Holopaw, Florida

Last updated

Holopaw, Florida
Unincorporated community
USA Florida location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Holopaw
Coordinates: 28°8′9″N81°4′34″W / 28.13583°N 81.07611°W / 28.13583; -81.07611
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of Florida.svg  Florida
County Osceola
Elevation
24 m (79 ft)
Time zone UTC-5
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code(s) 321, 407, 689

Holopaw is an unincorporated community in Osceola County, Florida, United States. [1] It is located at the eastern end of the multiplex of highways US 192 and US 441. It has a population of fewer than 5,000 people and is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Contents

Holopaw, a Creek Indian word meaning "Walkway" or "Pavement", was a stop along the Kissimmee Valley extension of the FEC railroad.

History

The years 1911-1929 saw the Florida East Coast Railway building what was advertised as a second complete mainline to Miami. Known as the Kissimmee Valley Branch and heading southwest from the busy railroad town of New Smyrna Beach, the new route passed through Maytown-Pennichaw-Osceola-Geneva and was completed to Chuluota in 1912. The Chuluota-Bithlo-Holopaw-Okeechobee segment was completed in 1915. Finally wrapping around the big lake it terminated at Lake Harbor in 1929. Though it never achieved the status of 'a complete second mainline,' though it did post some impressive freight tonnage records in lumber and produce.

JM Griffin began a sawmill operation here in 1923, building streets and houses for his employees. Holopaw was a company owned town, with most employees renting their homes and frequenting the factory owned general store. The JM Griffin Lumber Company became the largest operation in the St Cloud area, employing over 500 people. It also featured one of the first all-electric sawmills in the country. The mill lasted until 1931, closing during the Great Depression. A new mill owned by the Peavy-Wilson Lumber Co. opened in 1935, employing more than one thousand timber, turpentine, and sawmill workers. At the town's peak it had more than 2,000 people.

The railroad through Holopaw ceased operation in 1947 when a new cut-off opened between Fort Pierce and Port Mayaca. However, before it would be abandoned, the Peavy Wilson Lumber Company, operating a massive mill in Holopaw, leased the Holopaw-Pennichaw-Maytown trackage. So trains continued to roll from Holopaw northward pulled by the lumber company’s stable of steam locomotives. With greatly depleted forests, the lumber company quit in 1951 and the tracks removed soon afterwards. [2]

Most residents left to seek employment elsewhere, and the postal service was discontinued in 1954.

Ranching and wildlife

There are also substantial operations involving cattle ranching, timber, and citrus in the area around Holopaw. The Herky Huffman/Bull Creek Wildlife Management Area is located a few miles east on US 192. [3] West of there is the location of the Holopaw State Forest, [4] which is across US 192 from the Triple N Ranch Wildlife Management Area. [5]

Climate

Climate data for Holopaw
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)73
(23)		74
(23)		78
(26)		82
(28)		87
(31)		90
(32)		91
(33)		91
(33)		89
(32)		84
(29)		79
(26)		73
(23)		83
(28)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)47
(8)		50
(10)		52
(11)		56
(13)		61
(16)		69
(21)		71
(22)		72
(22)		71
(22)		65
(18)		56
(13)		50
(10)		60
(16)
Average precipitation inches (cm)2
(5.1)		3
(7.6)		3
(7.6)		2
(5.1)		3
(7.6)		7
(18)		7
(18)		7
(18)		7
(18)		3
(7.6)		2
(5.1)		2
(5.1)		48
(122.8)
Source:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osceola County, Florida</span> County in Florida, United States

Osceola County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 388,656. Its county seat is Kissimmee. Osceola County is included in the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Fla. Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kissimmee, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Kissimmee is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2020 population of 2,673,376. The Census Bureau defines an urban area with Kissimmee as the principal city, which is separated from the Orlando urban area. The Kissimmee–St. Cloud, FL urban area had a 2020 population of 418,404, making it the 100th largest in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuluota, Florida</span> CDP in Florida, United States

Chuluota is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,524 at the 2020 Census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 192</span> Highway in Florida

U.S. Route 192 is an east–west route of the United States Numbered Highway system in central Florida. It runs 75.04 miles (120.77 km) from U.S. Route 27 in Four Corners, Lake County, east past Walt Disney World and through Kissimmee, St. Cloud and Melbourne, to end at State Road A1A in Indialantic, one block from the Atlantic Ocean. It crosses its "parent", U.S. Route 92, in Kissimmee, for only 3,700 feet (1,100 m).

The Union Cypress Company operated a three-story double-band sawmill in Melbourne, Florida, built in 1912. The small company town of Hopkins, named after its owner George W. Hopkins, was built at the site. The company built a private railroad, often known as the Union Cypress Company Railroad, west from a connection with the Florida East Coast Railway in Melbourne across the St. Johns River to Deer Park. From there, where the logging operation was based, branch lines fanned out into the bald cypress swamps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albion River</span> River in Mendocino County, California (USA)

The Albion River is an 18.1-mile-long (29.1 km) river in Mendocino County, California. The river drains about 43 square miles (110 km2) on the Mendocino Coast and empties into the Pacific Ocean near the town of Albion, California, where California State Route 1 crosses it on the Albion River Bridge. The river's overall direction is east to west, but it moves significantly in the north-south direction. The tributaries of the river include Railroad Gulch, Pleasant Valley Creek, Duck Pond Gulch, South Fork Albion River, Tom Bell Creek, North Fork Albion River, and Marsh Creek. The river's most inland point is only 15 miles (24 km) from the coast, and its highest elevation is about 1,570 feet (480 m) above sea level. There is a large estuary at the mouth of the river, and tidal waters travel up to 5 miles (8 km) upstream. The Albion River was previously used to power a sawmill on the river mouth, but there are no major dams or reservoirs on the river. The river provides recreation, groundwater recharge and industrial water supply for the community of Albion, and wildlife habitat including cold freshwater habitat for fish migration and spawning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Trail</span> A US National Scenic trail

The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. It currently runs 1,500 miles (2,400 km), from Big Cypress National Preserve to Fort Pickens at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Beach. Also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail, the Florida Trail provides permanent non-motorized recreation opportunity for hiking and other compatible activities and is within an hour of most Floridians. The Florida National Scenic Trail is designated as a National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act of 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deer Park, Florida</span> Unincorporated community in Florida, U.S.

Deer Park is an unincorporated community in Osceola County, Florida, United States. It is located off US 192, south of the intersection with County Road 419. The community is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the location of the Kempfer Cattle ranch, Deseret Ranches of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Deer Park Forestry Site of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 441 in Florida</span> Highway in Florida

U.S. Route 441 (US 441) in Florida is a north–south United States Highway. It runs 433 miles (697 km) from Miami in South Florida northwest to the Georgia state line, with the overall route continuing to Tennessee in the Rocky Top area.

Narcoossee is an unincorporated community in eastern Osceola County, Florida, United States. It is located on the east side of East Lake Tohopekaliga. The only major road which runs through Narcoossee is County Road 15, commonly referred to as Narcoossee Road, which connects to U.S. Route 192. Every spring starting in the mid 1990s, the community held the annual Battle at Narcoossee Mill in Chisolm Park, which was a Civil War reenactment. The event was discontinued in 2024 due to upcoming development at the park taking place soon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samoa, California</span> Census-designated place in California, United States

Samoa is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of Eureka, at an elevation of 23 feet. Samoa is located in the northern peninsula of Humboldt Bay and is the site of the Samoa Cookhouse, one of the last remaining original, lumber-camp style cookhouses. The name Samoa is used interchangeably with the peninsula it occupies. The population was 258 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bull Creek, Florida</span> Unincorporated community in Florida, United States

Bull Creek is a rural unincorporated community in Osceola County, Florida, United States. It is located approximately 7 miles (11 km) east of Holopaw and 30 miles (48 km) west of Melbourne.

Hopkins, also known as South Melbourne, is a former town in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is part of the present-day city of Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Hammock, Florida</span> Unincorporated community in Florida, U.S.

Gulf Hammock is an unincorporated community in Levy County, Florida, United States. It is near the edge of, and named for, the large wetlands area known as Gulf Hammock. It is located where US 19-98 and County Road 326 cross, near the Wekiva River, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Otter Creek.

The Caspar, South Fork & Eastern Railroad provided transportation for the Caspar Lumber Company in Mendocino County, California. The railroad operated the first steam locomotive on the coast of Mendocino County in 1875. Caspar Lumber Company lands became Jackson Demonstration State Forest in 1955, named for Caspar Lumber Company founder, Jacob Green Jackson.

Pennichaw is a rural unincorporated community located in south Volusia County, Florida, United States. It located on Lake Harney Road, approximately 1.8 miles south of Maytown Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willow, Florida</span> Human settlement in United States of America

Willow is a ghost town in Manatee County, Florida, United States.

Maytown is an unincorporated community in Thurston County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The community is situated off I-5 and is east of Littlerock.

Peason is a small populated community and sawmill ghost town located on Louisiana highway 118 approximately 8.7 miles (14.0 km) east of Hornbeck, and the sawmill ghost town of Sandel, in Sabine Parish, Louisiana.

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Holopaw, Florida
  2. ↑ Mann, Robert W. (1984). Rail's 'Neath the Palms. Burbank California: Darwin Publications. pp. 18–20. ISBN   0-933506-08-2.
  3. ↑ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Herky Huffman/Bull Creek
  4. ↑ Holopaw State Forest (Florida Division of Forestry)
  5. ↑ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Triple N Ranch
  6. ↑ Ghosttowns Florida by Jim Pike

28°08′09″N81°04′34″W / 28.13583°N 81.07611°W / 28.13583; -81.07611

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.