Evinston


Walking Map of the Historical Area


1. Mt. Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church
8216 S.E. 185 Ave. The concrete building on the site now was built in 1973, but the property was bought originally by the African Methodist congregation in 1886 from Captain W.D. Evins, and a wooden church was built not long after. The earliest gravestones in the cemetery behind the church are dated 1892 and many black pioneers are buried there.


2. Shettleworth-Cromartie House
8614 S.E.185 Ave. This house was built by William P. Shettleworth about 1884 and was later occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Raymond Cromartie. Still intact are turned-wood members of the porch railing and decorative carved porch supports.


3. Shettleworth-Smith House
18422 S.E. Country Rd. 225 William P. Shettleworth built this house, believed to be the oldest in the town, in 1882. Descendants of Mrs. A. W. Smith, Sr., who ran a store in Evinston from 1918 to 1934 and with her husband raised a family in the house, still own it.


4. Old Country Store and Post Office
18320 S.E. County Rd. 225 This building, erected originally in 1882 for two Micanopy merchants, was purchased in 1884 by Evinston Postmaster Joseph S. Wolfendon and became a general store owned by John Hester about 1900. Descendants of Henry Deaver Wood and his brother-in-law Robert C. Evins, who became the owners in 1906, continue to run it. (See article, Southern Living, May, 1980).

5. Evinston and Country Store Historic Marker
across the road from the Old Country Store Additional information about Evinston's history and the Old Country Store is provided by an historical marker produced by the Alachua County Historical Commission and the Florida Department of State.


6. Wood's Packing House
(north of Old Country Store) Built around 1900 by early settler Henry Deaver Wood, this old tin building was used originally for packing oranges grown in the area for shipment to northern markets. A spur connected the building to the main railroad tracks across the road.


7. J.F.Barron-W.A.Johnson House
18221 S.E. County Rd. 225 This house is believed to have been built in the mid-1880s by James F. Barron, postmaster (1901-1913) and proprietor (1901-1916) of a store located south of the house. When W. A. Johnson took over Barron's store in 1916, he occupied the house with wooden siding, tin roof and unique star-shaped attic vent.


8. Evinston United Methodist Church
South side, S.E.182 Ave. According to church records and the cornerstone inscription, this church was erected in 1909. The land was donated by Joseph L. Wolfendon and his wife. The building, constructed of heart pine lumber, is a classic example of early twentieth century church architecture in rural America.


9. Evins-Wood House
Located on a private road, can be viewed from County Rd. 225 Captain William Drayton Evins, who was born in South Carolina and served in the Confederate army, built this house with a wrap-around porch in the mid-1880s. Descendants of Evins' daughter, Anne, and Henry Deaver Wood, whom she married in 1894, still own the property.


This information has been taken from the South West Alachua County Historic Tour Guide, which was researched and compiled by the Alachua County Historical Commission.