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.
The Florida Agricultural College was established in 1872 for Eau Gallie, but it never opened there. Instead, it was opened in Lake City in 1884. In 1903, it was renamed the University of Florida, and moved here in 1905-06.
It consolidated with several institutions, including the South Florida Military College in Bartow and the East Florida Seminary, which had been founded in Ocala in 1852. It moved to Gainesville in 1866 and merged with the Gainesville Academy, which was founded by James Henry Roper in 1858. The seminary started receiving state financial support on January 6, 1853, and this date is considered the beginning of the University of Florida.
This facility, named after university president J. Wayne Reitz, was completed in 1967 and replaced the Union located in what is now the Arts and Sciences Building. Included is the Constans Theatre, named after Prof. Philip Constans. He was the chairman of the Speech Department and the director of the Constans Players.
In 1953-56, the Medical Sciences building was erected here. In 1965, it was named for Sen. William A. Shands, who was largely responsible for the university obtaining the medical school. It is part of the J. Hillis Miller Health Center, named after the president from 1948 to 1954. Across Archer Rd. to the southwest is the Veterans Administration Hospital which opened in 1967.
The University Museum was officially designated as the Florida State Museum in 1917. In 1937, it was moved from the Science Hall to the Seagle Building at 408 W. University Ave. The museum was inactive from 1945 to 1951. This building was erected in 1968-71 and housed the public portion of the museum collection until about 2001, when a portion was moved to a new building in the western portion of the campus.
This women's dormitory is named after May Mann Jennings, the wife of Gov. William Sherman Jennings. It was designed by Guy C. Fulton and was completed in 1962.
This pair of high-rise dormitories was completed in 1966, and five years later was named for R.C. Beaty, who came to the University to work with the on-campus YMCA program. He served as the assistant to B.A. Tolbert, the dean of students.
The University officially went coed in 1947. The first five sororities were established on campus on September 1, 1948. They were Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Alpha Delta Pi, Kappa Delta and Alpha Omicron Pi. Their present sorority houses were designed by Guy C. Fulton and were built in 1955-57.
This land was a former cattle pasture. In about 1950, these three connected dormitories were constructed. Mallory Hall is named for Angela Mallory, the wife of Stephen R. Mallory, who served as a U.S. senator and the secretary of the navy of the Confederacy. Yulee Hall is named after Nancy Wycliff Yulee, wife of Florida's first senator, David Levy Yulee. Reid Hall is named for Mary Margaret Reid, wife of Robert Raymond Reid, the first territorial governor of Florida.
This fraternity was established here in 1925.
This women's dormitory was completed in 1954, and was named for Annie Broward, wife of Gov. Napoleon B. Broward.
In 1962, this dormitory was opened for women and named after Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Yearling and other books.
Construction of this tower began in 1953, when the University was 100 years old, and was completed in 1955. It housed the Milton and Ethel Davis Carillonic Bells, which were donated by A.D. and J.E. Davis in honor of their parents. On May 14, 1979, they were replaced with the 49-bell Century Tower Carillon. The largest of the bells weighs about 7,000 pounds.
This complex took nearly 20 years to complete. The first of the six buildings opened in 1965.
The School of Architecture was established in 1925 with director Rudolph Weaver, and a program administered by the College of Engineering. Weaver served as the architect for campus buildings constructed during the 1930s. Weaver Hall, located on North-South Dr., is named after him.
This building is named for Winston W. Little, who beginning in 1937 served as the second dean of the University College. It was completed in 1965 and provided classrooms, teaching auditoriums, and faculty offices.
This administration building was built in 1950 and dedicated on October 15, 1960, as Tigert Hall. Dr. John J. Tigert served as president from 1928 to 1947.
This fraternity was active in Lake City at the Florida Agricultural College in 1887. Their charter was withdrawn in 1890, and was reactivated here in 1904.
The College of Law was established on September 29, 1909, and was housed in a single room. In 1910, it expanded to three rooms on the third floor of Thomas Hall. This building was dedicated as its new home on November 20, 1914, and was expanded with the addition of a library wing in 1941 and a court/auditorium in 1950. It is named after Nathan Philemon Bryan, first chairman of the Board of Control which was responsible for determining where and what buildings would be erected. Bryan was born in 1872, served as a United States senator, and is largely responsible for the establishment of the College of Law at this university. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 27, 1979.
This was built in 1913, and was originally called Language Hall. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 27, 1979.
This building was constructed in 1910 as the home of the science department, and was named Science Hall. Its cost, when combined with that of the Agricultural Experiment Station, was $68,950. Limited funds resulted in few exterior ornamental details.
In the late 1950s, its name was changed to honor Edward Rawson Flint, who had served as a member of the faculty of the Florida Agricultural College, the university's resident physician, and the individual who established the university infirmary. He was awarded an honorary degree from the university in 1919.
Flint Hall deteriorated badly, classes were moved out of it, and for years it was used for storage of records and books. Further deterioration led to its being padlocked and empty for many years. A former dean and other historic preservationists raised $3 million to restore it and Anderson Hall, making both usable once again. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 27, 1979.
The University Library began in Thomas Hall and moved to Peabody Hall in 1912. This facility was built to house a rapidly expanding collection.
This building was designed by architect William A. Edwards, and was built in 1925. It helps define the limit of the Plaza of the Americas along with Peabody Hall, Anderson Hall, Floyd Hall, Flint Hall, and the University Auditorium. In 1949, the library was remodeled and expanded.
On June 27, 1979, this building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Nearby Library West was opened in 1967.
This was built in 1913 with a George Peabody Foundation grant of $40,000 to house the Teacher's College. From 1912 to 1925, it also served as the University Library. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since June 27, 1979.
This was the site of Benton Hall, which was built in 1911 for the College of Engineering. It was razed in 1969 and replaced in 1971 by the present building, named after Linton E. Grinter, dean of the Graduate School.
This magnificent structure was partially built in 1922-25, and served the university for all assemblies, including chapel. It was finally finished in 1977. The university had a $100,000 appropriation to construct it, but total costs over the 55 years amounted to about $6,000,000.
This was built in 1912 to house the Agriculture College. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 27, 1979. During the 1930s, it was named for Major Wilbur L. Floyd. The name of Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. was added in 1992.
This was the site of the first building completed on campus, a small wooden machinery building. Called Machinery Hall, it served as a storage facility, a chemistry laboratory, and in 1928 became the university post office. Later, it housed the Alumni Association and the University News Bureau.
This is the largest classroom building on campus, formerly known as General Purpose Building A. It cost $5,700,000 when it was completed in 1978. It is now named after Ralph Turlington.
The Florida Union was completed here in 1936, and included hotel rooms for visitors, a small library, chapel, game room, banquet hall, sundry shop, soda fountain, bookstore, and a student organization office. Later, portions of the second floor were assigned to the Religion Department and the YMCA.
In 1967, the Reitz Union was completed south of here, and this building was converted to the Arts and Sciences Building. It was renamed after Manning Dauer in 1975.
Architects were invited in 1905 to submit designs for the campus and initial college buildings. One such design was prepared by noted architect Henry John Klutho. His was rejected in favor of that of Edwards & Walter, who designed most of the early buildings. The Board of Control preferred the Collegiate Gothic style of William A. Edwards.
This building was built in 1906-07 by W.T. Hadlow Company of Jacksonville, and named after Henry Holland Buckman of Jacksonville. He was serving in the Florida Legislature in 1905 and, as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the Buckman Act which merged several small state-supported schools into a college for women in Tallahassee and a university for men in Gainesville. This building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 11, 1974.
This was built in 1909-10 as the Agricultural Experiment Station. It was renamed Newell Hall in 1944 to honor Wilmon Newell. On June 27, 1979, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
This was called the Space Center Research Building when it was constructed in 1967. It is named for Thomas Bryant, a member of the Board of Control.
This is the physics building, including the Bless Auditorium named after Arthus A. Bless. It was designed by Guy C. Fulton, named for Robert C. Williamson, and was dedicated in 1967.
This gymnasium was dedicated in 1949, and was the home of the basketball teams until the O'Connell Center was opened in late 1980.
This building was dedicated in 1980 and in 1981 was named after Rae O. Weimer, the former dean of the College of Journalism and Communications. That college's offices were previously located in the stadium. Weimer Hall was designed by Robert B. Browne, Jr.
This Tudor Gothic style building was erected as a gymnasium-auditorium in 1919 after the gymnasium in Thomas Hall became outgrown. This was Florida's first indoor basketball arena and the first permanent, all-purpose structure on campus. In the early 1950s, it became the gymnasium for female students. This was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 27, 1979. In 2000, the building was renamed the Kathryn Chicone ustler Hall, becoming the first UF academic building to be named for a woman. Ustler, a 1961 graduate, and the State of Florida provided the funds for the building's $4 million renovation.
This building constructed in 1928-29 was named after Andrew Sledd, who served as the first president of the University while it was located in Lake City. This dormitory was designed by Rudolph A. Weaver and is connected to Thomas Hall by the Mucozo Tower designed by W.K. Long.
This building initially was a classroom-administration building, but within a decade after its opening was solely a dormitory known as Main Hall. It was designed by architect William Edwards and was built in 1906-07 by the W.T. Hadlow Company of Jacksonville. Later, it was renamed as Thomas Hall to honor Gainesville Mayor William Reuben Thomas, who had attended the East Florida Seminary, one of the parent institutions of this university. He played an essential role in attracting the university to Gainesville.
This was the first home of the College of Law, which opened in 1909 with two professors and 31 students. All that was required for admission was completion of the tenth grade, and after a two-year program at a cost of about $70 per year, graduates were admitted into the bar without having to pass a bar exam. A high school diploma was made mandatory for admission in 1914, and a four-year degree was mandatory beginning in 1933.
With the nearby Buckman Hall, they provided living space for 100 students, 24 classrooms, an assembly hall, four laboratories, a mess hall, and a machinery hall. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 1, 1974. On the south side of the building can be seen the brick chimney used by the chemistry department, moved there in 1910.
This house opened in the late 1920s, when it was occupied by Sigma Nu, a fraternity which was established at this university in 1920.
This building is named after former university president Albert A. Murphree. It was designed by Rudolph Weaver and built in 1939 by the J.M. Raymond Construction Company.
This fraternity's UF chapter established in 1950. It occupies a house built in 1963, which was previously the home of Pi Kappa Epsilon.
This fraternity began here in 1925.
In the fall of 1930, this football stadium was built in a pasture behind the gymnasium. It then had 21,769 seats, and was dedicated to the memory of the Florida men who died in World War I. Lights were purchased with money donated by Georgia Seagle, who also donated funds for the construction of Georgia Seagle Hall to house university athletes.
In the halls beneath the stadium seats have been many university facilities, including an athletic dormitory, the headquarters of the College of Journalism, and radio station WRUF, which began broadcasting in October of 1928.
This center designed by Caudill Rowlett Scott opened in December of 1980. It includes a 12,000 seat main arena, dance studio, weight and exercise rooms, and an Olympic-size swimming pool.
Just to the west of this facility is Perry Field, a baseball diamond named after Carl "Tootie" Perry, the captain of the 1921 football team.
Pres. and Mrs. Tigert used their home at 224 NE 10th Ave. for university functions, but it was too small to receive all of the faculty and their wives at one time. The University then built a new home in 1953 for the president on this five-acre tract, costing $125,000. It was occupied by several student organizations until the next president, J. Wayne Reitz, moved in. Jefferson Hamilton was the architect.
The College of Law began in 1909 and had been located in Thomas and Bryan Halls. The first part of this complex opened as Spessard L. Holland Law Center in 1969 and was expanded by the addition of Bruton-Geer Hall in 1984. It was inititally named after the parents of Judge James Bruton and Quintilla Geer Bruton, and in 1998 the name of attorney Fredric Levin was added.
An organization of faculty wives began on March 6, 1922. They originally met in the Twentieth Century Club, the home of the Gainesville Woman's Club. Later, they had a home at this location until about 2004.
This fraternity was established here in 1925 as Phi Beta Delta. Its house designed by Guy C. Fulton opened in 1956.
This fraternity began here in 1926. Guy C. Fulton designed the house which opened in 1956.
This fraternity was established on this campus in 1924. Their house was completed in 1963.
This fraternity was founded in 1916. This house designed by Guy C. Fulton opened in 1956.
This fraternity was established here in February of 1925. It was one of the first two Jewish fraternities here, formed because Jews were generally excluded from Greek organizations. Its former house on University Ave. is now a newspaper office. This house was designed by Guy C. Fulton and opened in 1958.
This fraternity was established here in 1926. Its present house opened forty years later.
This fraternity began here in 1904. This house was completed in 1971.
This fraternity was established here in 1925. This house opened in 1955.
This fraternity began here in 1924, and its present house opened in 1965.
The Architecture of Henry John Klutho, by Robert C. Broward (University of North Florida Press 1983)
Florida Historical Markers & Sites, by Floyd E. Boone (Gulf Publishing Company 1988)
Florida Jewish Heritage Trail, by Rachel B. Heimovics and Marcia Zerivitz (Florida Department of State 2000)
Florida's History Through Its Places: Properties in the National Register of Historic Places, by Morton D. Winsberg (Florida State University 1988)
Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida, by Samuel Proctor and Wright Langley (South Star Publishing Company 1986)
Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, (University of Florida Press 1989)
Historic Gainesville ... A Walking and Windshield Tour, (Historic Gainesville, Inc. 1983)
History of Alachua County 1824-1969, by Jess G. Davis (Alachua County Historical Commission 1969)
History of Gainesville, Florida 1854-1979, by Charles H. Hildreth and Merlin G. Cox (Alachua County Historical Commission 1981)
Wish You Were Here: A Grand Tour of Early Florida Via Old Post Cards, by Hampton Dunn (Byron Kennedy and Company 1981)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules.