Gabriella
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 28° 37.020 W 081° 16.217
17R E 473577 N 3165583
Located on FL 426 at Bear Gully Dr. along the Cross Seminole Trail.
Waymark Code: WMQD1Y
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 02/07/2016
Views: 9
Side 1
The small community of Gabriella was located on SR 426 about a mile north of Goldenrod, between Goldenrod and Jamestown. The post office was established on July 31, 1886. Sherman Adams was the first post master. The post office was located west of SR 426, near where the Progress Energy facility building is located now.
In addition to the post office, Gabriella had a general store. An early railroad line was the Osceola & Lake Jesup Railroad, stretching from Oviedo through Gabriella to Winter Park and Orlando. The engineer sometimes would delay his train at Gabriela to let passengers pick oranges and wild flowers that would give nearby Goldenrod its name. A traveler in 1887 described "miles and miles of orange groves." Dubbed "The Dinky Line", all that is left is the small Dinky Line Park on Lake Virginia adjacent to Rollins College campus.
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Side 2
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In 1888 a one room school house was established and J.J. Fry appears to be one of the first teachers.
Numerous turpentine stills were operating in Gabriella in the late 1880s, and by the 1890's, Gabriella was hosting a local agricultural fair held in mid February at Mr. F.P. Fair's packing house.
In 1919, Gabriella was also known as the only community to vote against a law (6-2) made by the Seminole County Commission to have livestock penned or fenced.
After a devastating hurricane hit the Lake Okeechobee area in September of 1926, many farm people moved to Gabriella from South Florida to find a safer place to farm. Today the orange groves, turpentine stills and wild flowers are gone and urban development has taken place where the small community once thrived.
Marker Number: None
Date: None
County: Seminole
Marker Type: City
Sponsored or placed by: Seminole County Historical Commission
Website: Not listed
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