Matheson History Museum

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1/ Herman Adolphus Fitz, Sr. was born in 1919 in Chaires, Florida (east of Tallahassee). He served in the US Army during WWII and went through training at Camp Blanding. He moved to Gainesville in 1953 and worked as a teacher at both Lincoln High School and Newberry High School.

2/ According to historian Ben Pickard, the plant originally had a steam-engine powered generator which used water pumped from a well inside the building. In 1920 it was replaced by a Fairbanks Morse "hit-and-miss" engine which supplied electricity for the town until 1940.

1/ The City of Newberry's first electric power plant was located near the corner of NW 260th Street and NW 1st Avenue. Constructed in 1913, the brick building still stands today. Postcard courtesy of the Matheson collection. #Discover200

The Alachua Furniture Manufacturer's Sample House was located on S. Main Street in Gainesville. Elmer Bone photographed their building when it opened in 1955. The business sold discounted furniture into the early 1980s. Photograph courtesy of the Matheson collection.

4/ Samples of their best cigars were part of Florida’s exhibit at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. In 1907 the company moved to Jacksonville and closed the Waldo factory.

3/ According to the late historian Ben Pickard, the company manufactured pure Havana cigars with imported stock and shipped products like El Tony, Calumet, Bouquet, and Arizona to the western market.

1/ The El Tony Cigar Factory in Waldo, owned by the Entenza family, employed from 50 to 90 people, depending on the season. The original factory was located in downtown Waldo next to the Opera House and opened in 1881. The building was eventually razed. #Discover200

2 /Eventually he moved to Archer and then Gainesville. In addition to his regular practice, he was the official surgeon for the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Airline railroads. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church and both the Masons and Kiwanis Club. #Discover200

1/ According to his 1931 obituary, Dr. Samuel Davies Rice was a native of Bedford County, Virginia, but had resided in Florida for 25 years. He lived in a variety of places and at one time served as physician and surgeon for the Cummer Lumber Company.

2/ These two railroads crossed at Hawthorne, resulting in the town having two depots at one point. Both lines changed ownership and names multiple times. This postcard postmarked 1915 shows the Seaboard Air Line depot with engine number 51. #Discover200

1/ The railroad arrived in Hawthorne in 1879 when the Peninsular Railroad was completed from Waldo to Ocala. In 1881 the Florida Southern Railway was completed from Palatka to Gainesville.

Dreaming of warmer weather and a day on the lake... Postcard postmarked 1915, courtesy of the Matheson collection #Discover200

Due to potentially hazardous weather conditions, the Matheson History Museum will be closed today (Wednesday, Jan. 22).

This jar from the Matheson's collection contains an assortment of both clay and glass marbles. Marbles have been around for millennia as both a toy and a collectible item. One of the earliest known sets is from 2500 BCE. Did any of our followers enjoy playing marbles as a child?

Members - don't forget to join us tonight for the 2025 Annual Meeting starting at 6:30pm. Free registration: mathesonmuseum.networkforgood.com/events/80725-2… If you are not a current member and would like to join, you can do so by visiting our website here: mathesonmuseum.org/membership.

The Blake and McKay families of Cross Creek at the Island Grove train station, circa 1916, from the incredible collection of Jay Whitworth. #AlachuaPhenomenon #Discover200

2/ Around 1900 H.W. began traveling to Alachua County from New Jersey and upstate New York. Effie passed in 1920 and is buried in NJ. H.W.'s second wife, Edna, was from New Orleans. H.W. passed in 1945 and Edna in 1969. They are both buried in the Eliam Cemetery in Melrose.

1/ Hugh Walter Hamlyn (seated on the ground at right) and his first wife, Effie (in the white dress leaning against the tree), were winter residents of Melrose, beginning at the turn of the century. This photo of them with family and friends was taken in Melrose.