FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 3, 2003
CONTACT: Cherie Graves, (850) 443-7340
Historic Santos Recreation Area Opens to
Public
-- Area celebrates rich legacy of
baseball in small town--
OCALA -The Department of Environmental Protection’s
(DEP) Office of Greenways and Trails and the Santos
Historical Recreation Committee today hit a home run with the
opening of the Historic Santos recreation area. Located along
the 110-mile Cross Florida Greenway, the new recreation area
was built on the site of the former town of Santos.
“Celebrating the rich history of Santos with the opening of
this new recreation area unites Florida’s past with the
present,” said Jena Brooks, director of DEP’s Office of
Greenways and Trails. “While the town’s original baseball
diamond is overgrown, the tradition can now continue on the
recreation area’s new diamond.”
A predominantly African American community, Santos was a flag
station along the tracks of the Florida Transit and
Peninsular Railway, which transported cotton, lumber, fruit
and vegetables. Until the Cross Florida Barge Canal displaced
the town in the mid-1930s, Santos had two general stores, a
barbershop, fish market, post office, school, churches and
“juke joints.” The area also boasted a baseball diamond,
which was a part of the southeastern circuit of the Negro
League Baseball in the 1890s. Today, nineteen historic
markers commemorate sites where Santos businesses stood.
“Though the town’s businesses no longer stand, the community
is not forgotten,” said Brooks. “Every crack of the bat
honors the memory of those who worked and played on the
fields of Florida’s history.”
The Historic Santos recreation area will be managed by the
Office of Greenways and Trails as part of the Cross Florida
Greenway. Open from dawn until dusk, the park is free and
includes a playground, covered picnic pavilions with grills,
restrooms, parking, a basketball court and baseball diamond.
For more information on the Historic Santos recreation area
or Florida’s trails, visit
www.FloridaGreenwaysAndTrails.com.
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Press Office
