The Evinston Paintout will be held April 11-16, 2011. The proceeds will go to the Wood and Swink Preservation Society to be used to protect and restore the Wood & Swink Old Store and Post Office.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

A thank you to people who do good...

THIS IS AN EXCERPT BY COVER ARTIST, LINDA BLONDHEIM, TAKEN FROM HER BLOG. I echo her sentiments and give a heartfelt thank you to all the patrons, supporters, donors, etc. that make it possible for us to host these kinds of events. Sincerely, Leslie Long, Event Director.

Photo: Linda and Henry, AKA: Studio Dog in January 2010

"I want to thank all of the good folk who work so tirelessly in their communities to make art events happen. The Evinston and Winter Park paint outs are around the corner and I know of the behind the scenes work that is going on to make them possible. Yes, the people directly involved are committed to this effort and they will benefit from it with the causes they represent. There are others though who get absolutely nothing for their troubles except a sense of community and satisfaction. These are the unsung heroes. The farmers and ranchers who will open their farms to strangers, offering transportation, refreshments and their beautiful lands. The businesses who step up to offer in kind equipment and donations of catering, supplies and promotional materials. The amazing people who open their own homes and vacation homes to strangers, and the friends who volunteer countless hours to make these events possible. Then there are the patrons who purchase yet another painting this year to help their favorite artist and support the worthy cause. They are the biggest heroes because without their support, all of the work is for naught.

We as artists are entirely dependent on the support of patrons. Art is not a widget or a household item. It is to us a vital part of our life and our souls, but to non artists often of questionable value. We are provided a living by those good souls who feel love for the magic of painting. Not for a moment do I ever take that gift for granted. My patrons are precious to me in every way. They are the superstars of my world. They make my bohemian lifestyle possible and I am utterly awed by them.

What could we all achieve together if we did one kind thing today?"

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Community Spotlight on TV20 Gainesville

Go take a look at the short spot that was done by TV20 Host Bob Williams for the Community Spotlight. He does a short interview with Busy Kislig Shires-Byerly, the Executive Director for the Conservation Trust for Florida, discussing the Evinston Paintout and the Patron's Gala. Great job Busy! Click HERE to watch the video.

Monday, April 5, 2010

EVINSTON PAINTOUT POSTER


Here is the Evinston Paintout Poster. Please feel free to print a copy and place on your bulletin board at work or copy and send it to your entire address book to help us promote this wonderful event! If you click on the poster, it will open it in another window, allowing you to use the "magnifying glass" to see the small print. Or, you can click on the name of the blog post "EVINSTON PAINTOUT POSTER" and it will take you to download it.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

PAINT OUT LOCATION & SCHEDULE

Come join us for the 2011 Evinston Paintout hosted by the Wood & Swink Preservation Society, a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization dedicated to preserving this national landmark.

The Paintout wetroom/gallery will be at the Wood & Swink Old Store and Post Office, 18320 County Road 225 in Evinston, FL.

Directions from I-75 North or South: take exit 368 to Irvine/Orange Lake, turn right on CR 318. Your first big intersection is a traffic light at SR 441, turn left toward McIntosh. Pass thru McIntosh and then after 3 or 4 miles, you will start to see signs for the Paintout. You need to turn right on SE 185th Avenue. It ends at CR 225 – turn left and you will see the Wood & Swink about a block up on the left.

Directions from Gainesville: SR 441 South and continue as instructed above and follow signs.

Check in at the Wood & Swink during the week of April 11-17, 2011 to find out where the artists are painting. The gallery will be open Monday (4/11) thru Friday(4/15) from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and on Sat.(4/16) from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm for the first annual HeritageFest.

Each day we will have hayrides from the Wood & Swink to where the artists are painting; and on Sat. there will be local vendors selling their hand-made wares. The Mt. Elliah Baptist church will be making home-cooked country lunches from 11:30 to 3:00 pm ($6 - $10) in case you get hungry.

Patron's Gala at Wood & Swink's Packing House Friday, April 15, 2011 6:30 pm

The Patron’s Gala for the 2011 Evinston Paintout will be held at the Old Packing House next to the Wood & Swink Post Office on Fri., April 15th. The party starts at 6:30 pm and there will be great art, food, beer and wine, entertainment and conversation. This will be an old-fashioned BBQ and will be catered by Pearl Country Store, some of the best BBQ in the area.

The goal of the Patrons' Gala is to sell as many paintings as we can to raise money in support of our cause. All of the artists who have worked so hard during the week of the paintout will be there to meet you and tell you about their art. There will be many scenes you will recognize in their paintings and we hope that at least one of them will inspire you to buy it and take it home. The artists are working hard to paint as much of “old Florida” as they can before it disappears in the name of progress.

Tickets are $20 each in advance or $30 at the door. BONUS: If you buy a piece of art, your ticket price is FULLY REFUNDABLE, making it FREE. You can purchase tickets HERE. Please come out in support of this worthwhile event.

Friday, February 19, 2010

HOUSE AN ARTIST - GET A PAINTING!

SHARE YOUR HOME AND EARN A FREE PAINTING FROM THE ARTIST!
Hi folks. If you live in Evinston, FL or the surrounding area, we are in need of your assistance. We are hosting the Evinston Paintout from April 11 - 16, 2011. We will have approximately 30 artists from around the nation who will need a bed and a bathroom during their stay.

As the host, you are not required to feed or entertain them. They will be painting every day and we will take care of most of their needs. In exchange for your generosity the artist will give you with a painting upon their departure.

So, if you are an art lover and would like to help these artists paint for a worthy cause (to raise money for renovations of the Wood & Swink Old Store & Post Office) then download the HOUSING FORM HERE and sign up.

We appreciate your help and if you have questions or need to speak with someone first, please call Leslie Long, Event Director at 321.890.3652.

Monday, February 1, 2010

SAVE THE DATE...for the Evinston Paintout April 17-24, 2010!

Come and witness an exciting phenomenon known as Plein Air painting in Evinston, FL and surrounding areas (Cross Creek, Orange Lake) from April 17-24, 2010! Approximately 30 of the best national landscape painters will be painting in Evinston for an entire week! These artists paint outside “en plein air,” meaning “in the open air.” Most Plein Air painters are nature lovers, using the great outdoors as their primary studio, trying to capture our rapidly vanishing landscape to preserve it for future generations. They learn to adapt quickly to changes in light and weather, capturing shadows before the sun inevitably shifts, literally trying to harness the natural light and colors of a specific moment in nature, and transfer it directly onto the canvas. This style of painting allows the public to interact with the artists while they paint and offers a great opportunity to purchase an original work of art from a well known artist at a very reasonable price.


The artists will be painting daily, Saturday, April 17th thru Saturday, April 24th. Most will begin at first light and continue painting until sunset. The finished artwork will be available to view and purchase in the Wetroom/Art Gallery at the Wood & Swink Country Store & Post Office, open Saturday thru Thursday from 10:00-6:00 and 10:00-4:00 on Saturday, April 24th. Each year the artists produce around 300 paintings during the week, all of which are for sale as soon as they are hung. The Wood & Swink is located at
18320 Southeast County Road 225, Evinston FL 32633.


The most exciting part of this event is that the a portion of the proceeds from art sales will be donated to the preservation and restoration of Florida’s oldest post office, the Wood & Swink Country Store & Post Office For more information about this organization and its’ supporters, please visit www.conserveflorida.org or To find out more about the artists schedule and view their work, visit www.evinstonpaintout.org Send an email to the Event Director thru the CONTACT link on the website if you need additional information.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

2010 Evinston Paintout COVER ARTIST, Linda Blondheim

The 2010 Program Cover Artist is Award winning painter, Linda Blondheim. She lives in Gainesville, Florida and works primarily in acrylics and oils. Linda is a listed artist with Art Price, Ask Art, The American Blue Book and Marquis Who's Who in American Art. She has museum history in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida and is also gallery represented in Florida and Georgia.

id=Blondheim's work is often described as painterly or representational painting. Sometimes she is referred to as a representational expressionist or American impressionist. She enjoys plein air painting almost year round because of the mild Florida climate, but enjoys traveling throughout the south to capture the beauty found in each state. Some of Linda's work is done en plein air, but she does enjoy working from plein air studies and photographs to complete larger works in the studio. She can be seen regularly in and around Evinston with Henry, AKA: Studio Dog, painting in a field or scouting for new scenes. Her paintings are found in private and corporate collections throughout the United States. "North Florida Sky" was chosen for this year's program because it epitomizes the Evinston area which has both lovely sabal palms in the same field as 200 year old oaks. It is the quintessential north Florida scenic vista.

Linda earned a BFA from the University of Tampa, studied post Bac at University of South Florida and has been painting for 33 years. She is co-founder and member of Plein Air Florida, , an invitational member of both Plein Air Georgia and Plein Air Alabama and Fresh Air.

HISTORY OF THE WOOD & SWINK


The History of the Wood & Swink

The Wood & Swink Old Store and Post Office is a one-story, wood-frame vernacular structure made of heart pine in 1882 by builder, William P. Shettleworth. It was owned by a wealthy Micanopy merchant named Simon H. Benjamin and used as a warehouse to store merchandise for himself and his business partner, Jacob Katz.

It was purchased in 1884 by then Evinston Postmaster, Joseph S. Wolfendon, becoming a general store around the turn of the century when ownership was transferred to John Hester. Then in 1906, Henry Deaver Wood and his brother-in-law, Robert C. Evins purchased the building. In 1910, Robert Evins passed away, leaving Henry Wood as sole owner. Henry also had a large farm and was serving a fourth term as Alachua County Commissioner when he died in 1930. Henry’s son, Robert P. Wood took over the store and post office at that time but in 1933, he sold it to his brother, Frederick W. Wood and his brother-in-law, Paul C. Swink. That was when the store became the Wood & Swink. In 1935, Paul sold his shares to Fred Wood, but the name was never changed. Fred served as postmaster for the next 44 years; longer than any other postmaster in Florida. When he retired in 1979, his daughter-in-law, Wilma Sue Brown-Wood, who was married to Fred Wood, Jr., became the postmaster and recently retired in 2010. The store was run by Jane Younge Wood, Fred Wood Sr.’s wife, until her death in 1990, at which time the store ownership transferred to Fred Jr. and his wife-postmaster, Wilma Sue Wood. Fred Jr. and Wilma Sue Wood, now retired, have passed the store to their son, Fred Wood, III.

In 1989, Jane Wood and Diana Cohen worked successfully to have the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

EVINSTON AREA INFORMATION...

The following transcript is taken from a cell phone tour that you can access and listen to while you are driving thru these areas. Visit www.scenicus441.com/index.htm for more information.

Evinston Area Information – Oct. 2009

The River Styx
The River Styx is a stream and swampland located north of Orange Lake. A bridge on Alachua County Road three twenty-five crosses the River Styx. The wetland on this Florida Scenic Highway is located just west of the Lochloosa Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve and is one of the keystone parcels in the Lochloosa Connector. This entire area is known as the Lochloosa Wildlife Conservation Area. It connects Lochloosa, Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historical State Park, and Newnan’s Lake Conservation Area. The River Styx has three hundred acres of high quality river, strand, and swamp communities and about one thousand acres of flatwoods and pine plantation. The water flows from Newnan’s Lake through Prairie Creek, Payne’s Prairie, and Camp’s Canal into the swampland of River Styx. This provides great wildlife habitat. It is an extremely important area for wildlife such as Florida black bear, bald eagles and numerous wading birds including wood storks. It is biologically connected to the Micanopy Wood Stork rookery, the largest and most stable rookery of these federally listed birds in north central Florida. The drainage is part of the headwaters of Orange Lake with some interchange with the Floridian aquifer and also some flow into Orange Creek and the Ocklawaha River basin. The River Styx is documented in William Bartram and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ writings.

County Road 225 north terminus
Alachua Southeast County Road 225, a Florida Scenic Highway, runs south through the town of Evinston in southeast Alachua County. The north terminus, at the southeast county road three forty-six, is known as the River Styx Road. The road is listed as a Florida Scenic Highway and is designated the Henry Deaver Wood Memorial Highway, named for the Evinston businessman, postmaster, county commission chair, and four-term commissioner. This road, originally a dirt road, was developed in the 1880’s with the establishment of the Florida Southern Railroad line. The railroad line was located next to the roadway and remains very near the original historic location. In 1981, the railroad tracks were removed leaving the roadway without its original transportation partner. A number of historic structures can be viewed from the road through and near the town of Evinston. The area has been populated for thousands of years due to the fertile land, abundant game and vegitation, and access to water. Native American villages were discovered adjacent to the road. The few cleared fields along the roadway are primarily used for ranching, which provides both unobstructed views of the lake and feeding grounds for thousands of birds that visit each winter. Conservation easements and additional conservation efforts are continuing, which will retain the current ecology and scenic beauty of the area.

County Road 225 mid section
Alachua Southeast County Road 225, a Florida Scenic Highway, is located between two large bodies of water; Orange Lake and Fish Prairie. The road provides magnificent views of the lake, pastures, marshes, and woodlands. The southern section of the roadway attracts hundreds of visitors to view the annual spring blooming season of native coreopsis and phlox wildflowers. The northern mile of road is lined with native pine, oak, magnolia, hickory, maple, and other hardwoods trees. Beneath them are scrub palmetto, wild plum, wire grass, goldenrod, purple astor, beautyberry, and many other native plants and vines. The unspoiled character of the roadway, with little adverse land use and structures, provide an excellent wildlife habitat along both sides of the road. This area attracts many widlife enthusiasts and bird watchers. The fall and winter sandhill crane migration brings thousands of the birds to the pastures along the road. In addition to the sandhill cranes, eagles, hawks, osprey, and swallow-tail kites, as well as many songbirds are regularly viewed. Often deer, bears, otters, wildcats, foxes, racoons, opossums, and alligators are also seen. Many snakes, amphibians and other reptiles are also seen from this scenic roadway.

Evinston, Florida
The Evinston community is named for the family of William Drayton Evins. Originally, from South Carolina, Evins had purchased land here and in 1882 gave the right of way for the Florida Southern Railroad. In 1884, a depot, the present country store, and post office were built. This community once contained three stores, a schoolhouse, three churches, a blacksmith shop, two packinghouses, and a gristmill. Agricultural crops, cattle, and citrus were, and continue to be grown here. In 1956, the depot was moved and passenger service discontinued. Freight service continued until 1982 when the railroad was removed. Established in 1909, the community park continues to serve descendants of the original families. The Evinston community store, originally a warehouse, us built of heart pine. The store sits 100 feet south of its original location, moved in 1956 for road paving. Located across from the railroad depot, it was, and still is, a meeting place for everyone. Several owners managed the store. H.D. Wood and Robert Evins bought the store in 1909. A partnership of Wood & Swink in 1934 is still indicated on the storefront. One of the few remaining country store-post offices, it contains original post office boxes and equipment.

The Railroad in Evinston
In 1882, W.D. Evins gave the right of way to the Florida Southern Railroad to bring the narrow gauge railroad and depot to the town. Completed in 1884, the Florida Southern connected to a Gainesville-Palatka railway at the Rochelle junction, providing a southern corridor from this railroad line to Ocala and beyond. Florida roads were sandy, swampy and nearly impassible, so early rail access dramatically increased the prosperity of any town or region allowing town residents easy access to the Gainesville merchants and businesses. In 1902, the Florida Southern merged with other railroads to become the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which provided service from St. Petersburg to New York. From the Evinston depot, passengers, mailbags, and freight boarded trains pulled by steam engines for destinations in Florida and along the U.S. Eastcoast. For more than four decades, at least eight trains a day, four passenger and four or more freight trains, ran through Evinston. By 1950, the large steam engines were replaced by the modern diesel engines. In 1956, when the depot was moved, passenger boarding was discontinued. The last passenger train passed through Evinston in 1971 and the last freight train in 1982. Older residents still remember the depot’s agent and ticket offices, large covered porch, warehouse rooms, and signal tower, located directly across the street from the post office. For years, bags of mail were grabbed by the fast-moving trains from a mail crane near the depot. Hearing the distant whistle of trains from miles away brings back the memories of the railroad and its important part of the town’s history.

Evinston Agriculture
The warm climate, abundant rainfall, fertile woodlands, and muck soils near Orange Lake provide Evinston with an excellent environment for agricultural production. Archeological evidence shows that early man built villages and camps in this area where both edible plants and game were abundant. In the mid-to-late 1800s, woodlands were cleared for farming. The first farms belonged to Judge Means, who cultivated a large varitey of vegetables and orange groves on the banks of Orange Lake. With a railroad and depot, area farmers were able to ship their vegetables and fruit to market. These early farmers grew oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and kumquats. The freezes of the 1890s killed most of the trees, but many groves were back in production in a few years. Freezes in the 1950s and 1980s also caused severe damage to the citrus crops. A few other fruits such as peaches, pears, and apples have been planted with little success. Citrus and vegetable crops are still grown in Evinston today. Row crops such as beets, cabbage, collards, lettuce, mustard, turnips, and other leafy vegetables are planted in winter. The spring crops are beans, squash, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons, eggplant, corn, and peanuts. Most farms in the past had milk cows, hogs, and chickens. In the early 1900s, the Richardson Family began commercial beef production in Evinston. The Richardson Brothers Farms are still in the business of beef cattle production.

The Lake
Evinston, Florida is located on the northwest shore of Orange Lake. Throughout the 1880s and early 1900s, the town’s people relied on the lake for livelihood and recreation. Several fish camps including the North End Fish Camp were located on the Evinston shoreline. The lake provided harvests of alligators, frogs, turtles, largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie, catfish, ducks, and other waterfowl. Orange Lake’s headwaters come from both River Styx and Cross Creek. This thirteen thousand acre mud-bottom lake of darkly stained, vegetation-infested water, begins at River Styx in the north, runs about eight miles south, bends toward the east for nearly four miles, and ends at Orange Creek, just north of the town of Citra where it flows into the Ocklawaha River. The lake is entirely in Alachua County with most of the west and south shoreline as the boundary between Alachua and Marion County. Cross Creek, which is usually navigable, connects Orange Lake and Lake Lochloosa. The lake, with an average depth of six feet and a maximum of thirteen feet has many grass beds, submersed aquatic vegetation, and floating islands of muck and vegetation.

Evinston United Methodist Church
The Evinston United Methodist Church began in the 1890s with the congregation holding services in members homes and in the Evinston schoolhouse. The current church building was erected in 1909 on land donated by the Wolfendon family. Built of heart pine, the church is a prime example of early rural church architecture. Situated in a hickory and oak grove, the church surely is “The Church in the Wildwood” from the old hymn. In 1947, a Sunday school room was added to the back of the church and in 2006, a large meeting room was constructed behind the church building. For a number of years the church was part of a church circuit sharing a minister with Micanopy, Wacahoota, and Shiloh. The church has grown over the past decade and now has its own minister, services and Sunday school every week. The highlight is the annual Christmas Eve service when children and community members perform to create a beautiful celebration with a finale of Santa’s arrival.

Mt. Olive A.M.E. Church
The Mt. Olive A.M.E. Church and cemetary are located on the Alachua-Marion County Line Road. The Mt. Olive Church began when a small congregation purchased the land from the Evins family in 1886. At that time a small house and open well were located here. The founders called it the “African Methodist Camp Meeting Ground.” Services were held in the small house. The first church building, which was a wooded building, was constructed in the 1890s. The first church was called, “A.M.E. Church in the Woods.” In 1929, a new church building was built to accommodate a growing congregation. This building was a larger wooden structure resembling many older churches of that time period. In the 1940s the church building was used as a school for the African-American children in the community. In 1964, an annex was added and in 1973, the older wooden structure was rebuilt as a larger block church building, which is the current church. The church cemetary, located to the north, is the resting place of many of the early African-American citizens of the Evinston and surrounding areas. Well kept by church members, listings and photographs of all graves in the cemetary are at the Alachua County Genealogical Society's Virtual Cemetery Project Web site.

County Line Road
Designated as both Alachua County Southeast one-hundred–eighty-fifth avenue and Marion County northwest two-hundred-thirthieth street, local citizens simply refer to this Florida Scenic Highway as the “County Line Road.” The road runs approximately three miles east-west, beginning in Evinston, crossing U.S. four -forty-one, and terminating inside a fenced area at Interstate seventy-five. It is located entirety on the Alachua-Marion County line. The road from U.S. four-fourty-one east is an entry road for Evinston citizens. This section of the road was paved in the 1930’s and is maintained by Marion County. Prior to the sale of land in the 1960’s that comprised a large cattle ranch, the west portion of the road was a small farm road that linked other roads with Micanopy. After the ranchland was developed as homesites and small ranches, greater usage of this section occurred. The road became an Alachua County-maintained limerock road. In addition to six historic homes in Evinston, the eastern section has several pastoral woodlands, and scenic views. The historic Mt. Olive A.M.E. Church is located on the east section. The west section of the county line road is a scenic hardwood canopy road that crosses hills, pastures, and streams.

Evinston Historic Buildings, Part 1
In the center of Evinston is a State of Florida Historical Marker. The two-sided marker discusses the History of Evinston, Florida and the Evinston Community Store and Post Office. The marker is located on the site of the Evinston Depot and is directly east of the historic store building, erected in 1882 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. To the south of the store and marker, located on County Road 225 and the County Line Road is the Shettleworth-Smith House. William P. Shettleworth built this house in 1882. It is believed to be the oldest existing house in Evinston. A typical vernacular house with front porch, it has been owned by the Smith family since 1918. Directly north of the old store is the Wood’s Packinghouse. Built around 1900, it has been used for citrus and vegetable processing and packing for many years. In 1958, to accommodate the paving of the roadway, it was cut in half and reassembled in the current “T” form. Prior to that time it was a long building that fronted a siding of the railroad where boxcars were loaded with produce out of a large sliding packinghouse door. North of the packinghouse is the Evinston Town Park, established by the town citizens in 1909. The pavillion follwed in a few years and the tenniscourt by 1940. The park is completely support by the town and its citizens.

Evinston Historic Buildings, Part 2
Directly east of the historic marker and across from the old store and packinghouse are two structures that were built in the 1880s by then Postmaster John F. Barron. The one-story structure, for many years, was a general store owned by Barron. In later years, the store was sold and became a house for the depot agent and in the 1950s a private residence. For several years prior to 1913, this early Barron general store held the Evinston Post Office. To the north of this house is the Barron-Johnson House built by Barron as his family residence and next door to the store that he operated. The two-story house, with tin roof and wooden siding, has an attached kitchen and unique star-shaped attic vent. In 1916, W.A. Johnson purchased both structures and continued the store operation for some years. Further north on the “s” curve remain two chimneys where once stood the two-story Hester-Vidal house that was destroyed by fire in 1977.

Evinston Historic Structures, Part 3
Four additional historic houses are located in Evinston on the County Line Road about 200 yards west from its intesection with Southeast County Road 225. The first structure, located on the north side and closest to the intersection is the Shuttleworth-Cromartie House. This house was built in 1884 by William P. Shettleworth as a home and later occupied by his daughter and son-in-law, the Cromarties. Later sold by the family to the Mudra family, it was renovated and an addition added in the 1980s. The house on the same side of the road and further to the west is the Wolfenden-Richardson house. Built in the 1892 by J.L. Wolfendon, after his first house located to the southeast of this structure was torn down. His grandson Leroy Richardson and family resided in this house for many years, which is still owned and occupied by family. A house addition increased its size and in the 1920s the rock façade and front porch were added. Directly across from this house on the south side of the county line road is the original Richardson Family house. P.K. Richardson, Wolfendon’s son-in-law, built the house in 1909. This large white house with wrap-around screened veranda has been occupied by his son Walter Richardson and family since, and is currently occupied by fourth generation family members. The Bradley-Glisson House, west of this structure was built in the 1890s. This one-story house with front porch and enclosed back porch has been owned and occupied by the Glisson family since the 1960s.

Evinston Old Country Store Introduction
Welcome to the Evinston Store and Post Office, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I am Freddie Wood, owner of this historic building. My father and grandfather were both owners and post masters in Evinston. My wife Sue Wood, soon to retire, is our current post master. I am priveledged to have lived here for more than seven decades and have many wonderful recollections of the way life was in past years in our small town. Life in Evinston then, as it is today, centers around the remaining store and our community’s post office. This historic building has appeared in dozens of newspaper and magazine articles, including the New York Times and National Geographic. It has been the subject of countless photographs, paintings, drawings, and video productions. It has also appeared in several movies. As new photographers, writers, and artists visit the town, the old store will most likely be the subject once again in all media. Stories of the store and community have been told to countless visitors, reporters, and writers. Questions about this structure have been answered so many times about what it was like in the early days. The next four tour stops will tell you about my recollections of a country general store and post office and how my father and grandfather operated it to serve the community.

A Recollection of the Old Evinston Store, Part 1 – From Outside
The Evinston store and post office has shown little change to the exterior and remains much like it was in the 1930s and 40s when it was the general store for the conmmunity and area. The exterior unpainted pine board-and-batten siding, tin roof, front porch with benches, side storage room, windows and shutters, double front door, “Wood and Swink” sign, and steps are much as they were for the past century. The interior still has the original counters, shelves, cases, and many of the original post office boxes. However, imagine how the store looked to the customer more than 50 years ago. Out front was a single Standard Oil gas pump where regular leaded gas cost 15 cents a gallon. The front porch had a bread box where fresh bread was delivered usually before the store opened. Out back was a burn pile where refuse and trash was burned. The paved road from the county-line road to the south ended at the store and depot with sandy dirt roads to the north and throughout the rest of the community. Automobiles of the era were parked by customers in the front but many still came by horse, horse and wagon, or on foot. Children’s bicycles were always propped against the front porch by the kids who played in the streets, parks, depot, and around the old packinghouse. Many residents and visitors occupied the front porch benches where gossip, stories, and news were exchanged and enjoyed. Much like today, all of the news of the town and community was brought and shared and passed on by the customers and residents collecting mail from the Post Office. In the colder days hours were passed sitting around the wood burning stove with the same tales and stories.

A Recollection of the Old Evinston Store, Part 2 - Interior
As you step into the interior of the historic Evinston store and post office try to imagine what the customers of the 1930s and 40s were there to see and to buy. The Post Office was a bit smaller with fewer mail boxes. The same customer window and bottom shelf as well as the older boxes were there. The side left store customer counters, glass cases, and stock shelves were as they are now but they displayed much different merchendise and products. Beginning near the post office, the hand-cranked cash register was on the counter, allowing the owner/post master the ability to tend both areas. The counter displayed cigars, snuff, and chewing gum in the first small glass case. Further along the counter, the next two large glass cases held penny candies, candy bars, bubble gum, and every other sweet treat available at the time. The front glass usually held the nose print of every town child who looked in and imagined the sweet treats within the case. Continuing down the counter, an open area with meat scale, butcher paper, and twine from overhead was available to wrap what was in the meat case, which was next and held all types of meats, sausages, butter, margarine, and a wheel of red-rind cheese. Jars of johnny crackers at four for a nickel were on the front. Under the counter from front to back were shotgun and rifle shells, rice, meal, and grits, lard and other excess stored items. On the shelves behind the counter beginning from front to back were bottles and boxes of many patent medicines that were advertised to heal most any ailment. Tobacco products to smoke, dip, and chew were displayed. And from about midshelf section to end were canned vegetables, canned meats, canned milk, boxed dry edible goods, coffee, tea, bleach, detergents, bar soaps, and kitchen products. At the end of the shelves in the back far corner the door to the supply room is still located. Inside the supply room were animal feeds and other surplus store items.

A Recollection of the Old Evinston Store, Part 3 – Interior Cont.
The center aisle of the old store in Evinston was the only area of the store where customers were allowed to visit and congregate. Unlike today’s modern shoppers who use shopping carts to gather all of their purchases and bring them to the front checkout area with automated belts and scanners, an old general store was where customers brought grocery lists and asked for goods that were found and provided to the customer by the clerk or owner. The clerks gathered goods from shelves, display cases, under counters, and from back stockrooms to fill the customers lists, even pumping gasoline from the outside pump. The goods were assembled on a counter. The prices were listed on hand-written sheets and added without calculators or cash registers. When finished groceries were bagged or boxed by the clerks and carried out with the clerk’s assistance. All of this took far more time than modern shopping marts. A few goods and items were placed in the center aisle of the old store, a cold-drink box, racks of packaged crackers and cookies, a kerosene-burning refrigerator for some products that required cold storage, kegs of nails and staples, and a few bages of dog food. In the center of the aisle and store is the wood-burning stove, which gave relief from the chill of the winter days for visitors, but also a place to congregate, sit, talk, and socialize. The store’s large safe which held all receipts overnight is still in the center where it has been for years. At the back center of the store there occassionally hung a half or quarter of a freshly killed hog ready for additional butchering. Once a week a barrel was filled with ice and fresh gulf mullet brought from Cedar Key. Directly at the back door a large square tank with hand-craked pump was filled with kerosene where customers’ cans and gallon bottles were filled by hand. The large single door at the back was the exit and last door locked at night and first door unlocked at the beginning of each working day.

A Recollection of the Old Evinston Store, Part 4 – Interior Cont.
Step into the interior of the historic Evinston store and post office and try to imagine what the early customers shopped for on the shelves and cases to the right side of the front door. Behind the large door to the right is a wall telephone. Installed when the first telephnoe lines arrived, it provided communications with suppliers and customers. Turn the crank two times and the operator was there to ask what number was nneded. The owner’s desk was a place for to write orders, keep files, and balance books. The counters with glass cases stocked clothing from overalls, workshirts, and cotton dresses. Further down was a thread cabinet. Even further were cotton bandanas, handkerchiefs, and cloth. And at the end of the counter were bags of flour and meal, and chicken feed and scratch. On the shelves behind the counter from the front to back were books, fishing baits and line, books, needles, pins, and thimbles. Toiletry products, toothpaste, hair grease and tonic, shampoo, cologne, and purfumes. Closer toward the middle and back were other clothing items and shoes. At nthe very back the shelves stocked some hardware items like stove pipe and a few hand tools. Overhead hung long bamboo fishing poles and ax and hoe handles. The stock in all parts of the store would change with the seasons, sometimes firecrackers for the Fourth, extra poultry and pie items for Thanksgiving, and a few toys, gifts, and candies for Christmas. This is how we remember the old store and how important it was to the community and area. We hope you have enjoyed the historic recollections and other information about our community and town.

Evinston Today and Tomorrow
As the months run into years and the years into decades, we, the citizens of Evinston give thanks for our town, our history, and our way of life. Our hope is that our town will continue with little change, so that our way of life can be experienced by our children and grandchildren. Our community will work to preserve the historic Evinston old store and post office with the assistance of the postal service, historic preservation, and conservation groups. It’s uses may be altered as it has in past years. However, it will continue as the focal point of our community. We are proud that some of our lands have been designated as Florida Pioneer Farm Family lands and that with conservation easements and other conservation programs, the lands will remain as rural farm lands in perpetuity. Our roadways are Florida Scenic Highways and have been nominated as Alachua County Scenic Roads and U.S. National Scenic Roads. The town’s identity will depend on the continuation of our post office and the families and citizens who support the efforts to keep our historical and cultural integrity. We are always appreciative of our friends, visitors, conservation and historical groups who have helped us in our efforts to preserve our town and community. Please come back and visit us in the future.

About the Evinston Paintout...

Little has changed since 1882. The Wood & Swink Old Store & Post Office is Florida’s oldest working post office and one of the last working general store post offices in the nation. An old wood stove and sixteen of the original brass mailboxes are still in use today. In addition to being a post office, the Wood & Swink is also a gathering place for locals to sit around the old wood stove in the center of the store and swap stories.

The store has been in the Wood family since 1906, and family members have served as Evinston’s Postmaster since 1913. The Wood family owns the building and the USPS rents space from them for the Post Office. Wilma Sue Brown Wood has been the Postmaster since January 13, 1979 and plans to retire soon after 28 years of service. That is why the Evinston Paintout was started; to raise funds to renovate the building. Without renovations, it will be extremely difficult to find a new Postmaster who will work without heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. There is concern that they won’t find someone willing to work under these conditions and they would have to retire the 32633 zip code or move the Post Office to another building. The fate of the Post Office is a concern for the entire community because the store lacks the minimum modern amenities.

The Conservation Trust for Florida (CTF) joined forces with the Wood family in 2006 and they hosted the first Evinston Paintout. It was a big success and they raised some money but not enough for completion of the project. The Evinston Paintout will be an annual event until we raise all the money needed to ensure the preservation of the Wood & Swink Old Store & Post Office.

The Wood Family has since been notified by the USPS stating that they do not intend to close the Post Office if renovations are made. The Architectural design and plans have already been generously donated by Alan McKellips of Hunter McKellips Associates, free of charge. The restoration will include the following: central heat and air; a handicap ramp; two new restrooms; a glass “alcove” to enclose the solid, double-hung wood doors; and restoring the solid wood plank floors and windows. The total cost for all of these upgrades is $50,000. In addition, we must raise another $150,000 as an endowment to pay the yearly insurance costs of $6,200. The Wood family has recently formed the Wood & Swink Preservation Society to help them reach this goal.

In order to protect the building itself from being demolished in the name of progress to erect a new building on the site, there is a historic preservation easement in place so it is protected in perpetuity. The building and the property are preserved as they are forever.

They have a goal of raising 10% of the funds on their own and is also searching for additional funding from agencies and private foundations in the form of grants. An account has been established for public contributions at Campus USA Credit Union.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

BECOME A SPONSOR

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to support the 2011 Evinston Plein Air Paintout to be held April 11-16, 2011. Approximately 30 of the most talented landscape artists from around the country will bring their paint boxes and easels to the city of Evinston and the surrounding area, well known for its abundance of “old” Florida habitat, to create one-of-a-kind paintings “en plein air”, which means in open air, for the public to view and purchase.

This remarkable event is hosted by the Wood and Swink Preservation Society, a 501 (c)3 (pending) non-profit organization. The Evinston Paintout wetroom/gallery will be located at the Wood and Swink Old Store and Post Office, one of the few remaining country store-post offices that still use original post office boxes and equipment. The goal of the Evinston Paintout is to raise money for renovations to the Wood and Swink and to increase public support for it's preservation and protection. We believe that an educated public can make wise decisions concerning the future of this magnificent historic building.

We are asking area businesses to help offset expenses by donating money or products to our event. Read the SPONSOR LETTER for complete information. In exchange for this support, we are willing to donate premium advertising space in our Paintout program, a monetary credit to be used towards the purchase of original art of your choice, free tickets to our exclusive Patron’s Reception, logos and links on our website and other advertising collateral, and much more. Get the SPONSORSHIP FORM and print and send it in now with your check or if you prefer to use a credit card, CLICK HERE TO REQUEST AN INVOICE after choosing the sponsor level from the sponsor form. For more information, call Leslie Long, Event Director

by cell (321) 890-3652 or email HERE.


We would like to say “thank you” in advance for your support and for enabling us to restore and protect this wonderful piece of FL history. Your contribution will help ensure that the Wood and Swink will be protected for many generations to come.