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.
The severe freezes in 1894-95 hurt the citrus industry, and this area of Lake County turned to turpentine. T.M. and C.C. Taylor sold their turpentine still in the southern portion of the county and went to Mascotte, planning to start tapping pine trees with a crew of black laborers. However, since Mascotte had never had a black resident, town leader Theodore Ruff refused to let the Taylors set up shop.
The Taylors then followed the railroad eastward to a place they named Taylorville, and erected a still on the lot where later L. Day Edge built his home. His father, Elliott E. Edge, bought out the Taylors in 1899 and laid out the foundation of a town.
The Edge Mercantile Company was founded in 1904 by Elliott E. Edge, and was later operated by his son, L. Day Edge. They bought and sold whatever the public wanted, from trinkets to farm implements. In about 1911, the community was renamed Groveland because of the citrus groves to the east and south of the town. The elder Edge was the town's first mayor and a founder of the Lake County Historical Society.
This building was erected in 1923. One of its earliest tenants was the Lake Drug Co. Much of the details of the building are obscured by the wide overhang, but you can still see the crest with the name of the building and the year of its construction.
On this former site of Edgewood School, a two-story concrete block building was erected and named Edgewood Elementary School. It became the Groveland High School Edgewood Vocational Annex in 1971, and in 1978 became Groveland Elementary School.
A school building was erected on the south side of this road during the 1920s for black students. It had two rooms downstairs and one upstairs, serving grades 1-8. During the 1960s, the building was moved across the street to the north side to be used as a neighborhood center. It became the county headquarters for the Migrant Education Program.
Rev. J.H. Murphy organized this congregation in 1935. The present sanctuary was built in 1968 and was dedicated on February 8, 1970.
This lake is named for Audrey Beach, who lived on its shore.
This church was founded in 1919, with Rev. J.E. Swanborn of Pierson, Florida, as the first pastor. The first church building was erected in 1923 and the present one replaced it in 1954.
This lake was named in 1880 for David Crum, who killed a black bear on its shore.
This church was built in 1920 and rebuilt in 1962. There are memorial plaques on the wall to honor Elliott E. Edge (1870-1934), Robert E. Carlson (1896-1935), and Addison Lee Smith (1879-1936).
In 1928, the Woman's Club organized and chose the establishment of a library as its first project. It was first located in the city hall, and the collection of books was moved to the old post office building on Broad St. In 1966, it was moved here to the new E.L. Puryear Community Center Complex. In 1991, it was named after Marion Baysinger, one of its volunteers.
This congregation began with 43 members present on February 5, 1922, at a meeting conducted by State Evangelist Rev. A.A. Holmes. They called Rev. Holmes as their first pastor and built this three-story brick church in 1924. An educational building was constructed in 1955-56, and the auditorium was completely renovated in 1970.
The present sanctuary was built in 1990-91 for a cost of $750,000. The stained glass windows were removed from the old sanctuary and reinstalled in the new one.
This site was acquired in 1918-19 and on it a two-story yellow brick school was built. Part of its financing came from J.W. Beach and L.D. Edge.
This school replaced a two-story wooden schoolhouse built in about 1904 near Greenwood Cemetery. Later construction was completed in 1937, and the facility was subsequently renamed as the Cecil E. Gray Middle School.
This school was built in 1922. Its east wing was condemned in 1952 and the building had to be propped up to support it. It was substantially remodeled in later years.
Mail had to be taken to Leesburg by horseback before the post office was established. Mail was carried by horseback from Okahumpka until the Orange Belt Railway was completed in 1887, with R.H. Whitnall as the first station agent.
The first postmaster was Theodore Ruff, who also had the first store in Mascotte.
This cemetery contains the graves of several individuals who figured in the early development of Mascotte and this area of Lake County.
Mascotte's first school was located here. Prof. Osterhout was the teacher in that one-room building until the late 1890s, when Mr. Gregory took over, and he was followed by Jessee W. Wunter.
This is the oldest church building in Mascotte, built in 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon W. Fiske deeded the land, J.W. Dulton donated lumber and paint, and it was built by the men in the community. Earlier, the area's Methodists worshipped in a one-room schoolhouse as Slone's Chapel.
In 1905, the 25 members of Slone's Chapel and its minister, W.A. Weir, moved in. In January of 1906, Rev. King David Jones took over as the pastor.
In 1920, it was the original home of the Stucky Still School. It then expanded to include the Baptist Church and, in the late 1930s, a two-story yellow schoolhouse was built on another site. It was struck by lightning in 1945 and burned. The school was replaced in 1948 by a one-story building erected by Henry Shepherd, which in the late 1950s closed when the school consolidated with Edgewood Elementary School in Groveland. The building was then sold and converted to a residence.
In 1958, a small educational building was dedicated, and later was used by the children's division of the Sunday school, the Methodist Youth Fellowship, and adult church groups. In 1962, the church acquired the lot next door and later built two classrooms on it.
This is the location for monthly city council meetings, voting, and social events.
In 1900, a two-story schoolhouse was built to serve the local residents, and the first teacher in it was William Tidd, who had come to Mascotte in 1885 with his brothers, Frank and Charles. In 1922, it ceased being used as a school, and since then has been a store, boarding house, and a residence. In 1952, the north section in back was erected.
The previous Mascotte city hall burned down in December of 1984, following three unsuccessful arson attempts. The city business was temporarily moved to a vacant office at Stiefel's used car lot.
Built in 1902, this was the home of Elliott E. Edge, who founded the Edge Lumber Co. He also set up the local telephone system so he could communicate with logging camps. He was also the founder of the Edge Mercantile Co., which grew to be the largest mercantile business in Lake and Sumter Counties.
This is the oldest Queen Anne style home in Groveland, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It was built along SR 50 about a block west of SR 19, and was moved here to make room for the construction of Hardee's Restaurant. After it was renovated beginning in 2005, it was used as the office for Florida RanchLand Realty.
History of Lake County, Florida, by William T. Kennedy (Lake County Historical Society 1988)
Lake County, Florida: A Pictorial History, by Emmett Peter, Jr. (The Donning Company 1994)
Through Schoolhouse Doors: A History of Lake County Schools, by The Lake County Retired Teachers Association (Rose Printing Co., Inc. 1982)