Finding Eldorado

I am riding around Sunnyside anticlockwise trying to trace the railroad easement from Leesburg to Tavares. I am seeking any trace of Eldorado a small settlement on the south eastern corner of Sunnyside which in 1890 was connected by train to Leesburg and Tavares and by steamboat to Astor on the St Johns River. Eldorado even had a post office from 1886 until 1910.

 I should have asked these guys the way! Blue marks the old railroad line, red is the Stivender property.

 

Initially I could find nothing apart from waterfront homes and docks. But it turned out not to be a waste of time as I met a home owner who had lived there since before the railroad tracks had been removed. He showed me the old route behind his home and explained it went behind an old house and that I could see more of the easement at Camp Horizon a Christian retreat further down the road. I went to the camp, jumped a gate and was able to follow the RR easement as far as Leesburg Airport. A lot of the early trains would have run on a trestle in this area where later railroad companies built a causeway.

 

 The house in all its glory and today.

 

On my way back I found the old house the neighbor had mentioned - in total disrepair. I hadn't previously seen it as the only thing visible from the road is its windmill and water tower. The house is concealed by oaks and spanish moss. In its early days it had been a magnificent home with a tower and widow’s walk. I later found out that this is the Stivender house built in 1881. Dr. Arthur Avreham Stivender (1842-1900) was born in Alabama and came to the area in 1861 with his mother Margaret Gillie Anne Lee of the founding family of Leesburg and his siblings. He was a dentist but better known as a citrus grower on the land around his house. On the lakefront Stivender built a dock and a packing house where trains and steamboats would stop to transfer supplies and pick up citrus and vegetables from all over the lake.

 

 The no longer existing Stivender rail depot, docks and packing house and an 1895 image of the train near Eldorado.

 

Stivenders son was into racing cars in the early 20th century. His race track is now what we know as Sunnyside Loop. The Stivender House was featured in the 2009 film "Away We Go". The Seaboard Coastline Railway continued service between Leesburg and Tavares until 1949. The house burned to the ground a few months after I wrote this article.

 

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Moss Bluff

I'm on a solo ride exploring the Ocklawaha Prairie Restoration Area and Moss Bluff. A big part of the plan being to have a late breakfast at the Dam Diner before heading home.

An interesting place Moss Bluff, in 1876 the settlement already had a post office, two stores and the Waterman Company sawmill. It was connected to Silver Springs and Leesburg via the Ocklawaha River and by rail to Silver Springs via a lumber spur line and the Ocklawaha Valley Railroad.

 

The old steel truss swing bridge and the Leesburg Boat Club locking through in 1948 with the swing bridge behind.

 

The first Moss Bluff dam and lock built in 1925 produced hydro electricity for the local area. It was replaced in 1969 after it was overwhelmed by heavy flooding. The dam controls the water level in the chain of lakes south to Apopka and provides a navigable route from the lakes north to the St. Johns River near Palatka. The lock has a lift of about 16 feet and about 100 boats go through on a busy weekend. The first Moss Bluff bridge across the Ocklawaha river was a steel truss swing bridge built in 1927 which in turn replaced a ferry. The new concrete bridge on Hwy 464C was built in the 1980's .

 The new Moss Bluff dam, lock and spillway and the Dam Diner

 

Of course, no visit to Moss Bluff would be complete without breakfast at the Dam Diner which had reopened in the pandemic with limited seating - two eggs over easy, hash browns, toast and too much coffee $10 with a generous tip! Plus a priceless conversation with one of the waitresses who was raised in the area. She reminisced nostalgically about the old swing bridge which she loved to watch as kid. She told me, that traditionally, widows from the bridge communities had always been selected as bridge keepers as way to support them following their loss. A great day.

 

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Nichols Cemetery

I’m taking a day out touring and decide to learn more about the Nichols Cemetery, a frequent stop on SLBC rides. My route takes me west on Hwy 475 over the I75 bridge shortly after which I see the sign for Nichols Cemetery and follow CR 246 to the gate.

 

It is a family cemetery established in 1880 on land donated by W. R. “Bob” Nichols Sr. who was the first to be buried there by his son Judson Nichols. I walk around the older section of the cemetery and find his grave marked with a tombstone on which the family name is spelled “Nickols”. I am disappointed by not finding anything else about him until I use the men’s washroom where I find his picture on the wall - Bingo!

 Afterward I continue south along CR 246 but instead of taking the left turn back to 475 I decide to ride straight up the stone, grass and sand road to Scenic View Alpacas and take some pictures before finding my way back to Hwy 475 and having lunch at the bar of the Whispering Pines Winery. A seriously good ride.

 

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Stanton

On one of my favorite rides along Sunset Harbor Road I turn left at the Stanton Baptist Church onto SE 140th Avenue. Just before SE 155th Street on my left I see the stone ballast, all that remains of the railroad that ran beside Lake Weir. This is where in 1881, Stanton Perrin founded the town that bore his name. He built a lumber mill on Lake Weir and a steam boat to raft wood across. By 1885 a population of 300 was cutting 30,000 board feet of lumber a day, growing oranges, manufacturing shingles and bricks, and had two general stores. All of this was short lived as the town rapidly declined after the great freezes of 1894/5 destroyed the citrus and overharvesting ended  the lumber industry.

I continue riding east on SE 155th Street past the Ocala Road (Hwy 25) and on the left side of the road l see this home which was built in 1895. It is built of wood felled on Carney Island, rafted across Lake Weir and sawn at the Stanton mill.

 

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Leesburg to Wildwood by Train

Leesburg Station – since repurposed as a fitness center by Beacon College 

Starting at Leesburg station I follow the rail trail through Montclair where the train would have made its first stop. As I continue the trail unfortunately ends at the Leesburg city limit a half mile before Whitney where the train would have stopped at packing houses to deliver supplies and pick up produce.

 From Whitney Road you can see the easement extending west through the trees. I continue west on SR 44 to the next stop at Bamboo about a half mile east of Morse Blvd, where a now vanished sawmill used the rails to transport lumber.

 The sawmill at Bamboo – you can see a train on the right.

 

Then I turn right off 44 onto CR 143 which parallels the rail easement which is on my right. At the entrance to Lake Deaton you can see old railroad ties in the grass. When I reach the jog to the right that crosses the easement onto 44A I am in the center of Orange Home, a settlement squeezed between Lakes Deaton and Okahumpka. Here the train would have picked up citrus and vegetables and delivered supplies.

 

Continuing on 44A the easement is now on my left and I see the beautifully conserved Baker House on my right. Senator David H. Baker completed the home just before 1895 in time for the great freezes that destroyed the area citrus industry. Disaster for many but it enabled him to accumulate 1200 acres of land at bargain prices. As he had donated land for the railroad the train would have stopped here on request and his family traveled free.

 

 The Baker House

From there it is non-stop to Wildwood and I ride along 44A where the easement is easily identified on my left. As I enter Wildwood across from the Elementary School I can see the remains of the track which is now occasionally used to turn around locomotives.

 

For route information click here.