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Blanton, located on State Road 41, six miles
west of Dade City, had one or two settlers as early as 1842 when they
came to gain land under the Armed Occupation Act. At that time Blanton
was part of a region known by the Indian name of Toadchudka, meaning
"muddy waters".
At the end of the Civil War more settlers
came. The first of these was Jesse Blanton for whom Blanton was named.
He and his wife, Martha Howell, built a log cabin east of what is now Blanton
Lake. They were from Scevren County, Georgia. Other early settlers
were John Marion O'Berry, James Dowling, Francis Blocker, Jim Wilson,
James Miller, H.J. Charles, and S.O. James. This high pine country
with its hills and abundant springs was especially attractive to
Georgia farmers. Farm crops grew well on the rich fertile land and
birds, fish, and game were plentiful. The land was also cheap to
purchase.
By 1884, Blanton had a post office, a school,
a Methodist church, a shingle mill, a doctor, and a general store.
Mails were received on Mondays and Thursdays and oranges were the
principal shipments. Industries were cattle, turpentine, citrus and
truck farming. Tampa was the closest bank, express, and telegraph
point.
In 1887, the Orange Belt Railroad was routed
through and the community was moved to the west side of the Lake where
it is today. The railroad platted a town and John O’Berry gave
properties for a school, church, and other public buildings. Later,
about the turn of the century, Chipco and Lenard were merged into
Blanton. Blanton appears in the 1918 R. L. Polk Gazetteer and
Business Directory as a community of 50 persons, and in the 1925
edition as having 100 persons.
Life in Blanton, like other communities had
its hardships. In 1918, entire families were stricken by an outbreak
of Spanish influenza. This was made worse by ignorance of treatment.
The death of Emily O’Berry Blocker was said to have been caused by
this influenza.
 Water was also a problem for Blanton folks.
There were few open wells in use, and most people got water from the
branch which was fed from a spring to the North. This caused a Typhoid
outbreak in 1923 and 1924. Malaria was also around since few houses
had screened windows and doors and people were not able to control
mosquitoes. Sore eyes were common among the children and home remedies
such as a banana leaf on the eyes, were applied. Herbs were also
depended on a great deal.
Today, Blanton is a quiet community with a
convenience store, country gas station, and Methodist church. Among
the residents, you will find many descendants of the first settlers.
Citrus, cattle, poultry, soy beans, and grapes are now the major
industry. --
Lora Blocker -- photo "View of
the Lakes" is from Dr. E. E. Schmidt's 1920's Real Estate Promotion |
