The Cemetery That Isn’t There: Old Giddens Cemetery in Smith Park

Entrance sign for Old Giddens Cemetery at Smith Park in Webster, Florida, with wooded area and no visible graves beyond the gate

Every place has two histories:the one you can see…and the one that’s been nearly erased. When I made my way to Webster, I wasn’t expecting a mystery. I was looking for a cemetery tied to Florida’s early pioneer families—trying to connect it back to the vanished community of Oriole Ghost Town, a place that faded … Read more

Forgotten, Not Gone: Giddens Homestead Cemetery

Tree stump–style headstone surrounded by small grave markers in Giddens Homestead Cemetery, a historic pioneer burial ground hidden in the Florida woods.

There are places you stumble across once and never forget.And then there are places that call you back. Giddens Homestead Cemetery is the latter for me. Hidden deep in the Florida woods, this small pioneer cemetery has been part of my life for nearly a decade. I found it long before I understood the story … Read more

Newnansville Ghost Town: The Lost County Seat of Alachua County, Florida

Newnansville Ghost Town Florida

Step off the beaten path in Alachua County, and you just might stumble into the ghost of a town that once held the heart of inland Florida. Newnansville. A name whispered through moss-draped oaks, buried in soil once walked by soldiers, settlers, and the Seminole people. Before it was a memory, Newnansville was a moment. … Read more

Stage Pond Ghost Town: A Forgotten Crossroads of Citrus County, Florida

Tucked deep in the wilds of Citrus County, Florida, where pine trees whisper old secrets and the earth remembers every footfall, lies a place called Stage Pond. What’s left of it, anyway. Blink and you’ll miss it. But linger… and the land might just whisper back. In the late 1800s, towns like this bloomed like … Read more