Pineola, Florida

Pineola[1] is an unincorporated community in Southeastern Citrus County, Florida. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, to the south of Floral City. It is along County Road 39 (South Istachatta Road) between the Hernando County-Citrus County Line north of Istachatta and County Road 48(East Bushnell Road). The ZIP Code for this community is 33536.

Northbound County Road 39 as it enters Pineola, Florida
Withlacoochee State Trail signpost commemorating the Great Train Wreck of 1956 in Pineola

Pineola Grotto and lime mining

The Pineola Grotto (limestone caverns formed by sinkholes) as well as limestone bluffs were associated with the area. They provided specialized fern and other plant habitats[2] and were once studied and documented by prominent botanists. Much has been lost to mining and other encroachments.[3] A. H. Curtiss visited the grotto in 1881 and was followed by others. Several (12?) previously undiscovered species were identified at the chasm.[4][5]

The community itself may have developed around the limestone industry in the early 1900s in conjunction with Pineola Lime Company[6] and the mining of limestone quarries.

The area contains a few rural homes at present.

Great Train Wreck of 1956

Pineola was the site of what has been referred to as "The Great Train Wreck of 1956." On October 18, 1956, a head-on collision between two Atlantic Coast Line Railroad freight trains occurred killing five crewmen. A signpost at the site of the crash on the Withlacoochee State Trail memorializes the event.[7]

References
  1. "Visiting Small-Town Florida," by Bruce Hunt
  2. Florida Memory photo archive photographs
  3. Gil Nelson The Ferns of Florida a Reference Guide
  4. FEWER FLORIDA RARITIES: CHANGING FLORA OF PINEOLA GROTTO, CITRUS COUNTY' OLGA LAKELA University of South Florida. Tampa, Florida 33620 pages 14, 15, 16
  5. Journal New York Botanical Gardens pages 35, 36
  6. Annual Report Florida Geological Survey, Volumes 10 & 11 page 109
  7. DanTD (December 3, 2009). WST Great Train Wreck of 1956(Pineola, Florida) (photograph). Retrieved April 3, 2013.

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