Cwopinger's Trail Limo Build, Travels, and BS Thread

Morning John

 

What's going on over here??

 

Not a lot actually.

 

Very good! Nothing wrong with slowing down and relaxing once in a while!

 

Maybe I will add some pics and a story from a ramble a few weeks ago today. Maybe I’ll just take a nap. Lol

 

Sounds like a win either way!

 

Nap won out. Maybe a story tomorrow

 

Damn Cliffhangers

 

Morning John. Have a great day!

 

Morning John. Have a great day!

 

Good morning John. How’s it going this morning?

 

You too buddy.

 

Morning John

 

You too

 

Morning John. Have a great Friday!

 

Morning John

 

You too.

 

FLORIDALE

In our last chapter I went for a ramble in search of an old sawmill that is part of our local history. In this installment we will look at another part of our local history, some of the infamous Florida land deals of the 1920s. Just before the stock market crash of the great depression, there was a thriving land development business throughout Florida. Businessmen and developers would buy up large tracts of land for new neighborhoods and even turnkey communities. Unfortunately, many of the developments were dubiously thought out and funded. While most of this occurred in the southern part of the state there was also land deals occurring in the panhandle. The developments in the panhandle were just as bad as many of the failed south Florida developments.

A few weeks ago a buddy and I went searching for the site of a failed community in our area known as Floridale. This name is still in use for that area of the county but most don’t know that this was a planned community from the 1920s. Here’s the history on the community from an old local newspaper article:

FLORIDALE _ Motorists once recognized Floridale by the seemingly out-of-place, 60-foot-tall water tower/power plant that stood just north of U.S. Highway 90.​

But, with the tower’s demolition in the early 1970s, little remains today of a 66-year-old dream that would have turned Floridale into a bustling, 50,000-acre farming and residential paradise.​

A group of 80 New York and Chicago businessmen had grandiose plans in 1926 for developing “an ideal city of contentment in the center of farm and grove development” six miles west of Holt and two miles east of Harold along U.S. 90.​

The investors were organized by Richard T. Ringling, a Montana land developer and co-owner of the Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey Circus, and William L. White, a California developer and architect.​

Ringling and White formed the Floridale Townsite Corporation as a subsidiary of Ringling-White Inc. The Floridale venture was capitalized with $1 million.​

White hired Ransom Kennicot of Chicago, a member of the Executive Committee of the National Conference on State Parks, as Floridale’s city planner. Kennicot’s vision of Floridale as a “city beautiful as well as practical” was promoted in a 32-page brochure published by Ringling-White.​

The investors saw Floridale reaching from Harold to Holt. Industrial facilities were planned north of U.S. 90. To the south would be a sprawling residential/farming community.​

Floridale’s climate and location made it an ideal site, Ringling-White executives believed, for growing crops similar to those grown in California. The crops could be shipped more profitably to large Midwestern cities from Floridale than from far away California, they said. Ringling-White particularly promoted tasty Satsuma oranges because the fruit had been “scientifically adapted for this section.” The company also thought markets existed for Floridale-grown blueberries, plums, grapes, figs, peaches, corn, hay, potatoes, sugar cane, poultry and swine.​

In promoting Floridale, Ringling-White portrayed an image of residents being able to live off their land in carefree, sunny Florida. Potential buyers were encouraged to buy five-to-80-acre parcels and convert them into small farms.​

If a prospective buyer had no farming experience or couldn’t move to Florida immediately, Ringling-White offered to manage the buyer’s property temporarily through its team of professional horticulturists.​

Oceola Parkway _ a 250-foot-wide, mile-long, three-lane boulevard _ would serve as Floridale’s entrance. At the end of Oceola Parkway would be the entry to a 500-acre park and clubhouse.​

Playgrounds, an 18-hole golf course, a 50-acre lake and tennis courts would be included in the park. A shopping center would also be built.​

Ringling Drive would twist south from U.S. 90 along the tops of hills overlooking the Yellow River valley. North of the highway, Jefferson Avenue would provide a similar path overlooking the scenic Blackwater River.​

Most of those plans never materialized. Some historians believe a feud within the Ringling family doomed Floridale. Others think events leading to the Great Depression drained Ringling-White’s capital.​

But, before construction stopped in 1928, two structures were built that served as reminders of the Floridale dream until the 1960s and 70s.​

The tower _ containing a pump and diesel generator for Floridale’s water and power systems _ afforded visitors an overview of Floridale by way of an iron stairway that led to a 60-foot-high observation deck.​

Also, work was mostly completed on a then-extravagant 50-suite, $500,000 “ultra-modern” hotel that included telephones, lavatories and hot running water in each room. Each set of suites shared an indoor toilet.​

The hotel’s lobby featured two 300-pound chandeliers. Its grounds were landscaped with ornamental shrubs and a fountain.​

The hotel was destroyed in a fire in the 50's, with the central courtyard and gardens left to be reclaimed by the woods over the years.



So, with some old newspaper articles, a local history book, and a few trips to the historical society we headed out. Once we got into the right area it was actually pretty easy to find.


Corner column from the old perimeter fence


A faint path into the woods led to


A old door stoop and the foundation wall


Foundation wall and basement


A little deeper into the woods and we hit the fountain and courtyard



At some point a house was built on the property approximately where the main entrance was. While the house is still standing it is long abandoned and uninhabitable.

As far as the tower and power plant nearby, there’s only a circular slab and some iron brackets left


Another fun day in the woods and some neat old local history found. On to the next adventure.