MADISON, FLORIDA
On the corner of Norris Pharmacy, where you can get milk shakes. Boy, does this pharmacy bring back the old times, except the cost is much higher than in the time of old!
DIAL~GOZA HOUSE: This late Victorian mansion was built c. 1880 for Major William H. Dial (1830-1905), a Confederate veteran of the Civil War. Dial was a surveyor who moved from South Carolina to Madison, Florida in the 1850s. This house is one of the finest examples of the Italianate style in north Florida. The building features bay windows, a roof cupola and an unusual bow porch on the main facade. It is lavishly decorated with bracketed cornices, window pediments and other distinctive late 19th century millwork. The house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
As you may know, these pictures show parts of Madison Florida. Most of them are pictures about or near the time of the Civil War. I took these pictures myself, and I am not a professional photographer. I just aimed and took the picture. Madison Florida, although not as big as Jacksonville, is a quiet, peaceful little town. Well, that is if you don't mind the squirrels and stray dogs! My dad was raised in Madison, and he has a history about this place. Hearing about how this place was in the old days, it seems so sad that it is no longer like what it used to be. Like you could get 2 cinnamom rolls about 6 inches in diameter for $.50 and 3 chocolate chip cookies that were about 4 inches in diameter for $.01. But, of course, they didn't make much money then. Movie tickets costed $.12 for adults, $.05 for kids. Can you imagine cars costing from $100 to $200 in that time? Well, it was true. And, I loved the old times of this place called Madison Florida because an adult never even thought once about hurting a kid. Well, when my dad talked about how good this life was, with nobody thinking of hurting, stealing or kidnapping a person in this town, I cried on that corner of Norris Pharmacy. You would cry too, wouldn't you? With all the stealing and rioting? Wouldn't you? Madison is rich in old buildings, and still have
some of the old roads that were walked on by Confederate
soldiers still intact. The post office (though I don't have a
picture of it) has a mural painted on one side of the wall,
showing slaves working at the Cotton Gin machines. You may
think that this painting is racial, but I think of it as history.
Before, the post office walls were painted a long time ago and murals covered all the walls of the post office. Now only one mural
stands. Confederate graves mark the back end of the Madison
cemetery. Some shacks from the Civil War where slaves were
kept are still standing. There is one steam engine still standing
somewhere in Madison. Madison also has one major lake.
Lake Francis is small, and people like to walk around the lake.
You can see the other edge of the lake with your naked eye.
o.k. The monument that looks like the Washington Monument reads on the bottom, "This monument is dedicated to the former slaves of Madison County. Their supporters and the unsung heros who gave their prayers, blood, sweat, and tears to help make our community what it is today. May 20, 1996" By the way, that Confederate soldier monument is not supposed to be leaning like that!
The courthouse (top picture) stands in front of the Seminole
Indian War Blockhouse marker (bottom picture). In the left
hand corner background of the courthouse, stands the water
tower, which, in the old days, before they stopped using it,
would overflow sometimes. They used to have a big ladder
that went up all the way to the top, and they took it down
during war time to keep enemies from poisoning their water
supply. The Courthouse itself, had a staircase that went all
the way up to the clock tower. The clock may not work now,
but in the old days, before they sealed it off, kids used to run
up the stairs to rest in the top of that clock tower. No kids ever
died in that clock tower by the way.
THE FOUR FREEDOMS MONUMENT:
The Four Freedoms were stated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his Annual Message to Congress. January 6, 1941. Freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear everywhere in the world, became the ideals of American Policy. The memorial, symbolizing these aspirations of mankind, was designed by Walter Russel, given by Women's National Institute, and dedicated to the memory of World War II hero, Captain Colin P. Kelly Jr., June 14, 1944.
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Click here to see the green side of Florida!
Click here to see the blue (beautiful) side of Florida!
You must have QuickTime 3 to view these two movs, for they are QuickTime VR files. You can download it here
Just some links
Angelfire - Easiest Free Home Pages
WhoWhere? - The Best Communications Guide on the Web
DigitSmith, Inc. - Embroidery Digitizing & Custom Embroidery Services
Matt's Script Archive - Awesome Web Server Scripts
Email: astanax@hotmail.com
