There was a time when civilization followed natural waterways, not only for the growing of crops but also for transportation through the dense forests. As civilization expanded, settlements began to sprout up away from the rivers and followed the primitive roads that followed the old Indian trails. In Pensacola, a student can discover some of the old communities whose names have long been forgotten just by looking at the railways and old depot stations.
Following the Civil War, railroad exploded across the face of the South heading off into every direction. The transportation of the farmer's cotton bales followed by the timber boom at the turn of the 20th Century demanded rapid expansion of our rails heading from the interior to our coastal ports. In Pensacola, small communities rose up along the rails to accommodate not only the farmers but the timber merchants as well. At the height of the timber industry, these villages built their own train depots, schools, and general stores.
Such communities as Goulding (now Palafox and Leonard Street), Brent (now Brent Lane and I-110), Olive (now Ferry Pass), Gonzalez (near Kingsfield and Old Palafox), Cantonment (near paper mill), Cottage Hill, Quintette, Molino, Pine Barren (near Pine Barren Creek and Escambia River), McDavid, Bluff Springs, and Flomaton. For the most part, these names have been absorbed into the general area of Escambia County. All railroad mileages were determined from the "center" of Pensacola at the intersection of Palafox and Garden Street.
This even gave rise to the origins of some of our roads that still exist today. Roads such as "Nine Mile Road" and "Ten Mile Road" were named as such because they are exactly nine miles and ten miles from Palafox and Garden Street respectively.
The old Goulding Schoolhouse in 1905 near Leonard and Palafox
The Train Depot at Goulding 2.3 miles north of the town of Pensacola c1900
The Magnolia Bluff Train Depot off Scenic Highway
The McDavid, Florida Train Depot c1920's
Railroad Distances from Palafox and Garden Street to Flomaton
Railroad Distances from Palafox and Garden Street to
Galt City (Bagdad near today's County dump)
Railroad Distances from Palafox and Garden Street to River Junction