Waldo: from tourist stop to “Smalltown, USA”

Over the years, the town has developed into the quintessential rural town

Waldo of yesteryear was complete with the hustle and bustle of a railroad town where travelers and tourists routinely paused long enough to enjoy operas at the famous opera house, buy cigars at El Toney Cigar Factory, and shop at local establishments.

Bellamy Station was never quiet.

With the constant flow of travelers rushing to get from one place to another, the old train depot on Waldo Road was very much alive. It was the center of Waldo, inviting tourists, students and railroad workers alike to visit the city with its several attractions — the opera house, cigar factory, icehouse and several shops.

And with the construction of the canal, which connected Waldo to Melrose through Lake Alto and Lake Santa Fe, Waldo became a major shipping point, bringing agriculture products to the city by steamers for shipment north on one of the 25 freight trains that passed through the depot.

Visitors from Melrose would take the F.S. Lewis steamboat through the canal and into the city. Couples would come to see operas at the famous opera house, men would buy cigars at El Toney Cigar Factory, which was converted into a boarding house in 1920 for railroad workers, and women would shop.

The ceaseless hustle and bustle of travelers and residents made a name for Waldo, which, at the time, was the largest tourist spot in Florida—much bigger than the city of Gainesville. It was an agricultural gem among the rural towns of Florida.

Today, the train station still stands, but it no longer has the rush of people, the large scale that was used to weigh luggage or the rickety wooden carts for carrying suitcases. It is deserted, aside from the bus that picks up travelers and transports them to the Amtrak stations in Jacksonville and Baldwin.

The train station isn’t the only thing that closed down. The opera house has since burned down, the cigar factory has been empty for years and the icehouse no longer exists.

But that’s not to say the city has lost its appeal.

Originally a tourist spot for people around the country, Waldo, with its rich history, has become the typical quiet, rural town that attracts occasional visitors, but primarily families who look for a close-knit community where relationships run deep. Despite multiple freezes, a fire and the depression, the city maintains a quaint charm that appeals to its long-time residents.

Lucy Roe still remembers her frequent trips on the Amtrak from Waldo to Boca Raton, Fla. When her daughter attended the University of Florida, Roe, 70, would take the train to Waldo to visit her in Gainesville.

On their trips back to Boca Raton, they would get to Bellamy Station at 3 a.m.

“Rarely did the train come on time so we would sit at the diner nearby and the man who worked at the station would run over and tell us when the train was coming,” she said.

Finally, when the train stopped in Waldo, they would board, walking to the dining car to get some breakfast. “We’d have to hold our breath and run through the lounge to get to the dining car so we didn’t have to smell the smoke-filled lounge,” Roe said.

After breakfast, they would settle down in their seats, which Roe said looked as though they had come straight out of an old black-and-white movie, and around 10 a.m. they would roll into Boca Raton.

That was in the 1980s, after the railroad repair shops had already moved to Wildwood and Baldwin, making Waldo just a quick stop rather than a large terminal for travelers. Now, with the station completely gone, the red caboose, acquired by the city from the Seaboard System Railroad in 1986, sits on display in the city park, reminding residents and visitors of Waldo’s rich history.

But after the city’s peak from the 1890s to the early 1920s, Waldo saw a series of events that led to an overall decline in population, business and visitors. According to City Manager Kim Worley, the city suffered from two freezes, a fire that burned the opera house and much of downtown, and the great depression, which drove people out.

“Waldo has primarily been an agricultural town, and when the extreme weather conditions kept people from growing citrus and other crops, people started moving away,” she said.

Adding to the decline, in the late 1920’s, the railroad shops were moved from Waldo to Wildwood when the city council failed to bring land prices down to a more affordable rate for railroad workers to buy in order to expand. The railroad workers packed up and left for Wildwood, and so did the “hustle and bustle” of the town.

But despite all of the setbacks, Waldo never lost its charm, Worley said.

“It went from being a busy city to a quiet ‘Smalltown, USA,’ which appealed to many people,” she said. “City Hall knows almost everyone that walks inside, and there’s that ‘neighbors help neighbors’ understanding that really gives people a reason to want to live here.” In such a small town with a population of 853 people, relations among residents are more than just a quick “hello.”

Aside from a bit of growth in the 1940s, the town retained its quiet, rural identity, and with the construction of U.S. Highway 301, people could pass over the heart of the city without ever having to stop in.

However, there are still a few attractions that bring visitors from other areas to the city. The Waldo Farmers and Flea Market, Motorsports Park and the Dixieland Music Park that hosts bluegrass shows keep people coming and going on a regular basis, while giving the town the ability to maintain a quaint atmosphere.

Most of the city’s residents either work at local businesses to try and keep the local scene alive, or they commute to Gainesville, where jobs are more readily available. Residents can work in the “hustle and bustle environment” and then return to their quiet, peaceful homes in Waldo.

For Lucy Roe, it’s the people that made her want to move to Waldo. “The first time I came to Waldo, I fell in love with it. The people were so friendly,” she said.

Roe is a member of the Waldo Historical Society, which aims to “preserve Waldo’s past for the future generation.” She, along with the historical society president, Milly Keirnan, and other members including Penny Dodd, Marylyn Thompson, Lawrence “Buddy” Thompson and several others work to educate people about Waldo’s history and facilitate an interest among the younger generation in preserving the city’s colorful past.

They do tours of the city, conduct meetings every three months with guest speakers and host events with other historical societies including a round table event.

In the future, they hope to get more children in the community to get involved with the society. They also plan to build a museum that guards many of Waldo’s old treasures.

“We want the kids in the community to love Waldo the way we love Waldo,” Roe said.