Old Town – Past and Future

This pieces is culled from the Spring 2002 Old Time Messenger

Old Town did not become a neighborhood overnight. Instead, it grew slowly out of a bit of countryside bordering Hillcrest. Local resident and historian Preston DeMilly tells us that when he was a boy, Hillcrest was a dirt road with a wide median of large oak trees. Tennessee Street, which was called Mahan Drive, was paved, but had no commercial buildings and few residences. Magnolia was called Devil’s Dip and was a red clay road – impassable to cars after a heavy rain. Miccosukee was just another country road, without the schools, churches, or thousands of cars that travel it today. Across the railroad tracks we woods and a natural swimming pool. Skirting what is now Alachua were more woods and a sinkhold.

The first two houses on Hillcrest were the Fain house on the northeast corner of Hillcrest and Alachua (now the Dean home) and a two-story farmhouse where the townhouses now occupy the northwest corner of Hillcrest and Carolina. By the time the DeMilly family built their Hillcrest home in 1938, more houses had been build, among them the Frick home on the southeast corner of Hillcrest and Alachua and the Huff home at the corner of Hillcrest and Mahan, which was originally built for Dr. Lawrence Evans, a dentist. The houses on the SW block of Hillcrest were also early additions to the neighborhood and included the DeMilly home and those of the Hoffmans, Scoggins and Fletchers. The present-day Whitfield house was constructed for the Foxes.

Students from miles around walked to Leon High School. They were careful to avoid the backyard orchard of the house on the hill behind the school – it was strictly off limits. Older students, including DeMilly’s sister, walked to and from Florida State College for Women (now FSU). Groceries were ordered and delivered by Byrd’s grocery downtown. Their telephone number was #1. Duval’s Grocery on Thomasville Road and White’s Grocery, across from Leon in the International Exchange building, also catered to this country community.

Today, Old Town is a thriving downtown community with a rich and history character. How lucky we all are to live in this unique area!