Ghost Town
Guide to the Ghost Towns of
“The
Sunshine State”
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Column Index for Florida |
Florida like the other eastern
states is usually shorted in ghost town books. However, there are a hundreds of locations worth
looking into a state which has had an active and contentious history. Florida was one of the first parts of the
United States to be explored by European explorers, with Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa making landfall in
1513. More commonly known as Ponce de
Leon, he was a member of Christopher Columbus’ second exploration to the New
World in 1493. He became a provincial
governor in what later was named Puerto Rico and in April 1513, he led an
expedition to what he named La Pascua Florida. From that point on,
Florida was ripe for exploration, and the Spaniards continued to visit the
unknown land. Then in 1559 Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a
colony at Pensacola, but it was abandoned in 1561. The French began active exploration of the
area, which enticed the Spanish desire to claim and settle the land
themselves. In 1564, Fort Caroline was
established by the French at present-day Jacksonville, which forced the
Spanish hand. They established St.
Augustine the following year. In
September 1565, the Spanish attacked and took over the French fort, renaming
it San Mateo, but the French retook it in 1567. The Spanish fort at St. Augustine was
battled for and overrun several times, including 1586 when Sir Francis Drake
the noted British seaman attacked and burned the town. The Spaniards had also established a number
of missions and by 1655 had converted thousands of the Native American
inhabitants to Christianity. However,
peace did not reign, and the entire peninsula was contested over, as well as
serving as a haven for pirates until the early 1800s. In
1763, the Spanish traded Florida to the British, and left Florida. However in 1784, they were re-awarded
Florida by the Treaty of Paris. Land
grants were issued to settlers, and many Americans came to Spanish
Florida. Finally in 1821, the United
States took over Florida, and 300+ years of bickering went away. Florida became a territory in 1822 and the
27th state in 1845. Then in
1861 Florida joined the Confederacy be seceding from the United States of
America. Once the Civil War ended,
Florida was on the road to reinstatement, which took place in 1868. Throughout
the state’s history, agricultural communities, military posts, logging camps, ferry landings, steamboat landings, and
hundreds of other tiny communities were established, lived for a while then
faded out. During the 1920s, there was
a land boom and many new towns were established. Some made it, others didn’t. Then in the early 1950s, retirees began
flocking to the state, and by 2000 Florida had become the nation’s fourth
most populous state. This is a great state
for searching for tangible remains of the past, but they are generally
well-hidden. It takes a dedicated
researcher to them, but, they do exist.
Below, some 45+ sites are listed to get you started. Get on out and see what the Sunshine State
has to offer ghost town chasers.
Enjoy! HELP! Please check here to find a list of ghost
towns that various contacts are looking for.
IF you have any information on these places please e-mail me
and I can respond back to those looking for info on these ghosts. |
ANDYTOWN
|
Broward Co. |
Nothing but memories remain of this class A former crossroads community under
the ramp from westbound I-75 (Everglades Parkway) to northbound US 27/State
Highway (SH) 25, 18 miles west of Fort Lauderdale. It got its start in 1947
as a coffee-serving roadside shack along the eastern end of Alligator Alley.
Andy Poulos bought the shack and ten acres of land
and built up the tiny roadside community.
In 1951, Andytown incorporated, but in 1967,
the state purchased the land. In
October 1979 the town of four people was doomed to be bulldozed to make room
for a freeway interchange. The ·
SWC(orner)
Sec 22, T49S, R39E, TM (Tallahassee Meridian and Baseline) ·
Latitude: 26.1459193 / 26° 08’ 45” N ·
Longitude: -80.4417201 / 80° 26’ 30” W |
AURYTOWN
|
Pinellas Co. |
A class A
pirate “town” located on the north side of Please note that I am not trying to disclaim the
existence of the pirate town, just questioning Louis-Michel Aury’s involvement. The aerial photo from GNIS shows a number of
paths in the trees on the north end of the island. Access is by foot from the parking area
located in the center of the island, which can be reached via Causeway Blvd
west of Scottish Village Shopping Center, which is on the northwest corner of
the junction of Bayshore Blvd (US 19)/Curlew Rd (SH
586)-Causeway Blvd., on the north side of Dunedin. This is a state park/state recreation area,
so metal detectors are not allowed anymore. However, in an April 1979
article, the author lists a number of relics that were discovered at the
site. (Aurytown is not
listed in Gnis
, but Honeymoon Island is. GBS) ·
SW¼ Sec 5, T28S, R15E,
TM ·
Latitude: 28.0697381 / 28° 04’ 11” N ·
Longitude: -82.8303814 / 82° 49’ 49” W |
BEULAH
|
Orange Co. |
“There's a little town on the outskirts of Winter
Garden. It's called Beulah. You would travel on Hwy 50 (which runs parallel to SH 91 – Florida’s Turnpike/Ronald Reagan
Turnpike – GBS’s note) through Winter Garden till you get to
the intersection of 50 and Contributed by Dan H., August 21, 2007 I checked my resources, and it appears to be a
small community on the south side of Winter Garden. In 1990 it had 100 people. From Gnis
the aerial photo shows several large commercial-looking structures at the
west (north) side of ·
NW¼ Sec 36, T22S, R27E,
TM ·
Latitude: 28.5347243 / 28° 32’ 05” N ·
Longitude: -81.5725735 / 81° 34’ 31” W |
BREWSTER
|
Polk Co. |
Brewster is an old company-owned phosphate
mining town and railroad station on the CSXT Railroad at the junction of SH
37/County Route (CR) 630, about seven miles north of the county line, about
20 miles south of Lakeland and nine miles west of Fort Meade, in the far
southwestern corner of the county. The
Gnis
aerial photo doesn’t show
any standing buildings at the site. See
PIERCE as it is listed by Mr. Fifer as a former
phosphate mining town. It was established in 1910 as a company
town for the American Cyanamid Company (ACC). A
typical company town, it contained all the needed amenities to serve the “captive” population
such as doctors, medical clinic, drug store, gas station, movie theater, post
office (1913 - 1961), a school and a community swimming pool. It was a segregated town and consisted of
two areas: one for white residents and
one for African-American residents. In
1962, ACC closed the operation and removed most of the buildings. By the 1970s the entire operation had
closed and the mine buildings and plant had been relocated. The smokestack is a local landmark, and as
of 2008 was still standing along with some ruins and rubble. PLEASE
NOTE: The site is on
PRIVATE PROPERTY and is closed to the public. ·
SE¼ Sec 26, T31S, R23E,
TM ·
Latitude: 27.7528082 / 27° 45’ 10” N ·
Longitude: -81.9795299 / 81° 58’ 46” W |
BULOWVILLE
|
Flagler Co. |
This class B-sugar
plantation town is located on CR 2001, nine miles southeast Bunnell and three miles west of This is
one of the towns featured in my newest book, GHOST
TOWNS: Yesterday & TodayTM. ·
Ctr Sec 38*, T12S, R31E, TM NOTE:
*The
Section 38 designation is NOT an error despite the fact that most Townships
are a square 6 sections wide and 6 sections high (36 total/section). ·
Latitude: 29.4358096 / 29° 26’ 09” N ·
Longitude: -81.1403372 / 81° 08’ 25” W |
CALL |
Union Co. |
…SEE |
|
Franklin Co. |
This major World War II era amphibious assault
training center stretched some 20 miles along the There is a website for the Camp Gordon Johnston Museum located in the
Carrabelle City Complex located at 1001 Gray Avenue, Carrabelle, 32322. Details of the old camp can be found in the
United States Army book: THE AMPHIBIOUS TRAINING CENTER – Study No.
22, Chapter
VII, “TRAINING AT CAMP GORDON
JOHNSTON ( ALLIGATOR ( ·
SW¼ Sec 34*, T6S, R2W,
TM (* sections not shown, but it straddles the township line at that
location) ·
NW¼ Sec 3*, T6S, R2W, TM
(* sections not shown, but it straddles the township line at that location) ·
Latitude: 29.9068748 / 29° 54’ 25” N ·
Longitude: -84.4276763 / 84° 25’ 40” W ·
SW¼ Sec 12, T7S, R4W, TM ·
Latitude: 29.8835413 / 29° 53’ 01” N ·
Longitude: -84.5957359 / 84° 35’ 45” W |
CASTORTOWN
|
Hillsborough Co. |
This class A
pirate town was established by an English pirate based out of EGMONT KEY: ·
Corner Sec 23, 24, 25,
26, T33S, R15E, TM ·
Latitude: 27.5919782 / 27° 35’ 31” N ·
Longitude: -82.7626010 / 82° 45’ 45” W |
CEDAR KEY
(AKA – Atsena Otie,
Depot Key, Fort #4) |
Levy Co. |
Today’s town of In 1839, during the Second Seminole War, Fort
#4 - was established by US Army General Zachary Taylor on what was
then one of several unnamed keys offshore from here. A hospital and depot were also built, and
the key became known as Depot Key. On
Seahorse Key another post, Cantonment Morgan was established. Then on October 4, 1842 a hurricane
destroyed Cantonment Morgan and seriously damaged Fort #4. As the Seminole War was over, the army
abandoned the fort and the key. In
1843, Augustus Steele purchased the island and the remains of the military
buildings and renamed the island Atsena Otie Key. He built
a number of “vacation cottages” founding a small community here. In 1845, the Cedar Key post office
was established, and because of the growth of Cedar Key as a
shipping port, a lighthouse was built in 1854, along with several residences
beside it. The city of By 1860 the Florida Railroad made Cedar
Key its western terminus, establishing shops and a terminal on Way
Key, across the channel from Atsena Otie Key. A General store was built, and a small
community began to develop there also.
When the Civil War began, the lighthouse on Atsena
Otie Key was shut down as were the pencil-wood
mills. After the war ended, and Union
troops occupying the keys left, the small town was reestablished, and in 1865
the pencil mill on Atsena Otie
Key was rebuilt. Another one was
established on Way Key. Three years
later the Florida Railroad was repaired and in 1869, the town on Way Key was
incorporated as Cedar Keys, quickly eclipsing Atsena Otie. By the 1880s, Then on September 29, 1896 a hurricane ripped
the heart out of the towns. The
junipers were wiped out, the mills destroyed and the towns on the keys were
seriously damaged. On December 2, a
fire destroyed what remained of Atsena Otie. Some rebuilding began on the town of ATSENA
OTIE KEY
(cemetery): ·
S½ Sec 32, T15S, R13E,
TM ·
N½ Sec 5, T16S, R13E, TM ·
Latitude: 29.1194126 / 29° 07’ 10” N ·
Longitude: -83.0267870 / 83° 01’ 36” W TOWN of
CEDAR KEY: ·
NW¼ Sec 32, T15S, R13E,
TM ·
Latitude: 29.1385785 / 29° 08’ 19” N ·
Longitude: -83.0351212 / 83° 02’ 06” W |
CENTER HILL
|
Sumter Co. |
“There's a small population still living there
but its downtown area is all but abandoned. There are still a few businesses
open here and there on the outskirts but its "main street" would
qualify as a ghost town.” Contributed by David P., October 06, 2002. It is located on SH 48, about eight miles east
of Bushnell, and northwest of ·
NE¼ Sec 22, T21S, R23E,
TM ·
Latitude: 28.6499942 / 28° 39’ 00” N ·
Longitude: -81.9925814 / 81° 59’ 33” W |
|
Lake, |
Contributed by ‘Mardell’,
Nov 03, 2009 No other details were given, and it is not
listed in GNIS or in my Rand McNally Commercial Atlases for 1986, 1995 or
2002. The |
|
Hernando Co. |
This class A
sawmill town once had 1500 people, and is located seven miles north of Weeki Wachee Springs, which is
north of The 2-3 foot diameter longleaf and slash pines
in the area gave rise to a sawmill and lumbering
community established to house the sawmill workers. When the mill was built in 1911, it had a
capacity of 100,000 board feet of lumber a day. Some 1500-1800 people lived here and the
town was complete with a commissary (company-store), grocery & dry goods
store and a hardware store. There was
also a small one-room school, a doctor, visiting dentist, boarding house
(Centralia Hotel), drug store, the Hungry
None Restaurant, church, turpentine still, railroad depot and a movie
theater. The Centralia post office was
in operation from June 10, 1910 through December 11, 1922. Once the trees were all cut and the lumber
milled, JUNCTION
OF US 19-SH 55/CR 628: ·
E-Ctr
Sec 36, T21S, R17E, TM ·
Latitude: 28.614420 ·
Longitude: -82.551833 |
Cruger and DePeyster Sugar Mill
|
Volusia Co. |
…SEE New Smyrna Beach Sugar
Mill |
EGMONT KEY |
Hillsborough Co. |
This island/key is at the mouth of EGMONT KEY: ·
Corner Sec 23, 24, 25,
26, T33S, R15E, TM ·
Latitude: 27.5919782 / 27° 35’ 31” N ·
Longitude: -82.7626010 / 82° 45’ 45” W |
(AKA – |
Escambia Co. |
This restored class C
military fort is located on the south side of the Pensacola Naval Air Station
just east of the three-way junction of The first fort at the site was built by the
British in 1763. In 1781 the Spanish captured SEE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Barrancas
FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS ·
SW¼ Sec 5, T3S, R30W, TM ·
Latitude: 30.3479773 / 30° 20’ 53” N ·
Longitude: -87.2971948 / 87° 17’ 50” W |
|
Union Co. |
Back in 2002, a correspondent contacted me and
asked where Call was. I posted it on
the HELP
page and received the following response from Mike Woodfin,
a noted Ghost Town photographer/explorer in December 2006. “Call
would be the remains of Ft. Call in Bradford/Union County FL.” In May 2008, Mike added: “There is a Fort Call Cemetery in Union County,
northwest of Worthington Springs. (It)
was considered a community at one time.
There was a church there but it was moved to Worthington Springs. Fort Call was a Seminole War Fort
established prior to 1845. There
apparently was a Call in Volusia County and one in Dixie County also.” Contributed by Mike Woodfin
The cemetery is located on the west side of CEMETERY: ·
NE¼ Sec 22, T6S, R18E,
TM ·
Latitude: 29.9502778 / 29° 57’ 01” N ·
Longitude: -82.4872222 / 82° 29’ 14” W |
|
Hillsborough Co. |
Named after Major Francis L. Dade, The island (key) was recommended to be used for
military purposes during a survey in 1849, but nothing was built. Some troops were stationed on the island
during the Civil War, but again, nothing was built, and in 1882, the island
was made a military reservation. A
lighthouse was built (either in 1848 or 1858 – depending on source), but no
military base was actually constructed until the onset of the
Spanish-American War in 1898. Some 70
buildings were built and a small community also established to support the
fort. The community supporting the
fort had about 300 residents, and was supplied with electricity. It later had a movie theater and a bowling
alley. A hospital where soldiers returning from battle in The GNIS aerial photo shows several batteries
(gun emplacements), the lighthouse, crumbling brick roads, concrete stairs
and foundation outlines throughout the northern half of the island. ·
Corner Sec 23, 24, 25,
26, T33S, R15E, TM ·
Latitude: 27.5919782 / 27° 35’ 31” N ·
Longitude: -82.7609342 / 82° 45’ 39” W |
|
Pasco Co. |
Not to be confused with the FORT DADE on EGMONT KEY,
this Fort Dade was located north of Dade City and a mile or so south of Lacoochee, west of the Withlacoochee River, and just
southeast of the junction of the Main Line Road/Mickler
Road. The site appears to be on
privately-owned commercial property and is NOT
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
It dates to the Second Seminole War in the 1830s
and may have had as many as 2000 soldiers stationed here, and by 1845 the
fort had faded. APPROXIMATE
LOCATION FROM GNIS: ·
SW¼ Sec 25, T23S, R21E,
TM ·
Latitude: 27.4502773 / 27° 27’ 01” N ·
Longitude: -82.1664734 / 82° 09’ 59” W |
FORT DENAUD |
Hendry Co. |
“…Ft. Denaud,
Hendry Co, (is located) just west of Labelle Fl. There are one or two
buildings, a historical marker, fireplace / chimney from burned building, and
cemetery.” Contributed by Pete F. March 27, 2014. Hist marker “The
combined pressure of growing white settlement in Florida and federal policy
of relocating Indian tribes west of the Mississippi sparked the outbreak of
the 2nd Seminole War in 1835. Controlling the coasts and campaigning in the
heart of Seminole lands were the objectives of Major General Thomas Jesup in 1837. Captain B. L. E. Bonneville established
Fort Denaud in 1838 as one of a series of posts
linking American operations south of Tampa to the east coast. It was
constructed on the south bank of the Caloosahatchee River 27 miles from Fort
Myers on land owned by Pierre Danaud, a French
Indian trader. The fort consisted of tents with a blockhouse in their midst.
It served as a supply depot for troops in the Lake Okeechobee area and was
utilized intermittently until the war ended in 1842. Fort Denaud
was reopened in 1855, soon after the outbreak of the 3rd Seminole War.
Additions included company quarters, hospital, guardhouse, sutler's store and stables. A few months after a fire
ravaged the post in June 1856, another site on the north bank of the river
tow miles west was chosen. The fort, which was abandoned in May 1858, gave
its name to the nearby town of Denaud.” According to GNIS and the National
Map, the original site is about 5.25 miles southwest of Labelle, ¾ mile
southwest of the south end of the swing bridge over the Caloosahatchee
River. The cemetery is located off the
road that intersects at the junction of CR 78 and the swing bridge road (CR
78a), 0.4 miles north of that junction. APPROXIMATE
LOCATION OF FORT FROM GNIS: ·
SW¼ Sec 15, T43S, R28E,
TM ·
Latitude: 26.7336780 / 26° 44’ 01” N ·
Longitude: - -81.5164666 / 81° 30’ 59” W CEMETERY: ·
NW¼ Sec 10, T43S, R28E,
TM ·
Latitude: 26.7536772 / 26° 45’ 13” N ·
Longitude: - -81.5134108 / 81° 30’ 48” W |
|
Pinellas Co. |
A class C,
Spanish American War era military fort built on the southwestern tip of
Mullet Key, on the north side of the mouth of Tampa Bay, across the Egmont
Channel from Egmont Key. Construction
began in 1898 and continued until 1903. Like By 1910, the troops stationed here were
relocated to Located nearby on the east side of Mullet Key,
was the Mullet Key Quarantine Station, established in 1889, it
checked immigrants arriving by ship.
In 1901, the Marine Hospital Service took over the quarantine
station’s operation. In 1925 it had 15
buildings, and was in used until 1937. LOCATION
FROM GNIS TOPO MAP: ·
NE¼ Sec 18, T33S, R15E,
TM ·
Latitude: 27.615653 ·
Longitude: -82.736235 |
|
Franklin Co. |
This old British fort is located on the east
bank of the ·
NE¼ Sec 23, T6S, R8W, TM ·
Latitude: 29.9382602 / 29° 56’ 18” N ·
Longitude: -85.0096350 / 85° 00’ 35” W |
Monroe Co. |
This class C/F
military fort sits on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas Islands, at the far
western tip of the Florida Keys, 70 miles west of Key West. It is only
accessible by boat or seaplane from Key West. This was the largest all brick
fort in the Western Hemisphere and is now a National Monument. This was our Ghost Town
of the Month for May 2005 For more
details see our FORT
JEFFERSON page. |
|
|
Escambia Co. |
This old military post
sits on the northeast point of Perdido Key, across
from the Pensacola Naval Air Station, on the west side of the mouth of
Pensacola Bay. It is marked as
“Ruins” on the GNIS topographic map.
The aerial photo shows ruins and foundation outlines. ·
NW¼ Sec 34, T3S, R31W,
TM ·
Latitude: 30.3258333 / 30° 19’ 33” N ·
Longitude: -87.3169444 / 87° 19’ 01” W |
|
Escambia Co. |
This old military post sits
on the west tip of Santa Rosa Island, across from the Pensacola Naval Air
Station, on the east side of the mouth of Pensacola Bay. It is marked as “Ruins” on the GNIS
topographic map. The aerial photo
shows ruins and buildings, and what appear to be still-armed gun
emplacements. It is now a State Park. ·
Sec 30 or 31, T3S, R30W,
TM (Section #s not marked on GNIS topo map) ·
Latitude: 30.3265889 / 30° 19’ 36” N ·
Longitude: -87.2896944 / 87° 17’ 23” W |
FORT REDOUBT |
Escambia Co. |
This old military post
sits on the east side of the Pensacola Naval Air Station, on the west side of
Taylor Road and just south of Tow Road.
It was one of the four forts protecting Pensacola. It is marked as “Ruins” on the GNIS
topographic map. The aerial photo
foundation outlines. ·
NW¼ Sec 5, T3S, R30W, TM ·
Latitude: 30.3554771 / 30° 21’ 20” N ·
Longitude: -87.2969171 / 87° 17’ 49” W |
GOODNO
|
Glades Co. |
This 1800s era cattle town was established by
E.E. Goodno. The scattered community was located along
a railroad line. GNIS shows it along
SH 80, where the former railroad crosses the highway four miles east of Port LaBelle, east of Fort Myers and west of Lake Okeechobee.
The GNIS aerial photo shows the tracks gone, and no old buildings on site,
except for what appear several scattered farms/rural dwellings. (GBS) “The ghost town of (jumping off place really)
Goodno was on the south side of the Caloosahatchee River in what is now
Hendry County. Until 1923 it was Contributed by Terry Hamilton Wollin, November 19, 2009 ·
Sec line 34, T42S, R30E,
TM ·
Sec line 3, T43S, R30E,
TM ·
Latitude: 26.7686760 / 26°46’ 07” N ·
Longitude: -81.3117397 / 81° 18’ 42” W |
|
Hillsborough Co. |
This ancient pirate town was established by Ben Margoza, a mid 1600s English pirate. He set up the town
on the south bank of Little Manatee River, between In the Manatee Harbor area there is a Gulf City
Road. Gnis
shows the site just east
of the junction of Neptune/Sweeney Drives in
·
SW¼ Sec 12, NW¼ Sec 13,
T32S, R18E, TM ·
Latitude: 27.7058639 / 27° 42’ 21” N ·
Longitude: -82.4617613 / 82° 27’ 42” W |
|
Broward Co. |
“I did not see Contributed by Jeannie B., Jan 02, 2008 (GBS - below) GNIS lists it as a “Former incorporated city of ·
NE¼ Sec 24, T50S, R41E,
TM ·
NW¼ Sec 19, T50S, R42E,
TM ·
Latitude: 26.0853655 / 26° 05’ 07” N ·
Longitude: -80.2011583 / 80° 12’ 04” W |
INDIAN
KEY
|
Monroe Co. |
This class B
early settlement was located on Indian Key, just 0.6 miles south of US 1, along
the upper 1/3 of the Keys, just southwest of Islamorada (which is on Upper Matecumbe Key) and 0.8 miles east of the northeastern tip
of Lower Matecumbe Key. The original inhabitants
were Native Americans in the 1500s, and they were followed in the 1700s by
pirates and others who used the key as a base for various fishing and logging
crews. In the late 1700s through 1823.
The first "permanent" white settlement was in 1824 when a store was
established on the island to serve the transient population. It served as a focus point and a small
community grew up around it. Captain Jacob Housman arrived in the early 1830s
and began to build up the little town and island. A customs inspector was
established in 1832 and a post office in 1840. During the Second Seminote
War of the late 1830s, Indian Key was one of two towns on the keys that was not abandoned.
The other was Key West.
However, that war eventually affected Indian Key, when in the early
morning hours of August 07, 1840, a party of Native Americans arrived, and
thanks to an early warning, only 13 of the 70 or so people in the town were
killed, the others escaping. The
Seminoles burned the buildings and by 1850 and the cessation of hostilities,
only a few folks remained. The last
inhabitant left in the 1880s. The key has remained uninhabited since. The GNIS aerial photo shows a number of
structures, two docks, and what appear to be foundation outlines and roads on
the tiny island that measures about 500’ wide and about 1000’ long. ·
NW¼ Sec 13, T64S, R36E,
TM ·
Latitude: 24.8781901 / 24° 52’ 41” N ·
Longitude: -80.6767301 / 80° 40’ 36” W |
KICCO
|
Polk Co. |
From Ghost Towns.com comes this following
information: “Here are the directions to the Kicco town. Enjoy - Take SH 60 (about 20 miles) east of Lake Wales to River Ranch Road, turn left (should
be right). Turn South on Contributed by Duane, Jan 27, 2008 [Note: Items
above in () from GBS] From the directions above, it sounds like the
site is about 7.5 miles south of the River Ranch Resort Airport along the
west side of the Kissimmee River just south of Rattlesnake Hammock and about
two miles north of the county line. APPROXIMATE
LOCATION: ·
W½ Sec 20, T32S, R32E,
TM ·
Latitude: 27.6773905 ·
Longitude: -81.1476803 |
KING’S FERRY
|
Nassau Co. |
This class A
historic ferry is located on the St. Mary's River, north-northwest of ·
NW¼ Sec 37*, T4N, R25E, TM (*Along the river, there are added non-square sections. This would normally be a NE¼ Sec 7
location) ·
Latitude: 30.7852336 / 30° 47’ 07” N ·
Longitude:
-81.8389984 / 81°
50’ 20” W POWER
LINE RIVER CROSSING: ·
NE¼ Sec 44*, T4N, R25E, TM ·
Latitude: 30.786357 ·
Longitude:
-81.840205 GNIS
LOCATION FOR (Historical) FERRY: ·
NW¼ Sec 37*, T4N, R25E,
TM ·
Latitude: 30.7866225 / 30° 47’ 12” N ·
Longitude:
-81.8389984 / 81°
50’ 20” W |
KORESHAN
|
Lee Co. |
“Another
well known ghost town, said to be one of the most complete in the state is just
south of Ft Myers, Koreshan. There is a great deal
of info about the settlement, and founder Cyrus Teed on the web with a quick
search. You’ll find some of the most interesting info on sites dedicated to
“cults.” I have spent a number of days at the site, which is a state
park now. Many of the original buildings still remain, and preserved quite
nicely….” Contributed by Pete F. March 27, 2014. According to GNIS, the site was “Acquired by the State
of Florida November 2, 1961. The park
includes the remains of a pioneer settlement established in 1894 by religious
visionary Cyrus Reed Teed, who brought his followers from Chicago to the
banks of the Estero River to construct a ‘New Jerusalem.’" It is located about 15
AIR miles south of Ft. Myers, a quarter mile west of US 41/SH 45, just west
of Estero and the junction with Corkscrew Road, two miles west of I-75 at
EXIT 123. It is shown as Koreshan State Historic Site on the GNIS maps and is
tucked into the northeast corner of a cluster of golf courses. Cyrus
Reed Teed established a new religion called Koreshanity
(Koreshan Unity), in which the followers believed
the universe was in a hollow sphere.
He called himself Koresh (the Hebrew translation of his given name,
meaning shepherd), left New York (and his wife and son) and established a
utopian religious colony with some 200 fellow believers at what is now
Estero, Florida. It was established in
1894, and had various assets, including a bakery, boat works, cement plant,
dining hall (torn down in 1949), hotel, landscaped grounds, print shop
(printed the Flaming Sword
and the American Eagle),
sawmill and store. After Teed (Koresh)
died in 1908 the colony faded, but remained active for many years. The last four surviving members gave the
land to the state in 1961. The state
park offers self-tours or ranger-led tours through the grounds and the 11
remaining buildings that are on the National Register of Historic
Places. Some of these remaining
buildings include the Founders House cottages, bakery, generator building,
machine shops, a store and an art hall.
The print shop burned in 1949. ·
NW¼ Sec 33, T46S, R25E, TM ·
Latitude: 26.4331362 / 26°
25’ 59” N ·
Longitude: -81.8153639 / 81° 48’ 55” W |
LACOOCHEE
|
Pasco Co. |
“Another town much
like (Center Hill) above. Its "main street" is abandoned as well.
Even the last big name convenience store pulled out about 10 years ago.” Contributed by David P., October 06, 2002. Lacoochee is an old cypress logging town that was
established in 1888. The post office
opened on May 22 of that year with William I. Acosta as the first
postmaster. The little community
supported the Cummer Cypress Co., until the sawmill closed in 1959, and the town began
fading. It is located on CR 575, east
of I-75, about eight miles north of Dade City, west
of the Green Swamp and just south of the county line. It appears to still be a viable community
as it still has an active post office (33537), several churches, a school, fire
station and hospital. One railroad line
has been removed (along CR 575) and the main street is Pine Products
Road. In 1990, the population was
2072, BUT by 2000 had dropped to 1345.
Even though it is really larger than most towns listed in this work,
it does bear watching. The 2010 Census
counted 1714 folks. (GBS) There is a good
website that shares the history of this old town at: http://fivay.org/lacoochee.html
·
SE¼ Sec 23, T23S, R21E, TM ·
Latitude: 28.4658322 / 28°
27’ 57” N ·
Longitude: -82.1720291 / 82° 10’ 19” W |
LAWTEY
|
Bradford Co. |
“I am
interested in Lawtey, Florida, Bradford County. It was known as Burrin Florida at one time. Any advice on how I locate pictures etc?” Contributed by
MaryAnn Burrin, Jul 29, 2008 Like Lacoochee (above), this is another borderline
listing. It is along US 301/SH 200 and
the Seaboard Railroad about 20 miles southwest of Jacksonville. It had 554 people in 1930, 692 in 1980, 676
in 1990, 656 in 2000 and 730 in 2010. It is an incorporated “city” with a
post office (32058) and a correctional
facility that houses a maximum of 832 male inmates and a staff of
216. The jail was built in 1973 and
modified in 1977. Lawtey has an
interesting history dating back to when it was founded in 1877 by a group of
Chicago investors. A sawmill operated
by Captain Thomas Burrin anchored the
community. By 1885 there were 250
people and agriculture supported the town until the Great Depression of the 1930s, however that doesn’t appear to have affected the
population. There are numerous abandoned buildings and homes. The town is
most famous for being an officially known “speed trap” and numerous sources
cite this as the number one income generator for the moribund little
town. (GBS) ·
SE¼ Sec 23, T5S, R22E, TM ·
Latitude: 30.0470350 / 30°
02’ 49” N ·
Longitude: -82.0720140 / 82° 04’ 19” W |
|
Charlotte/Lee Co. |
On Cayo Pelau Island, on north side of the entrance to Charlotte
Harbor southwest of Port Charlotte and northwest of Fort Myers. This early 1800s Spanish pirate town had
about 60 buildings and a ship repair facility. Nothing remains today. The island is uninhabited, and the GNIS
aerial photo shows no remains.
Excluding the northern tip of the island, the vast majority is on the
Lee County (south) side of the county line. CAYO PELAU
ISLAND ·
Sec 6, T43S, R2E, TM ·
Latitude: 26.7761796 / 26° 46’ 34” N ·
Longitude: -82.2212046 / 82° 13’
16” W |
MAYTOWN
|
Volusia Co. |
Maytown is a former railroad
junction town on Maytown Spur Road, 0.4 miles south
of Maytown Road, at a point about three miles west
of I-95, southwest of Edgewater and northeast of Geneva and Lake Harney. It was established in the 1880s around the
railroad and supported by cypress loging
industry. After the 1930s it
died. In 1945 the railroad stopped
running and the tracks were pulled in 1976.
It is located in south central portion of
Section 30. The southwestern branch
ran southwest to The GNIS topographic map shows the four lines
spreading out, as well as a dozen or so buildings, only half of which are
still standing. According to the GNIS
aerial photo, there appear to be four stand-alone houses and a couple
outbuildings at one of them. The other
buildings shown on the topo map are gone. It also indicates a water tower in the
junction area, which is now hidden in the trees at the belly in the road as
it changes direction. Nothing is
visible in the aerial photo. Looks
like an interesting place to explore. ·
S-Ctr Sec 30, T19S, R34E, TM ·
Latitude: 28.8072135 / 28° 48’ 26” N ·
Longitude: -80.9600566 / 80° 57’
36” W |
Mullet Key
Quarantine Station
|
Pinellas Co. |
…SEE |
NEW SMYRNA
&
NEW SMYRNA
SUGAR MILL
(AKA - Cruger and DePeyster Sugar Mill) |
Volusia Co. |
Located just west of the junction of Mission Drive/Old Mission Road, about a
half mile south of SH 44 and about a
mile southwest of the junction of US 1/SH 44 in New Smyrna Beach. This class B
plantation town dates to 1768, when Andrew Turnbull imported a number of
European workers to work his sugar plantation. A small town called New Smyrna
was established for them, but by the 1770s, they tired of Turnbull's politics,
and moved north to nearby St. Augustine.
The location of Turnbull’s mill and “town” is long gone. In 1830, some 600 acres of his grant were
purchased by Henry Cruger and William Depeyster. They
erected a sugarmill and operated it until 1835 when
it was burned by the Indians during the winter of 1835/1836, during the
Second Seminole War. On August 12,
1970 the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The ruins are now the centerpiece for a
state historic park. GNIS shows the
location as New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins State Historic Site. It is also known as the Cruger
and DePeyster Sugar Mill . NEW SMYRNA (historical) ·
Sec 38*, T17S, R34E*, TM (*oddball sections numbered east of the
regular 36 in T17/R33) ·
Latitude: 29.0502629 / 29° 03’ 01” N ·
Longitude: -80.9331095 / 80° 55’
59” W SUGAR MILL ·
SW¼ Sec 19, T17S, R34E*, TM ·
Latitude: 29.00091528 / 29° 00’ 33” N ·
Longitude: -80.9406099 / 80° 56’
26” W |
ORANGE HILL
|
Washington Co. |
“I am currently working on Orange Hill in Contributed by Ron Schulte, Feb 02, 2008 GNIS shows a site called Orange Hill Corners,
located at the junction of CR 273 ( ORANGE
HILL CORNERS: ·
Sec 1 / 2 line, T3N, R13W, TM ·
Latitude: 30.6949160 / 30° 41’ 42” N ·
Longitude: -85.5004842 / 85° 30’
02” W ·
E-Ctr Sec 3, T3N, R13W, TM ·
Latitude: 30.6888046 / 30° 41’ 20” N ·
Longitude: -85.5218732 / 85° 31’
19” W |
OSCEOLA
|
Seminole Co. |
"Look into the town of Osceola next to
Geneva, FL. An old sawmill town that
no longer exists.” Contributed by Rita, May 24, 2008 Osceola is located about ten miles due east of the
Orlando-Sanford International Airport, along the west side of the river or
slough at the north end of Lake Harney about six miles northeast of
Geneva. It sits at the end of the The GNIS aerial photo shows what appears to be a
couple houses and some slabs. The
railroad grade is covered by the road, but it is visible on the OSCEOLA: ·
Ctr Sec 31, T19S, R33E, TM ·
Latitude: 28.7930477 / 28° 47’ 35” N ·
Longitude: -81.0592261 / 81° 03’
33” W “RUINS”: ·
NW¼ Sec 31, T19S, R33E,
TM ·
Latitude: 28.801360 ·
Longitude: -81.067150 |
OSCEOLA NAVAL
OUTER LANDING FIELD
|
Seminole Co. |
The airfield is abandoned as a landing field,
but it appears to be used for truck parking and several businesses appear
located there. Roofless ruins are also
visible. The field had two main
runways, each about 3000 feet long.
One runs slightly offset East-West, and the other runs
southwest-northeast. The businesses
and trucks are located on the E-W runway.
The other runway has lost most of its paving, and appears unused, as
do the taxiways and the apron area along the southeast side of the facility. SEE
OSCEOLA
above for additional details of the area. ·
SE¼ Sec 35, SW¼ Sec 36,
T19S, R32E, TM ·
NE¼ Sec 2, NW¼ Sec 1,
T20S, R32E, TM ·
Latitude: 28.7886111 / 28° 47’ 19” N ·
Longitude: -81.0825000 / 81° 04’
57” W |
PENNICHAW
|
Volusia Co. |
Located
at the junction of For
additional area details, SEE OSCEOLA (Seminole Co.), above. ·
NE¼ Sec 34, T19S, R33E,
TM ·
Latitude: 28.7988806 / 28° 47’ 56” N ·
Longitude: -81.0056136 / 81° 00’
20” W |
PIERCE
|
Polk Co. |
This Polk County Ghost
was a contribution from a reader and was our featured Ghost Town of the Month for January 2008. See our PIERCE
page for more details |
PINE LEVEL
|
DeSoto Co. |
Pine Level
was the county seat of Manatee County until 1866 when Desoto County was
created and was the county seat of that county until 1889. A graveyard,
remnants of the Baptist church, Methodist church, one original house and part
of the schoolhouse still remain. Contributed by William
Jones, February 24, 2007 Today, it is rural
community at the junction of SH 70/NW Florida Avenue (south)/Bethel Farms
Road (north), in the northwestern corner of the county, about 35 AIR miles
east of Sarasota and eight miles northwest of Arcadia. The Pine Level Campground Cemetery lies
about a half mile west and ¼ mile south of the highway. A church also
remains. A second unnamed (in GNIS)
cemetery lies about ¼ mile southeast on SH 70, then
about a mile south, at the south end of NW Mizell
Avenue (124th Avenue). (GBS) ·
Corner Secs 10, 11, 14, 15, T37S, R23E, TM ·
Latitude: 27.2653255 / 27° 15’ 55” N ·
Longitude: -81.9917524 / 81° 59’
30” W |
PUNTA RASSA
|
Lee Co. |
This class B
early 1800s cattle shipping town is located at the western tip of the
peninsula along the mouth of the south side of Caloosahatchee River, ten
miles southwest of Ft. Meyers, on the west coast of the state. It was a
lively town lined with wooden buildings. It had a hotel and probably many
"grog shops" to fuel the tempers of the merchants and cattle
sellers. The site has probably been bulldozed to accommodate the large
apartment/condo complex on the tip of the point north of the According to a March 27, 2014 E-mail received
from Pete F., “There are actually a few remnants left of the original town.”
Thanks Pete! Would love to see
photos of the ruins! ·
W-Ctr
Sec 9, T46S, R23E, TM ·
Latitude: 26.4878569 / 26° 29’ 16” N ·
Longitude: -82.0123132 / 82° 00’
44” W |
RERDELL
|
Hernando Co. |
“I recently
received a request from a fellow genealogist to explore the area of Rerdell, Contributed by Tom
B. (I didn’t note the date of the
E-mail) It appears to be a community with gridded
streets and scattered homes west of ·
SE¼ Sec 13, T22S, R21E,
TM ·
Latitude: 28.5674952 / 28° 34’ 03” N ·
Longitude: -82.1561964 / 82° 09’
22” W |
ROSEWOOD
|
Levy Co. |
In the community of Rosewood, controversy and
silence over the following episode go hand in hand. The following information came from Brian
Morgan in August 2007. It concerns the
story of Rosewood, where racial tensions in the 1920s contributed to mob
violence and reparations to the wronged former citizens of this now nearly
forgotten town. Please note: I have edited Brian’s contribution for brevity.
(GBS) “I can see
in your page for the State of “Rosewood
once stood as a quite peaceful community with a church and Masonic hall and a
blacksmith shop. Now (it’s) only a memory. I also believe that the truth
should be known and exposed about the demise of Rosewood in 1923. I also
believe we owe an overdue apology to the survivors of Rosewood and their
descendents for the disgusting events that led to such carnage. The State
of Above information contributed by Brian A.
Morgan, August 22, 24 & 27, 2007 Rosewood was established in 1845, and was
located along the Florida Railroad south of and parallel to present-day SH 24,
about nine miles northeast of CEDAR KEY and 40+ miles southwest of In the 1920s South, racial tension between
whites and blacks was high, and small incidents could quickly get blown out
of proportion. Rosewood’s demise began
when a white Sumner woman claimed she was assaulted by a black man in her
house in the early morning hours of January 1, 1923. It was rumored that she was also raped,
which was all that was needed to incite mob activity. By January 7, the incident had escalated to
the point where the community was ransacked and burned, and seven people
(some folks claim as many as 27) died, while many others were injured. The violence begat headlines, which were
quickly buried and within a month the incident no longer was in the public
eye. The victims no longer spoke of
it, and the survivors scattered to other areas. After the ashes had cooled, Rosewood was a
mere memory and footnote in history – a skeleton in Sixty years later, in 1982, a journalist heard
rumors of the massacre, and began digging.
A decade later the story was out, lawsuits were filed, and reparations
to the victims were made. In 2004, a
historic marker was placed along SH 24, and dark secret past of Rosewood is
no more. Even though time has covered over the wounds left by this and
similar incidents across the country, the truth of what happened cannot and
should not be forgotten. There are a few scattered homes in the area
now. (GBS) NOTE: For those interested
in reading additional information, please see the following websites:
Wikipedia’s entry for the Rosewood_massacre ·
NW¼ Sec 29, T14S, R14E,
TM ·
Latitude: 29.2391314 / 29° 14’ 21” N ·
Longitude: -82.9320641 / 82° 55’
55” W |
|
Hendry Co. |
The former site
of this old trading post is often shown on older maps above the Big Cypress
Indian Reservation. That would
PROBABLY place it in the southern part of T47S, R33E, TM Actual location not determined. |
ST. JOSEPH |
Gulf Co. |
This class A
seaport was about 15 miles west of Apalachiola, on
St. Joseph Bay, just two miles south of Port St. Joe, and southeast of Panama
City. In 1837 St. Joseph was the
largest town in ·
SW¼ Sec 12, T8S, R11W,
TM APPROX - (Constitutional Convention Museum State Park) ·
Latitude: 29.7933007 APPROX - (Constitutional Convention Museum State Park) ·
Longitude: -85.2985704 APPROX – (Constitutional Convention Museum State Park) |
WILD’S FERRY
|
Nassau Co. |
At the north end of Owens Road, a couple hundred
yards west of where Ocean Highway (US 17) crosses the St. Mary's River at the
Florida/Georgia state line, about 30 miles north of Jacksonville. This is an 1800s
era ferry crossing located about where the boat dock is just west of the
power lines crossing the river. It
appears to be on PRIVATE
PROPERTY,
so there probably is NO PUBLIC
ACCESS. ·
NE¼ Sec 41*, T4N, R26E,
TM (*Along the river, there are added non-square
sections. This would normally be a NE¼
Sec 27 location) ·
Latitude: 30.7421792 / 30° 44’ 32” N ·
Longitude: -81.6903812 / 81° 41’ 25” W |
MORE INFORMATION
There
are over 50,000 ghost towns scattered across the For
more information on the ghost towns of E-mailers, PLEASE NOTE: Due
to the tremendous amount of viruses, worms and “spam,” out there, I no longer
open or respond to any e-mails with unsolicited attachments, OR messages on
the subject lines with “Hey”, “Hi”, “Need help”, “Help
Please”, “???”, or blank subject lines, etc. If you do send E-mail asking for
information, or sharing information, PLEASE
indicate the appropriate location AND
state name, or other topic on the “subject” line. Thank
you, and we'll see you out on the Ghost Town Trail! |
IMPORTANT NOTE These
listings and historical vignettes of ghost towns, near-ghost towns and other
historical sites in FLORIDA as shown above are for informational
purposes only, and should NOT
be construed to grant permission to trespass, metal detect, relic or treasure
hunt at any of the listed sites. If
the reader of this guide is a metal detector user and plans to use this guide
to locate sites for metal detecting or relic hunting, it is the READER'S responsibility to obtain written
permission from the legal property owners. Please be advised, that any state
or nationally owned sites will probably be off-limits to metal detector use.
Also be aware of any federal, state or local laws restricting the same. ALWAYS respect the rights of the
landowners. When you are exploring the ghost towns of |
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FIRST POSTED: January 12,
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