DESTINATION: Going ‘Way Back When’ at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement

“This is just a bump in the road,” says Willard Smith, of Blountstown, Florida.

A ‘bump in the road’ is how he describes the devastation from 2018’s Hurricane Michael that he and his wife Linda endured both at their home, as well as at the 18 historical buildings of the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement that the couple founded.

“The most important thing is that no-one was hurt,” said Smith. “I’m so thankful for that. Things can be replaced.”

It took two days after the hurricane before the husband-and-wife team could get to the settlement - a living history museum of structures built between 1820-1940.

Originally created as an ‘attraction’, this pioneer community, consisting of a general store/post office, jail, school, church and turn-of-the-century homesteads, was built to “bring income to Calhoun County.”

“We want people to ‘adopt’ a building, which would involve coming to events, suggesting improvements, and talking about ‘your house’ during these [occasions],” said Smith.

One building for adoption might be the adjacent Blacksmith Shop, the edifice most ‘wrecked’ by the storm.

“The winds [howled] for three hours, at 150 mph,” Smith recalls. “My wife and I were sitting in the house. It was pouring rain. We were 12 miles from the eye, on the east side. ‘Which tree’s gonna go next?’ we wondered. We were out of power for two weeks.”

Still, in spite of the tragedy wrought by the hurricane, Willard Smith remains optimistic about the future of the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement, and Calhoun County as a whole.

“One thing about it, here in Calhoun County, we have strong ethics. It’ll just take a bit to get everything put back together. We didn’t wonder how to fix it…we just ‘grabbed the plow by the handle’ as they say, and went to work,” said Smith. “When I was a boy, you just gritted your teeth and went to work. Do what you gotta do. Don’t sit around and whine.”

And get to work they did.

The old Clarksville Post Office (with a vintage gravity-flow gas pump) has a new life at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement in Blountstown, Florida. The post office now doubles as the settlement’s gift shop and country store, where visitors can purchase eggs from the settlement’s chickens, pioneer toys, and more.

Changing out the glass from the lantern atop the vintage gravity-flow gas pump outside the Clarksville Post Office, removing the tree with gigantic limbs that punched holes in the ceiling of Dr. Dowling’s House, replacing the roof to the Sexton Cabin and salvaging all the interior furnishings.

Amazingly enough, the wooden privy – nothing more than an outdoor toilet constructed of timber – failed to blow away - or even sustain damage.

The Shiloh School lost metal from the roof and the Yon House, with the dog trot – a breezeway separating the bedrooms from the heat of the kitchen – only suffered minor damage.

In spite of the destruction, the Pioneer Settlement is, nonetheless, able to rent out the Red Oak Methodist Church, the clubhouse and the Frink Gym for venues, just like before.

“The hurricane blew open the front door of the Red Oak Methodist Church and with all that pressure, blew out the left-hand wall. We just jacked it back into place,” Smith notes.

As for the Frink Gymnasium, “The original floor cost $600 – the lumber company, plus the community, pitched in to pay for it. Today, to replace the flooring, it was $50,000. We wanted to use yellow pine,” - to make it authentic. “Nowadays, that is more expensive than oak. We just got the new floor put in about a month ago.”

All the photos and memorabilia are back out on display, including one of the original 20 copies of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender , signed by representatives of the Empire of Japan aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, 1945.

The Nazi surrender, by Alfred Jodl, announcing the capitulation of the ‘1000-Year Reich’, has also been returned to its place of prominence on the wall.

“The pictures were all still hanging, but Michael peeled the roof off and we had to drill holes in the floor to get the puddles of water to drain out,” said Smith.

Though FEMA contributed funds for some of the repairs, the rest of the money came from donations and memberships from those who support the Pioneer Settlement and its mission to ‘preserve the old ways’.

For Smith, the biggest concern at the moment is just trying to find volunteers to help get the settlement back like it was.

Though, if a recent ‘Keeping the Old Ways’ Survival Expo, held on the property, was any indication, the Pioneer Settlement is back in business - welcoming guests to come visit the two-room schoolhouse, teaching how to forge metal at the smithy, showcasing the inside the Cobbler’s Shop with its vast array of shoe-making tools, or inviting visitors to simply sit on the front porch of the Clarksville Post Office and gossip about the latest world events, like they used to do.

Generations ago, children sat in the simple schoolhouse that now resides at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement. While the days of classroom education are long behind the old schoolhouse, the structure still offers an educational opportunity to visitors at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement.

In front of the Calabash jail, pretend you’ve been put in the pillory - a wooden device to restrain your head and hands - for public humiliation.

For a real glimpse of frontier life in North Florida, investigate the Conestoga Wagon on-site.

Check out the boudoirs inside the homesteads, at the Bailey Log House and the Wells Home (circa 1862 and 1846, respectively).

Imagine using a crank-style washing machine for laundry, like the one on the Yon House porch.

For genuine retrospection about the days of yore, head over to Doc Dowling’s Office and gaze at the medical ‘instruments’ of the time.

Then, thank your lucky stars it’s 2022.

“Ultimately, we are survivors,” Smith acknowledges. “You have to pull yourself up by your bootstrings and go after it. I’m just so grateful the Panhandle people have helped us these last few years.”

Indeed, after the disaster, when work crews came to Calhoun County, after having just finished cleaning up in New Orleans, they commented on the difference in attitudes between the residents of the two jurisdictions.

“They said all they heard [in Louisiana] was, ‘Where y’all been? We've been waiting.’ Here, we were already out with our chainsaws clearing right-of-ways.”

Panhandle Pioneer Settlement 17869 NW Pioneer Settlement Road, Blountstown (850) 674-2777 panhandlepioneer.org.

Vickie Lillo - Gadsden County News Service

DESTINATION: Going ‘Way Back When’ at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement

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DESTINATION: Going ‘Way Back When’ at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement

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Gadsden County Times Legals – 5/12

THE DIRT ROAD WONDER – Thrift is not a bad word

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