The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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John C. Burleigh

John C. Burleigh was a sawmill manager, merchant, builder, and construction superintendent at Avon Park who originated the town’s wooden-railed tramway experiment after hauling a twelve-ton Shay locomotive twenty-three miles cross-country in 1894[harpers-1895-novelty][pineapple].

John Burleigh hauling supplies to the store, Midland, Florida

John Burleigh hauling supplies to the store, Midland, Florida. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, image RC09877. Public domain. The archive dates the image circa 1900; vehicular analysis establishes the chain-drive truck dates to circa 1915–1920.[fl-memory-midland-photo]

Sawmill and the Overland Locomotive Feat (1894–1895)

Born in Connecticut (c. 1863–1865), Burleigh arrived in south-central Florida in the late 1880s, co-founding the pioneer settlement of Midland in south-central Polk County[harpers-1895-novelty][pineapple]. In November 1892, he was listed among the incorporators of the proposed “Frost-Proof Line” railroad alongside Oliver M. Crosby and William E. Pabor[pineapple].

By 1894, Burleigh relocated to Avon Park in northern DeSoto County to operate the steam sawmill on Lake Brentwood[harpers-1895-novelty][pineapple]. In December 1894, when a twelve-ton Lima Shay locomotive purchased for the Florida Development Company arrived at the nearest railway terminus in Bowling Green—twenty-three miles to the west with no track between—Burleigh directed twelve men and a camp cook in moving the locomotive overland in nine days[harpers-1895-novelty]. The crew repeatedly relaid thirty-foot sections of wooden timber track in front of the advancing engine, crossing open pine flatwoods and streams[harpers-1895-novelty].

This engineering success inspired the formation of the Avon Park Transportation Company on 5 January 1895[harpers-1895-novelty]. Burleigh was elected superintendent of construction, directing the building of a 4x8-inch wooden-railed tramway north toward Pabor Lake, which commenced excursion service with the Shay locomotive Crosby on 7 September 1895[harpers-1895-novelty][pineapple].

Avon Park General Merchant and Builder (1895–1911)

Following the suspension of the wooden tramway after the 1894–1895 Great Freeze, Burleigh remained in Avon Park for nearly two decades as an active general merchant and contractor[dsc-1906-05-18][gaz-1895]:

  • State Directory Listings: The Florida Railroad Gazetteer and Polk directories list him as a general merchant, carpenter, and builder in 1895, and as owner of a general merchandise store in 1907 and 1911[gaz-1895][gaz-1907][gaz-1911].
  • The Store’s Stock in 1905: Through the autumn of 1905 Burleigh ran a boxed display advertisement at the head of the Avon Park page of The De Soto County News, and it is the fullest statement of what his store sold: “Sash, Doors, Moulding, Hardware. Furniture, Stoves, Crockery, Glassware. Dry Goods, Shoes, Clothing, Hats. Fertilizers, Hay, Grain and Groceries. Avon Park, Fla.”[dsc-1905-08-18] A builder’s supply house, a furniture and hardware store, a dry-goods store and a feed and grocery in one, it was the general store of a town that then had no railroad.

J. C. Burleigh’s advertisement in The De Soto County News, 18 August 1905

J. C. Burleigh’s advertisement, The De Soto County News, 18 August 1905, page 8. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Public domain.[dsc-1905-08-18]

  • Residential Property: In May 1906, Burleigh expanded his two-story frame residence on Main Street, hiring contractor Mr. Dilley to raise the roofline and finish the upper floor with lath and paper[dsc-1906-05-18].
  • Commercial Landmark: By January 1915, his commercial building on Main Street was designated as the “old Burleigh Store” when occupied by the Avon Park Hardware and Furniture Company[dsc-1915-01-07].

Midland Supply Freighting and Later Years (1910–1920)

In his later years, Burleigh expanded motorized freight operations between Midland and regional shipping hubs:

  • Automotive Registration: On 1 February 1910, Burleigh registered an automobile with the State of Florida from Polk County (Certificate No. 1290)[fl-memory-auto-reg].
  • Midland Supply Freighting: Photograph RC09877 in the State Archives of Florida captures Burleigh operating a chain-drive, solid-rubber-tired stake-bed freight truck hauling commercial goods and agricultural supplies to the store at Midland (c. 1915–1920)[fl-memory-midland-photo].
  • Public Service and Estate: Burleigh served as a Notary Public in Polk County in October 1919 (Lakeland Star)[ufdc-polk-burleigh]. In August 1920, the Polk County Record published a legal notice of administration for the Estate of John C. Burleigh, marking his death in mid-1920[ufdc-polk-burleigh]. His son, Ralph C. Burleigh (1900–1988), was subsequently interred in Avon Park’s Bougainvillea Cemetery[findagrave-ralph-burleigh].

References

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
Review
unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
Rights
society

Sources

  1. Harper's Weekly, Vol. 39, No. 2008, A Novelty Among Railroads (1895) · newspaper
  2. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, John Burleigh hauling supplies to the store – Midland, Florida (image RC09877) (1900)
  3. University of Florida Digital Collections / Florida Digital Newspaper Library, Polk County newspaper items naming John C. Burleigh, 1900-1920 (2026) · newspaper
  4. W. E. Pabor and E. A. Pabor, Pabor Lake Pineapple, October 1892 to September 1897 (1897) · newspaper
  5. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, 'J.C. Burleigh,' Early Auto Registrations 1905-1917 (1910) · official
  6. The De Soto County News, Arcadia, Fla., The De Soto County News, 7 January 1915, page 11: Avon Park Hardware and Furniture Company advertisement (1915) · newspaper
  7. Belden Publishing Company, Florida Railroad Gazetteer and State Business Directory, 1895, s.v. Avon Park (1895) · book
  8. R. L. Polk & Co., Florida Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1907, s.v. Avon Park (1907) · book
  9. R. L. Polk & Co., Florida Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1911, s.v. Avon Park (1911) · book
  10. The De Soto County News, Arcadia, Fla., The De Soto County News, 18 August 1905, page 8: J. C. Burleigh advertisement on the Avon Park page (1905) · newspaper
  11. O. R. Thacher (department editor), The De Soto County News, Arcadia, Fla., The De Soto County News, 18 May 1906, page 8: Department of The South Florida Sun, Avon Park Locals (1906) · newspaper
  12. Find a Grave, Ralph C. Burleigh (1900-1988), Bougainvillea Cemetery, Avon Park (2026) · secondary

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