Located in Hernando County was once the boom town of Centralia during the early 1900’s. The town was mainly based around the logging industry and had one of the largest sawmills in the south at the time. Many towns were established from the logging and turpentine industries which were very big during this time. This area was surrounded by old and large Cypress trees that were very valuable to the logging industry so nearly all of them were cut down and that is when the town began to vanish. In fact many of these towns would disappear after these resources were used up.
The town had a population of around 2,000 people. There was a boarding house, a hotel, restaurant, drug store, church, school and even a movie house. A railroad line went into town for hauling lumber and delivering supplies. The town existed from around 1910 through 1922 and today only traces of the town remain. Nature is reclaiming the site and is now protected and part of the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area. Check out my videos, photos and links below for more historical information.
MY VIDEOS
Centralia (Florida) Ghost Town
Old Railroad Grade in Centralia
RESOURCES
Centralia on Ghost Towns of Florida
Short-Lived Logging Town of Centralia
Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area
DONATE TO FLORIDA TRAILBLAZER
SUBSCRIBE TO E-NEWSLETTER
Florida Trailblazer E-Newsletter
If you have access to the originals of these photos, it would be great to share them with the State Library and Archives Florida Memory Project.
LikeLike