First an another apology—I have a new computer now but have spent a couple of days trying to get current with it….I have missed a few blogs but hopefully things are for the most part at least workable now.
OK now that we’ve got my addiction (OUTLANDER) mentioned it’s time to end this messed up week with small town/city Florida.
TARRYTOWN
The main roads through Tarrytown are State Road 50 and State Road 471. An abandoned railroad line formerly owned by the Orange Belt Railway spanning from Trilby in Pasco County to Sylvan Lake in Seminole County runs northeast and southwest in Tarrytown, and can be found on SR 471 just south of the intersection with SR 50. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrytown,_Florida
This is the area of the Green Swamp, a mixture of bogs and cypress intermingled with citrus groves where the land is higher. It is from this area that the Florida aquifer –from which the state gets its water–is supplied.
Tarrytown is an unincorporated community in Central Sumter County, Florida. The ZIP Code for this community is 33597, which is shared by Webster four miles to the north. The main roads are State Road 50 and State Road 471. An abandoned railroad line formerly owned by the Orange Belt Railway spanning from Trilby in Pasco County to Sylvan Lake in Seminole County runs northeast and southwest in Tarrytown, and can be found on SR 471 just south of the intersection with SR 50. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrytown,_Florida
It is near the Withlacoochee River which once confounded de Soto and his Avaricious Spanish Army. (BEST BACKROADS OF FLORIA/Waitley)
Tarrytown was a small sawmill community in the late 1800’s, with most of its residents working for the mill or local citrus farms. In 1886 the Railroad decided to move many of the mill-workers section houses, intact, to Linden, effectively ending the growth of Tarrytown. Today the mill still runs and a few families remain, but despite its name it is not a town, just a two-gasoline station crossroad out in the countryside. http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/fl/tarrytown.html
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. VAN FLEET TRAIL Once a rail road route across the Green Swamp it’s now a bike/hike trail.
2. WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER WETLANDS The 157-mile-long Withlacoochee River originates in the Green Swamp in northern Polk County. From there, it meanders northwest and then west, discharging into the Withlacoochee Bay Estuary in the Gulf of Mexico near Yankeetown. The river’s waters are tea colored from tannins, which are natural substances found in decaying organic material.
DON’T FORGET MY STORE ABOVE
Nothing found from Tarrytown but we had better luck with Sumter Co.
Ceramic, Florida Ashtray
ORANGES & BLOSSOMS PRICE; $5.95
Tarry Town has a much darker episode though. In March 2000 Bill Marquardt (who had spent time in a mental hospital for mutilating animals and was accused of murdering his own mother a couple of days before he drove to Florida) stopped at an apparently random cottage in this tiny town and shot and stabbed Margarita Ruiz and Esperanza Wells . He was later convicted of murder in a bizarre trial; where Marquardt defended himself; and sentenced to death. He remain on death row at last account with pleas pending. http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/man-convicted-tarrytown-double-murder-handed-2-dea/nK7dM/
Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. ~Bill Watterson
Hey, you used to write magnificent articles, but the last several posts have been kinda lackluster… I miss your tremendous writing. Past few posts are just a little bit out of track!