Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1875-04-15
FLORIDA LETTER.
From the Athens Messenger
SUNNYsIDE, ORANGE Co., FLA. !
Thursday, Feb. 10, 1875.

From the Athens Messenger.
SUNNYsIDE, ORANGE Co., FLA
Thursday, Feb. 10, 1875.
Letters from Florida, descriptive of
Jacksonville, St Augustine, and the
scenery along the St. Johns, have be-
come so numerous, that any one feel
ing sufficient interest in the subject to
read them, must already have a very
earnest idea OF these interesting To-
calities, so that a record of the scenes
and incidents of my trip would prove
but fiat, stale and Improbable read
ing. OF the Immediate neighborhood
| in which we live, however, I imagine
very little is known, it having been
settled up so recently that tourists are
but just beginning to realize its many
advantages We are over 200 miles
south of Jacksonville, which makes
quite a perceptible difference in the
temperature of the two places. The
mercury in the Jacksonville thermom-
eters having got as low as the freez-
ing point several times during the
winter, while we have not had even a
slight frost-an item of vast import
ance to the orange, banana and other
|
two miles from Mellonville, (the near
est boat landing) which although not
a sufficient distance to interfere with
transportation, IS sufficient to prevent
our being troubled with agpe or other
malarious diseases, to which those,
resident on the banks of the st Johns,
are subject. We are near enough the
coast to have the full benefit of the
'sea breeze, which so tempers the
heat in summer, that the thermome-
ter rarely indicates higher than ninety
degrees-never one hundred-and the
nights are delightfully."- cool. I sup
pose that the climate of Southern
Florida has not quite reached perfec-
tion-as believe, we never attain to
that in this mundane sphere but to
one who has experienced the inequali-
ties of that of Southern Ohio, it is
sufficiently near for all practical pur.
poses. I was somewhat disappointed
on arriving here to find that, although
the birds were almost as numerous as
Z the sands of the seashore,' we were
: not greeted with that feod of melody
E which had been led to expect. On
making inquiry, was informed that il
: was because it Was winter, though how
the birds had discovered that fact, un.
less it was evolved from ther inner
consciousness, I was at loss to Cie
termine, and there was certainly nc
external indication of 1.-THE trees be
: ing as green, the flowers as lovely ant
! the air as balmy as in our Northern
June. In the same mysterious man
nj 7 Il
cred that Spring is on her way 70
during the last few days the mockins
birds have favored us with sundry CHR
t rups and faint trills ;sure precursors o
ID the full chorus we may expect in du
season.
= Our home is situated on the bank
of Golden Lake, one of the most beau
tiful of the many with which Orang
county is dotted over. It derives
name from the peculiar color of til
water, which is perfect amber. Iti
said, by the initiated who have had tn
temerity to row out on its surface
time to see the sun rise, that it make
!. a pathway of motion gold for hi
first beams, but as have not yet sue
ceeded in accomplishing that feat, yo
will have to receive the testimony sc
ond-handed
We are about one mile from the lii
u town of Fort Reid, which is on til
stereotyped plan of Northern countr
villages, so far as the stores, black
aaS smith shop and postofice are coneerI
in ed, but differs very materially frol
fl them, in containing two large hotels
oh each of about the capacity of th
'f Warren House-where Southern b O.
pitality is dispensed, to the tune {
: $50 week. There is also q larp
boarding house, less pretentious an
somewhat less expensiYe-the chare
being $12 week. To US, who ha1
been accustomed to the reasonab
= rates of the Athenian hotels, even th
u, seemed exhorbitant; but that there a
many who differ with us, is proven b
of the fact that all three of these inst
C: tutions are filed to repletion durin
t6 f66 the entire season.
III The society here is rather mixed {
"a; to nationality and underlined as to po
est itics, but, in the main, of the highe
grade Of culture and refinement. W
}. have representatives of almost evel