this location. Webb opened the first of his chain of "O.M. Webb Stores" which eventually stretched across northern Florida. They were sold to the Dollar General Stores operation in 1974.
This church was organized by 23 charter members in the home of Rev. Charles B. Jones on the corner of Hotel and River Sts. A church building was erected at the corner of Laurel and River Sts. After it burned on April 9, 1908, the congregation decided to relocate.
The property was sold and with the proceeds the present lot was bought. A new block structure was completed in 1910, with the appearance of a rustic English stone building. It was outgrown and demolished in 1924.
The present brick sanctuary was completed in time for its first service on July 11, 1926. The Wurlitzer organ built for this church was considered to be one of the finest in the South. An educational building was erected in the 1950s, two more were built in 1963, another in 1966 and another in 1967. The St. Johns River Junior College held its first classes here.
The county commission purchased the last portion of this lot from William Ivers in February of 1905, having acquired two-thirds of it previously. It was to replace the 1855 courthouse which sat on land next door. The present courthouse was built by C.D. Smith of Albany, Georgia, for $34,606.
The statue of the Confederate soldier was placed on the courthouse lawn on April 16, 1924, by the James Patton Anderson Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
The bandstand was moved here in February of 1923 at a cost of $1,200.
In 1963, the courthouse dome was removed and a new wing was added.
Andrew Shelley opened his 25-room hotel at this corner in October of 1875.
Putnam High School was established in June of 1888. In 1920-21, Mellon High School was built here of red brick for $125,000 on land donated by James Ross Mellon. It was renamed Putnam High School and by 1938 had 550 students. It was later torn down.
From 1829 until 1852, the Methodists in the area attended services held in the old army barracks near the later post office on 2nd St., led by circuit riders. In 1852, Rev. J.C. Ley came here to organize a church, which was accomplished by 1854. A lot was purchased at the northeast corner of Oak and 4th Sts. and a small church was built.
The congregation had drifted away by 1867 and the building was not being used, but later the church again became active. The original building was replaced by a larger one on the same site in 1884. Tilghman Hall was built next to it for Sunday school classes and social gatherings, named after Rev. N.J. Tilghman.
This site was bought from Carrie Warner Carter for $5,000 and the house on it was converted to use as a parsonage. The present Neo-Classic/Prairie School style sanctuary designed by Henry John Klutho was completed in 1923. It was badly damaged in 1938, but was restored and re-dedicated in 1941.
This Frame Vernacular building was built as a residence in 1915.
This white building constructed as a residence before 1909 has been extensively altered.
This Mediterranean Revival style building was constructed in 1924. Next door to the south during the 1880s was Fry's Opera House.
This is the site of the county courthouse in 1851. Putnam County is named after Benjamin A. Putnam, an attorney from St. Augustine, Indian fighter, and speaker of the state house in 1848-49.
The courthouse was the site of early church services, and beginning in 1852 was the first school in the county. The parents of the students funded the cost of running the school.
In 1855, Miss Chamberlin was allowed the use of a corner room in the courthouse for classes. The cost of the school was borne by Benjamin Hopkins. Classes were also conducted by Mrs. E.W. Quarterman, the wife of the Presbyterian minister, in her home until 1873.
The East Florida Savings and Trust Company Bank was founded during the 1880s and moved to this newly-completed Classical Revival building in March of 1924. It has a stone veneer and six fluted Ionic columns in the front and paired Ionic pilasters on the side. It was also the home of Putnam National Bank and later became a county courthouse annex.
This church began in about 1850 as a mission by priests from Savannah, Georgia. Father William J. Hamilton of Jacksonville built the first frame church building, dedicated on December 8, 1858. Father Charles Gaboury served as the first resident pastor beginning in 1873.
A new brick Romanesque Revival style church was built in 1897-99 and a two-story rectory was built next door in 1910. The church purchased a cemetery site next to Westview Cemetery and enclosed it in a wrought steel fence.
On this corner in 1857 a Colonial Revival home was built, and it later burned. Across the street to the east during the 1880s was located the carriage and repair shop of George A. Hunter.
Also at this intersection was located St. Joseph's Academy, a school for girls established in 1876 by a colony of the Sisters of St. Joseph. It moved here from the corner of Oak and 5th Sts.
This was built in 1876 with a Frame Vernacular style and Georgian details.
This 1886 home with Victorian details was originally of frame construction, then covered with brick.
During the 1880s, the Masons had their headquarters on this site. Later, this three-story hotel was designed by Henry John Klutho for Dr. George E. Welch, the president of the Putnam National Bank. Construction began on May 5, 1916, and was completed on November 10 of that year.
It has a Prairie School design and features a projecting shingled brow over the third floor windows, above a perforated ventilation band. It is similar in design to the City National Bank and Hotel in Mason City, Iowa, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Judge William A. Forward and other Presbyterians began meeting in the old courthouse in 1855, and formally organized this church on February 16, 1856. Early services were held in the courthouse, then in a small log building on this site, erected by the army as a powder magazine during the Seminole Wars.
Robert Kennedy of New York in 1881 donated a brick building here, and it was dedicated on February 27, 1881. It was gutted by the great fire of 1884, so Kennedy rebuilt it and leased it to the congregation for 200 years at $1 per year.
The rebuilding was designed by Richard Morris Hunt and completed in 1886 with a Romanesque Revival style. Its semi-circular copper-covered portico is supported by Doric columns. It also has a projecting tower, hipped roof, and stained glass windows which date to about 1906. An annex was completed in 1949 on land acquired from the Southern Railway.
During the 1880s, a hotel was located here, with Middlekauff & Bonn as its proprietors.
James Fry erected a building on this corner in 1879. Salem Graham leased it after the 1884 fire and converted it to a hotel. It later served as a residence and a store.
In 1907, a portion of the property on which it sat was bought by R.C. Howell and leased to Louis Kalbfield for an opera house. Named the Howell Theatre in August of 1907, it sat 760. The hotel was torn down in June of 1910 and was replaced by Kalbfield's Orpheum Theatre with a sliding roof and a seating capacity of 1,000.
The first Memorial Bridge was opened to traffic on November 11, 1927, with statues of four World War I soldiers positioned near the drawbridge lifts. It was replaced by a new Memorial Bridge in 1974, with the statues being moved to the east and west bridge approaches.
Across the river from Palatka in 1875 was the grove of Col. Hart. He had 700 trees, some of which dated back to the 1830s.
In this direction along US 17 was Rollestown, a colony established by English philanthropist Denys Rolle in 1767 with 200 indentured servants from London. When the colony failed to prosper, the settlers scattered and black slaves were imported to tend the cattle, cultivate citrus and harvest turpentine. When Florida was ceded to Spain in 1783, the colony was abandoned. Rolle went back to England and the blacks moved to the Bahamas, forming a large portion of the population of Bimini.
In May of 1838, a fort was established here as a major quartermaster depot for use during the Second Seminole War. Commanded by Gen. William J. Worth, it had a hospital, blockhouses, barracks and stables for over 400 horses.
A reading room was established by a few women in 1894, and the Women's Fortnightly Club took it over in 1897. In 1912, it was moved to the second floor of the City Building and officially transferred to the city on January 1, 1920.
This building was designed in 1929 by Henry John Klutho. It has elements of Prairie School and Art Deco styles. A repeating wrought iron circle-in-rectangle design emphasizes the distinctive arched entry. Simple projecting discs in repeating square recesses form the cast stone cornice.
Pittsburgh banker and winter resident James R. Mellon donated the library as a memorial to his wife, Rachel Hughes Larimer Mellon.
The Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad established its first terminal at the foot of N. 3rd St., and later moved to the river bank at the foot of Laurel St. There on February 21, 1908, Frank Butler and Annie Oakley held a shooting exhibit.
A new terminal designed by Henry John Klutho was begun at this location in December of 1904. P.J. Becks was paid $7,490 for its construction. This was later the site of Atlantic Bank.
"Palatka" comes from the Indian word "Pilotaikata", meaning "crossing", as it was a place to cross the St. Johns River. A nickname of Palatka is the "Gem City on the St. Johns".
The area was visited by John Bartram during the mid-1760s. When he returned north in 1766, his son William remained in this area and purchased 200 acres on the river near today's Palatka and entered the indigo business. In 1769, he went back to Philadelphia.
The previous City Hall was also located on Reid St., designed by Henry John Kluto and built in 1905. It was a simple two-story stuccoed brick building, with a lightning rod topped tower which doubled as a ventilating shaft for the attic. It was torn down during the 1960s. In 1974, the Palatka Atlantic National Bank was built there.
In 1916, Westchester Engineering Company of White Plains, New York, built this Romanesque Revival style structure for $48,357. It housed the post office and included a private office for Harry Gray, the postmaster. The post office moved here from the Crill Building on St. Johns St., and in 1960 moved out to its present facility. The city then acquired this building and converted it into the city hall in 1961.
Hubbard Hart owned a hotel on this corner and sold it to W.H. Orvis in 1878. Orvis was the proprietor of the hotel in 1884, the year it was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt by Oscar Barron, who continued the old room rates of $2.50 to $3.00 per day. It was built in a horseshoe shape with 500 rooms and a courtyard in the center.
This establishment included "the North Cottage", built before 1856. It started as a boarding house and was later known as the St. Nicholas Hotel before becoming part of the Putnam House. It burned down in October 1904. During that same month, the Putnam House was sold by the Florida Land Improvement Company to L.H. and W.A. Merryday for $23,000. It opened for guests on January 2, 1906, after being closed for years.
A cafeteria was added on the south side, but soon closed for lack of business. The Merrydays built a new two-story building on Lemon (St. Johns) St. opposite the hotel in October of 1912. Another brick building replaced the wooden Lemon St. wing of the hotel.
The Putnam National Bank acquired the hotel in April of 1918 for about $14,000 and leased it to the Suwannee Military Academy. The Hotel was sold in July of 1920 to the firm of Dalton, Dalton, and Ferrell. A small fire occurred on December 10, 1921, marking the beginning of the end for the old hotel. It was sold to Dr. L.W. Warren's Palatka Development Company in April of 1922 and was demolished four months later. A portion of one wing remained to be part of Daytona Beach's Hotel Neptune.
F.V. Oliver built a two-story concrete building on a portion of the property in 1923 for his Oliver & Garrett automobile supply business.
The Saratoga Hotel was located here with a swimming pool just to its north, fed by water from a 215-foot deep sulfur well. The present post office was built on its site in 1960.
This 1892 house has a Frame Vernacular style with a Shingle influence.
This was the second congregation to form in Palatka, organized on December 12, 1853, by Rev. Henry B. Whipple. The first Episcopal services had begun in 1846 by Rev. John F. Young.
The Carpenter Gothic style church was designed by Richard Upjohn, the architect who designed Trinity Church in New York City, and who was a founder and the first president of the American Institute of Architects. Construction commenced in 1854, and it was dedicated on April 26, 1857. It served as barracks for Union troops during the Civil War, as did many other buildings, holding about 5,000 of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's troops.
St. Mark's school was established by Rev. C.S. Williams and continued until 1890.
On October 29, 1919, the congregation decided to tear down the building and erect a new one. The plan wasn't carried through, however. Some of the present stained glass windows were produced by the Pittsburgh Stained Glass Studio in 1925-29.
This was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 1973.
This 1857 home was built with an Italianate style.
This was the residence of Herbert F. Wilson, an executive officer of a bank, lumber company, and wood processing company. The home, built in 1916, is a combination of Bungalow and Prairie School styles with wide overhangs, ornamental wood columns, porches, and narrow paired windows.
A Guide to National Register Sites in Florida, (Florida Department of State 1984)
African Americans in Florida, by Maxine D. Jones and Kevin M. McCarthy (Pineapple Press, Inc. 1993)
An Uncommon Guide to Florida, by Nina McGuire (Tailored Tours Publications, Inc. 1992)
The Architecture of Henry John Klutho, by Robert C. Broward (University of North Florida Press 1983)
Discover Florida: A Guide to Unique Sites and Sights, by Robert Tolf (Manatee Books 1982)
Florida Back Roads, by Bob Howard (Sentinel Communications Company 1991)
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 Jewish Heritage Trail, by Rachel B. Heimovics and Marcia Zerivitz (Florida Department of State 2000)
Florida Off the Beaten Path, by Diana and Bill Gleasner (The Globe Pequot Press 1993)
Florida Historical Markers & Sites, by Floyd E. Boone (Gulf Publishing Company 1988)
Florida's History Thruough 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)
Historic Florida: A Closer Look At the Photographs of a Century Ago in Three-Dimensional Realism, by Clement Slade and D. Webster Dixon (The Kellersberger Fund of the South Brevard Historical Society, Inc. 1982)
The History of Astor on the St. Johns, Astor Park, and the Surrounding Area, by A. Wass de Czege (Danubian Press, Inc. 1982)
Palatka Historic Tour, by Putnam County Chamber of Commerce
The Pioneer Churches of Florida, by The Daughters of the American Revolution (The Mickler House 1976)
The River Flows North: A History of Putnam County, by Brian E. Michaels (Taylor Publishing Company 1986)
San Mateo: God's Country, by Nancy Cooley Alvers, Cora Solana Middleton and Janice Smith Mahaffey (Palatka Printing Company 1993)
Victorian Florida, by Floyd and Marion Rinhart (Peachtree Publishers Limited 1986)
Welaka at the Turn of the Century, by Nancy Cooley Alvers (Welaka, Inc. 1987)
Wish You Were Here: A Grand Tour of Early Florida Via Old Post Cards, by Hampton Dunn (Byron Kennedy and Company 1981)