Floral City: Visit to a slice of old Florida

Historical marker in Floral City, Florida - License our images here.        

The longest bicycle trail of Florida crosses this town with old tales to tell. The Withlacoochee State Trail was an old railway repurposed by the state government for recreation. 

The Timucuan village of Tocaste lasted over 800 years at the spot of Floral City. Later, the Spanish explorers Pánfilo de Narváez and Hernando de Soto passed by the area. After the 18th century, there was the Seminole Indian village called Cho-illy-hadjo - I guess it survived until the start of the Second Seminole War in 1835. 

The oldest surviving home in Floral City is the Duval House. Its owner, John Paul Formy-Duval, was one of the first white settlers of the area. His father was a French doctor that came to America fleeing the bloody French Revolution. John Paul served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. 

Floral City was surveyed in 1883. Its commercial center grew around the lake because boats were the easiest way to bring stuff to the area. 

We walked Aroostook Way to the shores of Lake Tsala Apopka. This is the only diagonal street in this part of the city and screams "old road" for its departure from the common rectangular grid. 

Beautiful old trees are lined along the way. Cranes were wandering at the gardens of old houses and a friendly cat followed us through the empty street. 

Coming back from the lake, we walked the Avenue of the Oaks - Orange Avenue - with its centenarian trees. 

There stood the New England Hotel. I tried to get a photo but only found one of the Floral City Hotel from around 1889. We can get the idea of the look of the town in the 19th century. 

Floral City Hotel, Florida. 1889 (circa) - State Archives of Florida. 

Walking the backstreets of Floral City we passed the old Methodist Church, a building from 1884. 

Henry Plant, one of the big names of the American railroads, brought the tracks to the western side of Floral City in 1893 - now the route of the Withlacoochee State Trail. 

Atlantic Coast Line depot. Floral City, Florida, circa 1920 - State Archives of Florida

The town center moved from the lake to this point. 

The population of Floral City exploded with the phosphate mining boom. It's said that the city was larger than Miami at the time with over ten thousand folks. Curiously, there were only 400 whites - that's why there are many African American cemeteries around here. 

The end of the phosphate boom brough back agriculture and the tasty oranges of Florida. The population of Floral City dropped to 600 by 1926. Some years later, Ferris Groves was born and became an iconic spot of the town.

Ferris Groves at Floral City in 1953 - State Archives of Florida. 

This business is still alive - check their website. The Withlacoochee State Trail passes behind the building. Stop and try some oranges.

In this area you can camp in the Withlacoochee State Forest - check the post Camping in the Withlacoochee Forest: Our photos and information. 

(For more photos of Floral City, watch this montage that we uploaded to YouTube.)