Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Side One: The Grove-Dowling company used five locomotives, four large locomotive cranes, two log loaders, and one skidder machine for logging. One locomotive, No. 2411, was a 2-8-0 steam engine built in November 1915 by the Vulcan Iron Works of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. The locomotive was originally purchased by the Gulf Pine Lumber Company of Pasco County and labeled No. 3. The engine was sold to Grove-Dowling prior to 1927 and moved to Gulf Hammock. As the Great Depression set in across the nation, the Grove-Dowling Hardwood Company went into receivership on March 3, 1930, and their holdings were acquired by the Robinson Land & Lumber Company of Alabama. The Robinson company was owned by A.M. McInnis, W.H. Paterson, and J.J. McIntosh. In 1937, the company was renamed the Paterson-McInnis Lumber Company (Pat-Mac). In 1956, the saw mill was destroyed by fire. On October 18, 1969, Georgia-Pacific deeded land to the Levy County Board of County Commissioners, which established a wayside park. Pat-Mac donated the Vulcan locomotive No. 2411 to the Florida Department of Transportation for display. By Resolution, dated February 4, 1992, ownership of the locomotive passed to the Levy County Board of County Commissioners. Side Two: In June 1926, the Grove-Dowling Hardwood Company was formed. The lumber company was a partnership of E.W. Grove, Sr., and brothers William H. and James H. Dowling. The Dowling Brothers moved their lumber business from Odessa, Pasco County to Gulf Hammock, Levy County. With Grove's capital, they purchased 250,000 acres of land in Levy County abundant with cypress, hardwood, and virgin pine. The Grove-Dowling company, which employed more than four hundred men, expanded Gulf Hammock in the area west of this marker. To house the workers and their families, the company built more than 150 homes and cottages. All the houses and buildings were equipped with lights, running water, and a state-approved sewage system. The company town also boasted a complete lighting system, power plant, department store, and modern hospital. New lumber mills with large machinery were built and included a modern machine shop to repair locomotives. The main saw mill cut 100,000 feet of lumber each day. There also was a planing mill, twelve dry kilns, and a cooling shed that would hold one million feet of rough lumber. The crate mill turned out 8,000 baskets or hampers per day, making it among the largest crate factories in the South.