Island Grove epitomizes the concept of Desolation Florida (even if, oddly enough, it is home to a winery). There is very little information available online about this community, and most of what I have learned came from the GhostTowns.com website. The community was established in 1882, in the center of an area of north-central Florida filled with swamps, rivers, and lakes. The reasonably dry and habitable area that became known as Island Grove was for a time accessible only by rail, hence its name. The town grew to over 400 residents, and who made a living mainly through farming and fishing. In its heyday, Island Grove boasted two churches, a school, a grocery, a post office, a Masonic Lodge, and a packing plant. Unfortunately, the only photograph I have been able to find of old Island Grove is of a farmer identified as Alfred E. Warden, standing in front of the biggest okra patch I have ever seen:
Alfred E. Warden in front of his okra in Island Grove, ca 1930 (source)
I do not know when or why the town fell into decline. Perhaps it is due to the fact that while it is located along Highway 301, it is far from any of the interstate highways. Perhaps it had to do with the decline of the railroad. Perhaps one of the major freezes did the agriculture-based community in. I do not know. Very little remains of Island Grove today.
Masonic Lodge 125, Established 1924, Inactive
An abandoned store
This was probably the packing plant, located along the rail line.
An even older abandoned store
The old Methodist Church of Island Grove is by far its most photogenic structure:
I feel like there should be more to the story of Island Grove, but that is all that I have.
Thank you so much for this great post. We're headed up to Marion County next week on vacation, vintage film cameras in tow, and these buildings are exactly the kind of subjects we love to shoot. Hope we can find them all!
ReplyDeleteYou'll find them alright. They're easy to apot. Just go down 325 opposite way from cross creek and it's all on that road. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was buried in the Antioch cemetery back there too. That's quite a drive if you're interested. Island grove seems small, but it's bigger than it looks.
ReplyDeleteYou'll find them alright. They're easy to apot. Just go down 325 opposite way from cross creek and it's all on that road. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was buried in the Antioch cemetery back there too. That's quite a drive if you're interested. Island grove seems small, but it's bigger than it looks.
ReplyDeleteI first discovered Island Grove two years ago, and then revived yesterday, only to see more homes abandoned, and also a scary, feral encampment along a hillside.
ReplyDeleteSad, as it’s just a skip away from the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings historicvpark, a favorite destination.
I first discovered Island Grove two years ago, and then revived yesterday, only to see more homes abandoned, and also a scary, feral encampment along a hillside.
ReplyDeleteSad, as it’s just a skip away from the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings historicvpark, a favorite destination.
Hey!
ReplyDeleteMy Daddy's Daddy's people are from Island Grove (many still live there) and I'm kind of honored and humbled that y'all are getting such a kick out of the little place. I'm going to send some of my family this link, and you may wind up with so many old photos you won't know what to do with them all, lol!
I lived in Island Grove in the 1960's. My mother ran country store with house connected with a breeze way. Post Office was next to the store. Betty Evans and her husband was post masters. Enjoyed my childhood there. Hope to go back soon.
ReplyDeleteIs that the same tiny store with the Marlboro sign out front and the old gas pumps? I grew up in Florida and love to stop by that little hidden gem each year on my way home to Jacksonville. This year I stopped and took some pictures. Things such as that little old store are the hidden treasures I love about my home state, the last bits of old Florida we have remaining. What is the story behind that old store? I always wondered if it was real or if it was just some old props somebody put together.
DeleteWe did not sell gas at the store. Picture above "An even older abandoned store" is the store my family owned and ran. At that time, the post office was next to the store. Years later the post office was moved next to Highway 301. The picture of the other store was on the other side of the tracks. When I lived there, there was a celery farm. Great place to fish. Would also fish at Cross Creek on the other side of Highway 301. Plan on going back soon.
DeleteLive in Gainesville and have wandered the old roads around Island Grove and yesterday hiked on the St John's Water Management land Orange Creek restoration area on the north side of Orange Creek. Lovely place of old pasture and groves of huge live oak trees and is also adjacent to an old cemetery, way back in the woods. There are 3 confederate veterans buried there, approximately the same number of WWI vets, etc.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the old Methodist church has collapsed - it was still standing when we came by a year or so ago.