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 Zephyrhills Library was started in about 1910 by the Library Association with 77 volumes.
This building was erected in about 1910 for the Garfield Post 39, Grand Army of the Republic. The work was done by Union veterans and other local residents, and it served as a community center. It was later given to Zephyr Post 118, American Legion, after the G.A.R. disbanded.
The building is constructed of heart pine from the Greer Mill, hauled south to here by ox cart. This hall has been used as a community meeting place, auditorium, movie theater, and concert hall.
The first drug store in Zephyrhills was located in this building. Just to the east was the two-story Storms Bakery and Peterson Buildings, with the owners living upstairs over their businesses.
Built in about 1910, this is the oldest church building in Zephyrhills. Its first pastor was Rev. Jesse Stebbins, whose father, A.E. Stebbins, was an early promoter of the town. This is now the Berean Baptist Church.
This house was built in about 1914, and during that year Benjamin Franklin "B.F." Parsons moved to Zephyrhills. Within a year or two, he bought the house from Maggie M. Whitehead, and added a second floor in 1933.
Parsons was the station agent of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, and then the Atlantic Coast Line. He also served as mayor for 20 years, beginning in 1933. The terminal at the Municipal Airport is named after him.
The home has been substantially remodled since 1970. The fireplace, chimney, and outside staircase were removed, glass windows have been installed in the upstairs apartment, the front and side downstairs porches have been enclosed by glass, and other modifications have been made.
This 14-room house was built in 1910 for Jesse Stebbins, a son of A.E. Stebbins, who suggested that the town be named Zephyrhills. Prior to that, it was known as Abbott and Abbott Station. The house has a Victorian style, and is built of cypress and heart pine. It has ten-foot ceilings and a wraparound veranda.
For a time, it was operated as a boarding house known as the Miller Tourist Home. It was also occupied by Mabel Price, the Maynor family, the Dominic family, the Trautwein sisters, Edith Harvley, and Lindell and Nell M. Petty. In recent years, the house has been completely renovated.
This house was built in 1910, and may have the first basement in town. During the 1920s, it was the residence of B.L. Gilbert, who operated the first electric light company in the city. It was later the home of August and Ann Laible, and then Howard and Louise Lashley.
In 1924, the Tourist Club of Zephyrhills was formed and grew to about 600 members. They initially met in Stephens Hall of the First Methodist Church, and then this clubhouse was built as a WPA project in 1934. It was partly replaced in 1946 and enlarged in 1954 and 1982.
This brick bank building was erected on this corner in 1914. The bank moved in here from the Summy Building, which had been constructed by Hart and Yingling.
This Federal route follows the route of what was Greer's Road, built by the county commission. It became Wire Rd. in about 1910, since the telegraph wire was strung along it.
This board and batten structure was built before 1900, and was used as the Abbott Station schoolhouse. Later owners included the Brashear, Parker, Bird and Hayden families. Edward Cross used it as his winter home from 1948 to 1954.
The Atlantic Coast Line depot was built in 1927, with typical wide overhanging eaves, exterior platforms, and waiting rooms segregating white and black passengers. The depot was vacant from 1974 until 1988, when the city moved it to its present location for use as a historical museum.
Mary A. Shepard donated these 2.44 acres to the city on August 28, 1919, to be used as a playground. On the grounds are buildings for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, picnic tables, and playground equipment.
In this park are the B.Y. "Bernie" Wickstrom Gazebo Stage named after the editor of the Zephyrhills News, and the Alice Hall Community Center with grounds landscaped by the Zephyrhills Garden Club. In the early days, it was a popular place for "tin can tourists" to camp on the shores of Lake Zephyr.
The Oakside Baptist Church was founded in 1888, and held its early services in a brush arbor about a mile east of Zephyrhills. They soon built a combination church and schoolhouse, and relocated here after the railroad arrived, moving into Zephyrhills on January 5, 1902.
When they moved, they also changed the name of the church to Lakeview Baptist Church of Abbott, and were affiliated with the Six Mile Pond Baptist Church. On April 21, 1913, it was renamed as the First Baptist Church of Zephyrhills.
This building was erected in 1928 for $30,000 and served as the sanctuary. It is now used as the educational building.
Located here was the oldest house in Zephyrhills, built in about 1877. In it, James "Uncle Jim" and Jo Geiger were married in the 1890s. He was the town's first postmaster, served on the town council, and ran a general store. During the early 1900s, this house served as the office of Capt. H.B. Jeffries' Zephyrhills Colony Company.
Ruth Isadora Marsh, the widow of Henry C. Marsh, moved to Dade City in 1913 and took in boarders at the Lanier House. She ran a restaurant in the Dade City Hotel during World War I, and moved it to the Wettstein Building where it continued from 1926 until 1933.
In 1933, she moved to Zephyrhills and took over the Hotel Zephyr, which had been vacant for two years. She ran it for the next ten years. In 1943, she retired and bought this house and adjacent property, on which she built an apartment house. "Aunt Dora" lived in the house for over 20 years and died in 1965 at the age of 104.
These buildings comprised a portion of the stained glass studio of Karl J. Mueller, who moved to the U.S. from Germany in 1912. He moved from Belleville, New York, to Zephyrhills in 1952. He established this complex, which included his residence (later, the home of Edna Ryal), a studio (later converted to an apartment house), and an exhibition hall (later the home of Robert and Evelyn Kulibert).
Stained glass windows made here for almost 20 years were installed in many churches, including the First United Methodist Church of Zephyrhills, St. Joseph Catholic Church, and the St. Leo Abbey.
Zephyrhills Colony Company conveyed this cemetery to the Oakdale Cemetery Association in 1911. It contains the graves of war veterans dating back to the Civil War. The name Oakdale was given to the area by John Spivey, who settled here after the war.
A.E. Pennington built this house between 1912 and 1920 on the site of an old turpentine still. It is a typical rural Florida style home with a tin roof. It was the home of Warren and Rosemary Wallace Trottman for many years. She wrote History of Zephyrhills 1821-1921 in 1978.
In the early days of Zephyrhills, Mr. Pennington ran Penrod's Grocery at what used to be a corner here. Later, this area was a dairy.
In 1890, at this intersection was located the mill of Consolidated Naval Stores. That company hired the Hodson-Donnaly team to make bricks here for machinery settings and chimneys for the workers' homes.
This structure, when it was built in 1910, was the center of a complex that included a tourist camp with nine cabins, a gas station, and a general store. It was owned by James L. Greer, who sold it to the Zephyrhills Colony Company, which sold it to Francis L. Tener, who sold it to C.E. Mitchell. In 1934, it was sold by the county for taxes, and was purchased by Roy Freeburg. It retains its original appearance, except for the vinyl siding which has been added over the original pine.
This home was built in about 1910, and belonged to Clyde Kellar. He sold it in 1914 to Mr. and Mrs. C.H. Curtis. It has ten-foot ceilings, a water tower and pump, and round wooden columns. The screened porch was later converted into a Florida room.
Curtis served as mayor from 1920 to 1922, and had a real estate office on 5th Ave. Later owners included Frank and Norna Forbes, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Abernathy, and Edward and Elizabeth Abernathy.
This house started as a barn owned by Dr. Bickford from Maine. In the mid-1920s, he sold it to Fordyce Thayer, whose mother-in-law, Mary Louise Walker, bought it from him and transformed it into a two-story house. The upstairs bathroom shower was originally in the Hotel Zephyr.
This house was built in about 1914, and was the residence of N.L. Wright, who ran a store and conducted the Zephyrhills Citizens Band, organized in 1910. Later owners were Henry and Mary Engh, and Shirley Stewart. It contains four apartments, three downstairs and one upstairs.
This home was built in about 1910 by Mr. Benny from England. The original floor plan had three rooms and a wraparound veranda downstairs, and upstairs was a full walk-through attic. Additional rooms were added by enclosing portions of the veranda. Since 1962, it has been substantially renovated.
This house was built with one story in 1910, and the first owner rented the rear rooms to winter visitors. Fred Cortez purchased it and added the second story. It was later owned by Arthur and Velma Parsons.
This lot was sold for $100.00 by the Zephyrhills Colony Company to W.L. Hinsley, who built this Dutch Colonial house in 1910. Later owners included meat market owners S.P. Boyer and A.A. Chancey, Dr. L.L. Lamb, and Eve Sanders. The screened porch has now been enclosed with glass.
This corner was previously the site of a turpentine factory. In 1910, Harvey Austin built this two-story house. The next owner was Isabella Schall, who bought it in 1955 and added a small house in the back yard. No substantial changes have been made to the exterior of either building, except for the removal of the gate from the front porch which used to keep out hogs and other animals.
George D. Cox, a Civil War veteran, built this home prior to World War I. It was later bought by Col. L.B. Boylan, who had served in both the Spanish-American War and World War I. This may be the first Zephyrhills house with an indoor running water bathroom.
On this site was a frame one-story building that was used as the first Zephyrhills city hall. It later served as a school, then the meeting hall of the United Spanish War Veterans, and then the headquarters of Zephyr Barracks #1875, an organization of World War I veterans. After all of the veterans died, the building was used by the city for storage, and then it was torn down.
In the mid-1930s, this was constructed as a WPA project with rock quarried along the Hillsborough River. It is leased by the city to the Zephyrhills Woman's Club. The club was formed on November 11, 1915, as an affiliate of the Florida Federation of Women's Clubs.
This home was built in 1911 by Capt. H.B. Jeffries, who was responsible for many Civil War veterans moving to this area. When originally built, the two-story house had four rooms and red heart pine floors. The wraparound porch has been partially closed in. Later owners included F. Earl Hart and Steven and Eileen Herman.
Discover Florida: A Guide to Unique Sites and Sights, by Robert Tolf (Manatee Books 1982)
The Historic Places of Pasco County, by James J. Horgan, Alice F. Hall, and Edward J. Herrman (Ralard Printers, Inc. 1992)
The History of Zephyrhills 1821-1921, by Rosemary W. Trottman (Vantage Press 1978)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules.