ChazzCreations Limited
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ChazzCreations
PO BOX 1909
POST FALLS, ID 83877
~ Waldo ~
Along the route of Bellamy Road, lay a plantation village named Bellamy Station, which is now Waldo, founded in 1820. The town was named after Dr Benjamin Waldo of Ocala. In the 1870's Waldo was advertised as a Winter Playground attracting Tourists who arrived by railroad to vacation. There was an opera house which presented plays, lunches served at the Waldo Hotel, baseball, and cruises on the Lake Alto. Sparkman Store, was rebuilt in brick by T.B. 'Ben' Tillis after the fire in 1893 destroyed the wood frame buildings on Waldo's business block. The next owners were Charles Richard Sparkman (the grandson of William Sparkman) and his son Claude. The Sparkman store remained when other buildings, including the old three-story Cigar Factory, the Opera House (1872-77), and the Waldo Hotel (1869), were razed in the 1920's and 30's. Sparkmans were the proprietors until 1966. Trains stopped at Waldo during the noon hour allowing the passengers to have luncheon at the nearby Waldo House. L.V.Alexander came to Florida from Reynolds, Ga., opening his Alexander Store selling shoes, hats, and general men's wear. Soon afterward he married Nora Preston of Melrose on August 26, 1915, he became owner of this brick building. His wife sold dress goods and children's clothes. Once off the train they saw what George M. Barbour described so vividly after his first visit to Waldo. He wrote about the attractive Town Park, well kept and fenced, and of the bandstand from which the local "band" provided music heard for blocks. Barbour considered the design of the bandstand well worth mentioning, with its ship shape and mast-rigged flag staff, the gift of one of the several sea captains, who found Waldo such a delightful place. Barbour described the neat rows of cottages, the grassy lawns, trimmed and clean, and the luxurious flower and vegetable gardens, as well as the number of orange trees in most yards. At this time, there were several large orange groves in and around Waldo. There were two schools, five churches, El Toney cigar factory, express and telegraph-office, a daily mail route going in four different directions, and a money-order post office. The headquarters of the Sante Fe Canal are located here. W. T. Cheeves owned one in the east section between the railroad and the Old Bellamy Road in the East section. C. K. Dutton property was also in the southeast. H.H and Thomas owned 56 acres on Lake Alto and later are reported to have 1,000 orange trees, over 100 pear trees, and a number of peach trees. Winter of 1899 had a series of disastrous freezes, some lasting 4 days with 2 inches of snow. Henry Hill was the first black fireman in the City of Waldo.
American House - Waldo 1870's
Bank - 1918
1910's
1910's
Driveway to Lake Santa Fe - Waldo 1910s
Seaboard Depot - Waldo
https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/152457
1920s Check from Bank Of Waldo
1953
1956 Post Card - Orchard Motel and Restaurant
Motel Yankee - Post Card
Carriage Manufacturer, D. Hicks, was located near the depot. He built all kinds of carriages, business wagons and farm wagons with the greatest care, receiving orders from all parts of the State. Mr. Hicks was also a practical trimmer, and took pride in his personal attention to the trimming of carriages of his own make, as well as those brought to him for repairs. He had a blacksmith's forge in connection with his business, and his work compares most favorable with the best in the country, has some 400 trees on from 8 to 10 acres, most of which are in bearing, and which gave him a generous income aside from his regular business. Other businesses which provided employment were the pickle factory and the peanut factory. The cigar factory at times employed as many as 90 people.
Dr. Edward Paschall also lived in Waldo. George Ambrose settled north of the railroad tracks on the East Side of present US 301 when he came to Waldo in 1880. Hardee Raulerson groves were in the western part of Waldo. The old Camp Baker property, south of the Transit railroad on the West Side of Waldo was bought by J. E. Chadwick after the end of the Civil War and turned into orange groves. It was later Nelson Alonzo Harris from Wisconsin On March 9, 1881 a canal was completed between Lake Alto and Lake Santa Fe making it possible for a steam boat to visit the farms around the lakes to buy their produce. The produce was taken to a railroad spur in Waldo where it was unloaded for the trip to northern markets. Oranges were one of the larger crops which were sold for the northern markets until the Big Freeze in the 1890's which destroyed the groves of citrus. Citrus was lost as a commercial crop, leaving the hauling of lumber, shipping of flowering plants and pleasure cruises around the Lakes as the only sources left for revenue to operate the Steamboat. The first steamboat on the canal after the dredging was the F. S. Lewis, The dredge had been built by Waldo resident named Elgin. He also designed the paddle wheeler for Lewis, Steger, and Farrell which was named for Lewis. The F.S.Lewis made its maiden voyage April 26, 1881, carrying a happy group of people from Waldo on a round trip to Melrose. It was between 65 and 70 feet long, had two decks and was of the same design s the Mississippi River paddle wheelers. The canal was 30 feet wide and a depth of five feet . When the water was low in the summer, or when soil washed down the canal banks, traffic was blocked until it could be cleared. The F.S.Lewis was built in Waldo. The Captain was S.C. Barker, who spent his younger years in command of sea craft.
Today, the old red caboose on display in the city park holds the key to Waldo’s past. It is the symbol of the town’s rich history and serves as a reminder to its community that Waldo remains a great place to live and to raise a family. Waldo offers new comers the charm of a small town with the benefit of living in Alachua County with its numerous resources and advantages. The 2010 census the population was 1,015, up from 821 in 2000.
Waldo Cigar Factory
The El Toney Cigar Factory employed from 50 to 90 people, depending on the season. The original factory was located in downtown Waldo next to the Opera House. They burned when the business section was wiped out by fire in 1883.
Waldo Train Station
Now the Amtrak Station
Granger Home 1894
The house was located on Cracker Hill along the railroad track. George Summer Granger, a railroad engineer, built this elaborate, Victorian-style house before 1894. The original frame structure had a fanciful two-story full-length veranda and a narrow two and a half-story tower. The house remained in the Granger family until 1981.
Historic Businesses
There were three saw mills in the Waldo area.
With the expansion of the city, there was a large demand for lumber for building. N.A.Harris was owner of one of them.
There was a blacksmith shop, a wheel-wright shop, cotton-gin, amd the American Ice & Cold Storage co.
There were also three grist mills to provide flour and corn meal.
The fish market was operated by Oscar and Gertie Hall.
There was a Pickle factory and a Peanut Butter factory
G.H.Auburn was the notary Public
BR Byran had a restaurant
G.A. Wenzel was a baker
E. Pertz operated the Railroad Restaurant
J.W. Cotton was a jeweler
E.P. Davis was a teacher
E.M. Day was a barber
N.E. Farell was a realtor
A. Jolley was a Physican and Pharmacist
J.H. Stovall was also a Physican
A. Whitney was the Telegraph Operator
J.B.Jennard ran a livery stable
G. Lightman was one of the Pastors of the Baptist Church
A garage was owned and operated by Charlie Williams
ChazzCreations
PO BOX 1909
POST FALLS, ID 83877