George McCulloch's Hand Drawn Map

Have you ever wondered how Tosohatchee came up with all those interesting names for their campsites and trails -- like Bear Heads, Tiger Branch and Whet Rock. Well they weren't all made up. Most of them came from George McCulloch's incredibly detailed hand drawn map of Tosohatchee.1 It shows all the trails, roads, campsites, creeks, ponds and many other natural features within Township 23 South, Range 34 East. The map also shows the Beehead Ranch with all its infrastructure including the barns, dipping vats and even the fences.

Surprisingly the map doesn't have the Ranch House labeled, although there is a box drawn where it should be. Maybe it was still under construction back then. Also one of the barns (the small one) is called a log cabin. I've seen it called that on another site as well. There's even a "rock" identified near the log cabin. This, I believe, is the Charlie Rock Cottage that Ed Fishback talks about in his memories of Tosohatchee.2

I wish George had dated his map. I suspect it was drawn probably around the time when the Tosohatchee Ranch was still active, which would have been sometime around 1915 to 1925.

The following is list of place names found on the map.

  1. 4 Cabbages
  2. Bear Heads
  3. Big Bee Head
  4. Big Oak
  5. Bonnet Holes
  6. Bottle Camp
  7. Briar Branch
  8. Buck Island
  9. Camp Blanton
  10. Crow Lake
  11. Dead River
  12. Dip Vat
  13. Ditch
  14. Eagle Nest (2)
  15. Elbow Sappling
  16. Fence Gap (3)
  17. Flowing Well (3)
  18. Game Breeding Ground
  19. Gate
  20. Locked Gate
  21. Hodge Landing
  22. Jim Creek
  23. Joe Camp
  24. Little Bee Head
  25. Little Swamp
  26. Log Cabin
  27. Long Bluff
  28. Mound
  29. Mud Lake
  30. Mule Pen
  31. Old Dead River
  32. Otter Bluff
  33. Paw Paw Mound
  34. Persimmon Hammock
  35. Pine Island
  36. Possum Bluff
  37. Rock
  38. Second Creek
  39. Settlement Slough
  40. Tiger Branch
  41. Tucker Pond
  42. Walts Camp
  43. Whet Rock

Maps

George McCulloch's Hand Drawn Map of Tosohatchee

GPS Data

I was able to project the hand drawn map onto a more recent topographical map and extract the following GPS data. Since the map is hand drawn, the coordinates and tracks could be off by as much as several hundred feet or more.

File Formats Downloads
TopoGraphix ExpertGPS hand_drawn_map.gpx
Google Earth hand_drawn_map.kmz

Foot Notes

  1. George McCulloch's hand drawn map of Tosohatchee can be seen at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando, Florida.
  2. Memories of Ed Fishback (5-19-1994) held at the Tosohatchee WMA Office in Christmas, Florida.

Back

Previous

Next

Last updated on 30-Aug-2009