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.
Trenton was chartered as a town in about 1908. It had a mayor and council type of government until 1952, when it switched to a mayor-commission form.
This building was constructed of yellow concrete block with a red brick facade in 1941, while its neighbors were the Lancaster Bros. Service Station and the Trenton Hardware and Furniture Store. It features brick quoin decorations at the windows and the front corners. There are open eaves and the roof is sheathed with metal shingles.
An explosion resulting from a leaky gas heater in the clerk's ofice did substantial damage to the building in March of 1960. The damage was repaired and an additional 2,200 square feet of space was added for a meeting room and a new clerk office.
After his first store burned down, Sam Hardee rebuilt at this location. He sold seed, farm supplies, dry goods, groceries, shoes, candy, and other items.
In the same brick block of stores was a grocery store operated by Hugh Miller, later becoming the Economy Grocery Store operated by Wilbur Anderson. Later, it was the Suwannee Store run by Jack Rogers and Odell Mikell. These stores, including Hardee's, burned down on November 29, 1939.
The Farmers & Merchants Bank opened in the Wade Building in 1911 and moved here in 1913, shortly after this building was completed. The upstairs was used for dances, a printing office, and meetings of the Masonic lodge.
This one-story wooden train station was built in 1907 at a cost of $3,672. It has vertical wood siding, an open truss ceiling supported by wood-braced columns, and a gable roof with wide overhangs. Several additions were made to the rear of the building.
The Atlantic Coast Line was completed through Trenton in 1906-07, continuing on to Cross City, Perry and Tallahassee. The tracks were laid by Wade and Bell, large operators in lumber and turpentine.
The depot was given to the city of Trenton by Seaboard Coast Line in 1984.
This two-story masonry building, covered with stucco, was originally the jail. The second floor windows still have bars over them. It has a flat roof and a triple-arched front porch. It was later converted to a residence.
This was the Crystal Ice and Storage Plant owned by John F. Haigler during the 1920s.
This one-story red brick building formerly was the Coca-Cola bottling plant, built and operated by John F. Haigler. He bought the franchise from Jake Dupree before he became in charge of elections in 1929.
Haigler took in a partner, Hugh Hendrix, and they later sold the operation to the Florida Coca-Cola Bottling Company. That company moved the plant to Gainesville.
Later, this building was used as the headquarters of the Gilchrist County Chamber of Commerce. It features a hip roof, cast stone details, and a tower. Several additions were made to the rear.
Next door to the bottling plant was The Red Barn, which was remodeled as the Trent Theater, for the showing of movies. It opened in September of 1937 and closed three months later.
Sitting well back from the road, this is one of the oldest commercial structures in the county. It has a gable roof sheathed in metal, a dormer, and a large sliding door.
Main St. was first paved and curbed in 1947.
This is the county's first high school, built in 1924. Newblod L. Goin designed it with a flat roof, arched entry porch, and cast stone details. The larger school was necessitated after the merger of the Cherry Sink, Jennings Lake, and Cleveland Schools.
Teachers were paid $65 per month in the 1920s. Single teachers usually lived at the Trenton Hotel. During the Depression, Weeks Martin built a canning plant for fruits and vegetables for home consumption. It was located behind the old gymnasium, and was later converted to a bandroom.
The new gymnasium was built in 1941 for $25,000 and W.P.A. labor.
On this corner was the store of Henry Rogers. It burned down some time after 1910.
Richard Tison and his nephew, Sam B. Hardee, moved the stock of their general store from Fanning Springs and established a store and livery stable here in 1906. North of the railroad tracks, they set up a cotton gin and grist mill.
After Tison died, Sam's brother, Vess, became his partner in the business. Later, Vess established Trenton's first electric light plant. That facility was later bought by Tine Mims.
The first Hardee store burned down some time after 1910.
The first Trenton post office was established on April 2, 1883, in the corner of a store owned by Samuel B. Slaughter near Slaughter Lake, about two miles northeast of the present town. Perry M. Colson served as the first postmaster as well as bookkeeper and general manager of Slaughter's business. He was replaced by Slaughter's son, Charles L., in 1886. Charles is also known for moving the Slaughter House, a hotel first built in 1903 in Wannee, to a site near the depot. That hotel served the town until it burned down in the late 1930s.
The Slaughter store closed on April 10, 1895, and the post office was taken over by Jemima Griffin Jones Miller, who moved it to her home. She was known as Grandma Miller, and served the area as a midwife.
Willis W. Colson became the postmaster in 1899, and moved the post office into his store, which he sold in 1902 to William F. Beach, who took over as postmaster. In the early 1900s, the post office was moved into J.B. Stockman's store.
In 1910, Thomas H. Milton became the postmaster and the post office moved into a concrete block building with Dr. Lancaster's drug store on the west side of Main St. In 1941, while Bess W. Rowell was the postmaster, it was moved next door to the Hendersons' store.
This one and one-half story home features masonry piers, a full front porch, horizontal siding, bracketed wood columns, and a gable roof.
This church was organized in 1908.
This congregation was organized in 1884 with 25 members. Rev. W.J. Martin served as its first pastor. A one-story red brick masonry building was constructed in the 1920s, with taller additions at the rear added later. A new sanctuary was dedicated in August of 1982.
This Bungalow was built in 1917. It has a gable roof, wide bracketed overhangs, masonry piers and paired wooden columns. It was later remodeled as a law office.
Gilchrist County is the newest in Florida, being formed from a portion of Alachua County on December 4, 1925. Citizens wanted a new road from Suwannee River (near Fannin) to Gainesville, but Alachua County refused. They bluffed that they would form a new county, assuming that the county would give in and build the road. Instead, Alachua County would not consent and the new county was created.
One name proposed for the new county was Mellon, after one of the crops of the area. At the time, former governor Albert H. Gilchrist was dying, and the legislature decided to honor him.
After Trenton was chosen as the county seat, a former converted schoolhouse on Main St. was rented from the Colson estate, and then purchased by the county. It had been built in 1906 with four classrooms, and absorbed Bartram School and Union Grove School.
Trenton School's first teachers were Ada Cox and Hadie Croxton. When more classrooms and an auditorium were added, it absorbed Cherry Sink School, Jennings Lake School and Cleveland School. The building burned down on November 19, 1932, and was replaced by the present courthouse the following year.
This was designed by Smith, Holborn and Dozier of Jacksonville as a W.P.A. project. H. McNeil Wade built it for $18,162. It has decorative corbeled courses, a triple-arched entry porch, and arched windows with drip courses.
In 1876, Dr. Denison Mason, W.F. Smith and Dr. Barron formed the Joppa Christian Church. They met in a small log schoolhouse located in what is now known as McArthur Field, near the high school. The schoolhouse burned in 1877, and a new building was erected about 300 yards east of the Joppa Cemetery. That building was blown down by a hurricane on September 29, 1896. During that same year, a portion of the congregation split off to form the Jennings Lake Church of Christ.
The remaining members built a new church near the old site. In 1907, the arrival of the railroad sparked a move to Trenton of both factions, who merged to form the Trenton Church of Christ.
This church was constructed in 1920 of Florida field limestone and brick. It has arched windows, a gable roof, and a triple-arched entry porch. Later additions were made in the rear.
This is a Florida Cracker style home, one of the oldest in Trenton. It has a single story and is constructed of wood with horizontial siding and masonry piers. The central brick chimney, gable roof and wide porches were typical of this style.
This wood-frame building was erected during the 1920s. It has a hip roof, intersecting gables, horizontal wood siding, and a sheet metal roof.
In the 1920s, it was managed by Lois Tison, and was a favorite place for traveling salesmen. In front was a basketball court that was a popular gathering place for youngsters.
A History of Trenton, (Gilchrist County Historical Celebration 1989)
Florida Back Roads, by Bob Howard (Sentinel Communications Company 1991)
Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, (University of Florida Press 1989)
The History of Gilchrist County, by Kevin M. McCarthy (The Historical Committee of the Trenton Woman's Club 1986)
The Pioneer Churches of Florida, by The Daughters of the American Revolution (The Mickler House 1976)