The Wandering Disciple

Long before planes connected cities across the country, trains were the way to travel across the country. A vast network of rails connected through towns big and small to transport passengers to their destination. While the needs of the transportation industry has changed and most of the rail lines have been re-purposed, there are still remnants of the impact of the railroad industry still visible nationwide. Like this train depot in Bowling Green, Florida. Built in 1911, it served passengers as the gateway to the rail line that ran from Fort Myers to Bartow. Today the train station has been re-purposed as an event center but still stands as a reminder to when train travel ruled the country. (Photo: July 3, 2016)

This open field along Paynes Creek is proof of a fort that once protected central Florida. Tensions remained following the Second Seminole War prompting officials to build a series of forts to help protect the land. On a spot of high land along a creek in a little town called Bowling Green, Fort Chokonikla was built in 1849. Fort Chokonikla was the first in the chain of forts to protect the settlers from the Seminole Indians. The fort did not remain in operation long due to an illness that forced the fort to be abandoned. An empty field is all that remains today of the fort and the adjoining trading post. But the site and the legacy of the settlement can be seen at the Paynes Creek Historic State Park. (Photo: July 3, 2016)