Interlachen, like most early, inland Florida towns, was started in the late 1870s as a "Railroad town".  During the first fifty years of its existence, all town activity revolved around and was tied to the coming and goings of trains.  Before automobiles, the only roads through Interlachen were the Palatka-Micanopy road (really a path) and a road to Fort Brooks, now called Cousintown Road (or called Francis Street in the town limits), that branched off the Palatka-Micanopy road.  In the 1920s an improved road was built between Gainesville and Palatka to accommodate the automobile.  The construction of the highway (designated Route 14 at that time: it is the present day Route 20), caused a slow decline of the railroad's importance. 

In the early 1980s the last train rumbled into Interlachen, pulling a gift from the Seaboard Coast Line to the town: a caboose.  The caboose and one section of track stands in front of the town hall as a reminder that the railroad was Interlachen's midwife.  The former railroad was turned into a pleasant green space in the middle of town.  It is named Jenkins Park, for Robert Jenkins, a Interlachen resident and a Viet Nam war hero who won the Congressional Medal of Honor.   

The Interlachen Depot was razed in the '60s.  In its heyday it was famous for its attached aviary. (One of the founders of Interlachen, Charles Francis, kept exotic birds and displayed them at the depot.)

(Click to enlarge)

The Florida Southern Railroad Corp. which had changed it’s name from the Gainesville, Ocala, and Charlotte Harbor Railroad Corp. started construction of a railroad from Palatka west to Gainesville and south to Charlotte Harbor in 1880.   Ocean going ships could travel up the St. Johns River as far as Palatka, so that community was selected as the northern terminus of the railroad.

 The Florida Southern did not receive land from the State very quickly. The manner of construction of the railroad was defined in an 1855 Act, which defined cleared width, and depth of ballast, maximum grade, and drainage.   The gauge was not specified however.  The Florida Southern chose to use the cheaper narrow gauge and as a result this railroad was the last major narrow gauge railroad built in Florida. A state inspector had to approve each section as it was completed.   To collect its land from the state, for each 40 miles of roadbed graded with cross ties laid, 10 miles had to be in operation.

In the fall of 1881 the Florida Southern filed a paper with the State that said it had completed, ironed, and equipped 50 miles between Palatka and Gainesville.   On Nov. 22, 1881 the trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund of the State of Florida, Gov. W.  D. Bloxham, Comptroller W. D. Barnes, Treasurer. Henry A. L’Engle, Attorney General George P.  Raney, and Commissioner of Lands & Immigration, Hugh A. Corley, signed a deed giving 17, 394.93 acres along those first 50 miles to the Florida Southern Railroad.   The Florida Southern had already selected the land they wanted.   They chose the odd numbered sections.  Five hundred and fifty acres were within 2 miles of the center of Interlachen.

Since the railroad expected that the sale of land would be a major source of their income, they naturally encouraged the development of towns along the route, for this increased the value of the railroad’s property and also encouraged potential land buyers to come to this area.

The railroad route generally followed the Palatka-Micanopy road.   A road to Fort Brooks, now called Cousintown Road, branched off the Palatka-Micanopy road at the present location of Interlachen.   Prior to the coming of the railroad, several families had settled in this area, along the Fort Brooks Road.  The road junction was a logical place for a railroad station and a new community.

In 1879, Oliver H. Parker, who had a 160-acre homestead in the central part of the present community of Interlachen, made an agreement with the Florida Southern.   The railroad agreed to have 80 acres of Mr. Parker’s land surveyed and laid out into 14 city blocks and have the survey registered with the County.   In return, Mr. Parker agreed to give block nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 to the railroad after the railroad was completed across his property.   The survey was made by W.C.  Valentine in 1880, but not recorded until 1882.

Mr. Parker didn’t wait until the tracks reached Interlachen.   On Nov.11, 1880, blocks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 were transferred to the Florida Southern Rail Road.   On the same date, block 14 was transferred to Charles Francis, Jr., instead of going to the railroad. Similar agreements were made with Ruben Evans and Henry Clemmons, both homesteaders in Francis, and with O. W. Johnson in Johnson.  Charles Francis, Jr. negotiated all three agreements.   Block 14 in Interlachen may have been a gift to Mr. Francis from the Florida Southern in recognition of his work for them.