The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1908-02-21
eRAHAMVILLE AND Common


Mr.. Patrick Todd Randall's hotel,
the Randall" on COnnOr Heights. on
the Oklawaha, is nearing completion.
Captain ". c. Bull. the OcaIa con-
tractor, has finished his work on the
hotel and turned it over to the car
penters, Messrs. William Counts and
Henry Mason. and the painter. Mr..
Bagnall, who will drive the last nail
and put on the weather coat Of paint,
if all goes well, within fortnight
While at the hotel this morning Mr..
Counts took Us over IL from the
bottom TO the top. The dimensions
of the building is 4Ox6O feet. two stO-
Ties. The original building was only
one story in height, with eight rooms,
a hallway running through the center
Of the building a front piazza facing
the river and a back piazza In put
ting on the second story Captain Bull
built il on very nearly the same plan
as the ground floor. The exception is
a slight difference in the shaping of
the rooms, the building of a separate
room for the lavaJory and the Omis-
sio Of a back piazza. The handsome
stairway is built through the center,
connecting the lower and upper hall
ways. and the first escape from the
south end of the upper hall way TO the
ground. The hotel faces the river and
the north The parlOr and a bedroom
face the river down stairs. and up
stairs are two large rOOms-bed-
rooms-each 16x16 feet. facing the riv-
or. These rooms are now furnished.
and in both Of these rooms are fire
places. The scenic view which can
be had from these rooms is a verita-
bic garden of the gods Ii takes in the
flower yard and a part Of the orange
grove. now full Of fruit. and the Okla
waha river. Five of the up stairs
rooms are completed, and there re-
main but three and the lavatOry 70
be finished. The six smaller rooms
up stairs are each Sx1C feet Four
are on the west side OF the hallway
and the other two are on the east
side. The spacious hallway. so con-
spicuOus IN southern homes and hO-
tells. both up and down stairs, the wide
piazzas and the large airy rooms make
this hotel here amid the paImettoes
and orange trees on the banks Of the
Oklawaha a cool retreat About two
square miles of the Grahamville and
Conner valley and several homes can
be seen from the hotel before the
view is cut of by the rampant of moss
covered oaks, cypress, pines and pal
mettoes If you want to spend a day
picnicking come down 10 Connor and
spent a day at the Randall If you
want TO spend a week or so away
from the city OF noise. dust and toll.
come TO COnnOr and put up at the
Randall. Come any old time. friends:
come and spend a day, week or month
or six months here at the Randall.
Mine Host Patrick Todd Randall and
his estimable wife will take good care
Of you and yours.
Connected with the hotel is the trim
little launch Winona.
Mr.. J. NJ Hilliard Of Birmingham.
Alabama, but more recently of Pana-
ma, where Uncle Sam is cutting a ca
nal is in Grahamville on a visit to
his wife and children. who are at the
home Of Mr.. and Mrs Thomas Ran
dali Speaking TO Mr.. Hilliard in re-
gard to the labOrerS employed in dig
ging the canal he said they were most
ly whites-Spaniard and Mexicans.
He said that negroes would not work.
OF course we asked him when the
canal would be finished. He said it
would take from twelve to fifteen
years, as the canal track was so noun
famous. Our next question was per
tanning to the saloons. and he said
that they were everywhere. To our
inquiry as TO fresh meat market. he
said that a full grown chicken would
bring $3.50.
In company with Mr.. Samuel Long
the writer took a spin up the river
Friday on the government boat. the
DOttie Dimple
The government dredgeboat. the Ok
lawaha, is now working at a point
about one mile up the old Oklawaha
river. The Dottie Dimple. the ok
lawaha's launch, Capt E. W. Curtis,
comes daily down to GrahamvTlle for
the mail We went up on the return
trip Friday and took a peep at the
big dredge boat and noted the work
OF the same. This dredge boat came
all the way from Leesburg. cleaning
out the river as she advanced. With /
In a week the Oklawaha will be thro'
with the little, or old, Oklawaha river.
and il win then commence on the riv- I
er below where the Silver Springs /
run joins. and clean out the logs and
limbs 70 the mouth. In some places