Meander through Macclenny
It’s not often I’m up in the upper tier of the state, pressed against the Georgia border, but a recent visit to Charleston, SC set up the conditions for us to meander through Macclenny and a few other backroads communities. Along US 90 and the railroad tracks, this is a quiet Florida town, the county seat of Baker County, with a small historic district, a genealogical library, and a historic courthouse that now serves as an education center: the public library.
Early in the morning, there wasn’t much going on, but I was sorry to see that the antique shop where I’d bought a copy of the WPA book on Florida for $10 was now gone. There’s a yarn store – the Local Needle – and one other long-standing antique shop in a historic home, plus a corner shop filled with fancy fabric purses, but otherwise all’s quiet in downtown Macclenny, and I bet they like it that way.
When I’d heard (thanks to the Pensacola News-Journal’s Twitter stream) about the fire in downtown Milton, I was very distressed. The historic downtown here is one of Florida’s finest, and the fire broke out in the heart of it, putting the Imogene Theatre at risk. This multi-story theater was also home to the local historical museum. On my drive out to Pensacola, I swung through Milton to assess the damage. The adjoining buildings were a total loss, but the Imogene was saved, thanks to the diligent efforts of the local firefighters. Milton isn’t far off I-10, and is worth the jog on your drive to or from Pensacola to visit the art galleries, antique shops, historic sites, and the riverwalk along the Blackwater River.