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.
This is the only 19th Century commercial building still used as a store in Melrose. It was constructed in 1899 by Memory Baldwin and operated as the I. Baldwin and Son general store.
Edson Judd built this Carpenter Gothic style church during the summer of 1886 for a cost of $327.71. In 1895, a chancel was added and stained glass windows were installed in 1906.
During the 1920s, this building was erected for Annie Harper and Mary M. Mossman, who lived in the house next door. They held nonsectarian services in it. Later, it was turned into an antique shop.
This was the home of Mary M. Mossman, built in 1881 by William Lee. Mossman came from Ocean Grove, New Jersey, and called this the "Faith House". Several small windows still have their original colored glass.
During the 1880s, this was the Santa Fe House, a boarding house operated by widow Minerva Tillman. She was the sister of J.W. McRae, and in 1888 married the founder of Earleton, Gen. Elias Earle.
This home was built in 1879 by Dr. Herman A. Vogelbach, who operated the local drug store. It later became the Moring Funeral Home.
This former Gulf station was established here during the Depression, and has been operated by three generations of the Chiappini family.
This building was erected in 1927, using wood from the old Melrose School which was built in about 1882 at the corner of Orange Springs Rd. and Pine St.
In about 1927, a Mediterranean style high school was built on this site. It burned down during the 1940s, and was replaced by another with a similar style.
A pre-Melrose community was known as Banana, and this was known as the Banana Burying Ground. In 1869, the Eliam Baptist Church was organized and built near the cemetery entrance by William Lee. The earliest gravestone dates from 1861, and there are at least 200 which date before 1900, including many founders and developers of Melrose.
The railroad which ran along South St. was owned and operated by Davis Lumber Company beginning in 1913. The depot was completed by A.G. McGregor in April of 1914. Later, it was converted to a private home.
This house was originally built across the street during the 1880s, and later moved here. A.S. Mosley's widow sold this house to Frank McRae, the town doctor and operator of the drug store. He also served as Melrose's first mayor and as a state representative.
This is the oldest church building in Melrose, dating back to at least 1879, with records indicating membership of local residents as early as 1868. The bell tower, which formerly was used to announce fires and deaths, has been simplified over the years. A fence was erected around the church in late 1890 to keep the hogs out. The present fellowship hall was built in the 1950s and the parsonage was added in 1965.
Nearby was the site of the town jail, which was removed in 1913 by the town council for the construction of this bungalow by Janie McRae. Her sister, Claudia, later donated it to the Methodist Church for use as housing for retired ministers.
The original portion of this building was erected here prior to 1886 to serve as the store of Fannie Fletcher's father. In 1883, Fannie had married John Hilton, Jr., and they lived here, probably enlarging it during the 1890s. It later became The Gallery Tea Room.
This store was operated by Messrs. Nobles, father and son, prior to 1925. It is one of the only four commercial buildings erected in Melrose during that period. It is constructed with board and batten siding, and later additions were made. It was later converted to a private home.
Dr. Herman Vogelbach built this structure in about 1886 following a fire that destroyed the original drugstore located next to his office. Dr. Frank McRae bought it in 1907, and his daughter contined to operate the business until she died in 1944. For six decades, it was the only drug store in town. Later, it was used by the Homemakers Club.
This was a grocery store operated by Alex A. McRae during the 1880s.
John McRae built a 65-room hotel here during the 1880s and named it the Melrose Inn. It was first managed by Mr. and Mrs. Farrar, then by Mr. and Mrs. John Wolfe. It closed for a few months after the 1895-96 freezes, and then was sold to Mr. and Mrs. C.P. Huffman from Philadelphia. They sold it in 1909 to Prof. George C. Looney to be used as a boys' school, the Phi Sigma Military Academy. The building burned down in 1910.
In 1879, builder William Lee erected this house for himself. As his family grew, he enlarged it to 27 rooms. His wife, Sarah Alice Lee, operated it as a boarding house during the 1920s and 1930s. Members of the Lee family lived in this house for over 102 years.
Herbert and Clara Sutton built this home in about 1892 as part of the winter colony from Naugatuck, Connecticut. It was called Columbia Cottage in advertisements for boarders. The porches were enclosed at a later time.
This hall was built in 1893 of heart pine by E.L. Judd for the use of the Ladies Literary and Debating Society, which had been founded in 1890. This is one of Florida's oldest women's clubs, and the building has essentially the same appearance as it always did. This building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
This land was bought in 1883 by Emory J. Whitehead, an attorney from New York who built a one-story winter cottage facing this road. In 1903, it was increased to two stories, and later the entrance was moved to face the water.
This home was built during the 1920s.
This is some of the highest ground in Melrose, and may have been the site of dwellings earlier than this one, built in the 1890s for B.A. Chamberlin. The house has had later additions and alterations.
When Melrose was being surveyed in 1877, William Bonney and his brother were already living in this farmhouse that they built here, making this the oldest surviving home in the area. It has been called Bonney Place, Bonnie View, and now Bonnie Mount.
This house was built in about 1886 by William Corpew on Starke Rd. After 1900, it was moved here to Burt Pearsall's lakefront property. It is located on the railroad grade that was left after removal of the tracks of the spur line.
This "Keystone Cottage" was built for Dr. and Mrs. Russell Bingham in the mid-1880s, and was sold to Jules A. Remmell of Pennsylvania in 1895. L.M. Pearsall converted it to the Hotel Santa Fe in 1920. In the 1940s, it was sold and converted back to a private residence.
This home was built during the 1920s for New York attorney Emory J. Whitehead, and later was the home of the Ross family. It features a prominent front gable and broad wraparound porch.
This is Melrose's first brick building, constructed during the mid-1920s as the retirement home of Hugh Barnett.
Charles O. Gladwin bought this lot in June of 1878 from Abolom Granger, who had bought it from the Goodsons earlier that year.
In 1884, William Rhoads sold his farm and bought this town lot, on which he built this cottage. In 1899, it was bought by Hans Felix Noszky, who was also known as Baron von Noszky from Saxony. Noszky served as the third mayor of Melrose.
This Queen Anne style home was aldo known as Ruthven Lodge. It was built by Nathaniel Priest in 1890 for Charles E. and Melissa Caldwell of Springfield, Massachusetts. This house has one of the most complex and pleasing rooflines in the area.
This home was known as the "Abbie", built by Newton Priest in 1890 for Miss A.L. Hill. Beginning in 1909, it was known as the "Abbey" when new owner C.P. Huffman operated it as a boarding house. It was also known as the Melrose Hotel. The hotel remained open unti the late 1930s. The decorated veranda and corner tower have been removed.
This was a small board and batten house in 1887 when it was bought and converted into a pleasant winter cottage by Nathaniel and Elizabeth Holmes Orr from New Jersey.
Walter H. Hamlyn from Devon, England, and his wife, Effie, came to Melrose in 1884 and bought this lot in 1894, next to his in-laws, the Orrs. This road is named for his hometown.
Maj. Charles E. Willets from New York bought all the land bordering the bay from Quail to Trout Sts. and built a portion of this "marine villa" on pilings over the water during the 1880s. A later owner moved it onto solid ground.
This building with Gothic style arches was erected in 1895 by Rev. A.H. Waters. In 1925, it was converted to a private residence for John McLeod.
In 1893, this vacation home was built by William Lee for Capt. Dowling Sexton of Chatham, Connecticut. Sexton was a ship captain, and the upper story looks like the bridge of a ship.
This house may have been located on Walter Hamlyn's bayfront lot which he bought in 1894, then moved here. He sold it to L.S. Hunt in 1914. In the 1950s, the home was a showplace while it was owned by Stewart and Margaret Rose.
This large home was built with a two-story front porch in 1886 by J.E. Sandiford, with the intention of taking in boarders. He sold it the following year for $480. In 1896, it was acquired by H.S. Grimes, captain of the "Alert".
This Frame Vernacular style home was built in 1917 by Thomas A. Birt, a boat builder. Behind it is the building which he used for a workshop.
This home, built in about 1890, was the home of Angus L. and Helen Weston McRae and their six children. Ellen Whitney purchased it in 1905.
This was the home of landscape photographer William M. Rhoads, who used it for a winter cottage. In the mid-1900s, it was occupied by Russell Nobles.
This was the home of John Cason, and it was surrounded by citrus trees and guava bushes for many years.
This cottage was built in 1885, and enlarged in 1886 for Albert H. Painter of Pennsylvania. He was a steamship agent for the Clyde Line and a reporter for the Gainesville Sun. Simon Coward and family acquired it in 1903.
Anna W. Lewis bought this lot in 1894 and sold it to Sarah G. Rose in 1896. This house was likely built by one of them. During the 1940s, it was owned by "Uncle Bud" and "Aunt Mollie" Robinson.
In the 1920s, this Spanish style bungalow was built for John Wurts, a lawyer from Jacksonville. After the death of his widow, it was converted into an Episcopal rectory.
This home was built in 1885 by William Lee for F.J. Darlington. It was built in a Victorian style, with elaborate twin chimneys and ornamental iron work.
This home was constructed by William Lee in 1894 for Lillian and Henry Ittner. Next door lived her parents, the Darlingtons. This cottage features interesting porch detail and a second-floor balcony.
This lot was bought in February of 1906 by F.M. Yearwood, president of Melrose Manufacturing Co. Before commencing construction, he planted native cabbage palms on the lot. The Potter family lived here as winter residents during the 1940s.
This lot was bought in 1879 for $40 by Dr. Valentine Riley of Georgia, and S.N. Gladwin built this house on it. During construction, Dr. Riley lived at Bay View, the boarding house of McKendrie Lambdin located at the north end of Quail St. at Melrose Bay.
Blacksmith Greenberry Jackson built this in 1878 as the first home in the newly-platted town. His son married the granddaughter of Alex Goodson, founder of Melrose. The lumber was cut at the P.H. Westgaard mill.
This house was called Mont Clare Cottage by Fremont and Clara Tolles, for whom this was built in 1893. For about five years before that, they had been coming here for the winter from Naugatuck, Connecticut. Mr. Tolles had been president of the Naugatuck State Bank, and this Victorian style house has been converted to a bank.
The Tolles family used this building as a packing house. It now houses a museum about the early days of Melrose.
This house was built on Bellamy Ave. in about 1885 by postmaster J.M. Barnett.
Dr. Franklin B. Tuttle of Naugatuck, Connecticut, purchased this property in January of 1894. He had this vacation cottage built here soon thereafter.
This home was built for John Hilton in the early 1900s. Later, it was occupied by his daughter, Emma Brinson, and it was known as Brinson Cottage.
This house was built in 1894 by Harrison and Alice Tuttle Tolles from Ansonia, Connecticut. He was the older brother of F.W. Tolles and she was probably the sister of Franklin B. Tuttle.
John T. Mizell bought this land in March of 1880 and built this house upon it. In 1910, it was acquired by storekeeper Alexander W. Craig and his wife, the daughter of Dr. Frank McRae.
Isaac Mizell built this home in the 1890s. During the 1920s and 1930s, it was utilized as a boarding house.
Henry C. Baldwin built this home in about 1885, and it was sold by his wife, Millicent, in 1905 to W.H. and Edgar Dunbar, merchant brothers from Naugatuck, Connecticut.
Alachua County, Florida Historical Tour Series: Melrose and Waldo, by Alachua County Historical Commission (1983)
Bonnie Melrose, by Zonira Hunter Tolles (Storter Printing Company, Inc. 1982)
Florida Markers & Historical Sites, by Floyd E. Boone (Gulf Publishing Company 1988)
Florida's History Through Its Places: Properties in the National Register of Historic Places, by Morton D. Winsberg (Florida State University 1988)
Shadows in the Sand, by Zonira Hunter Tolles (Storter Printing Company, Inc. 1976)
Wish You Were Here: A Grand Tour of Early Florida Via Old Post Cards, by Hampton Dunn (Byron Kennedy and Company 1981)
Yesterday In Florida, by Kennie L. Howard (Carlton Press, Inc. 1970)