Pine Level is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

in DeSoto County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States. Pine Level was founded in the 1850s and had bars, saloons, a courthouse, a jail, stores, churches and homes. Gunfights were considered a common sight on the streets. In 1866, the site of what became Pine Level was chosen as the new county seat of Manatee County to replace the

Manatee River The Manatee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 18, 2011 river in Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida. The river forms in the northeastern co ...

village of Manatee (now the eastern section of

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a principal city in the Sarasota metropolitan area. Dow ...

). Ostensibly Pine Level was chosen for its more central geographic location, but it may have been chosen to punish Manatee for its

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

sympathies in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

.Pine Level, DeSoto Co, Florida in Desoto Co FLGenWeb Project
In 1887, Pine Level was included in the new DeSoto County carved out of Manatee County and it became the county seat of the new county and the seat of Manatee County was returned to Manatee. In 1889, however, the county seat of DeSoto County was moved from Pine Level to Arcadia. The

East and West Coast Railway The East and West Coast Railway was a railroad line running from Bradenton on the west coast of Florida southeast to Arcadia in the Peace River valley. Despite its name, the line never went all the way to the east coast of Florida. The line ...

began construction of a route from Bradenton east to Arcadia in July 1913. The nearly 50 mile long line was completed and opened for operation on May 3, 1915. Pine Level was located on this line, 41 miles from its starting point in Bradenton. Pine Level had a depot, a 1,348' railroad siding and a 524' spur track. The railroad served a large saw mill at Pine Level. In July 1933, the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized the East & West Coast Railway to abandon the tracks from Bradenton to Arcadia. Most of the abandonment actually then took place in September 1934. Compiled in the late 1930s and first published in 1939, the Florida guide listed Pine Level's population as 30 and described the folklore associated with nearby Horse Creek: Today, all that remains of Pine Level is the Pine Level Methodist Church, the Indian Mound Cemetery, and the Pine Level Campground Cemetery. The site is marked by a State of Florida bronze marker.

References

External links

FGenWeb Project, Inc.
(photos) Ghost towns in Florida Former populated places in DeSoto County, Florida Former county seats in Florida {{DeSotoCountyFL-geo-stub

See also

References

External links