HISTORIC TOURS

Waldo Hardware Store The Waldo Hardware Store is located on the site where the original Entenza Cigar Factory and Waldo Opera House once stood.

LOOKING ACROSS THE STREET ON YOUR LEFT IS:

Sparkman Store The Sparkman Store served generations of Waldo patrons as a grocery store. The corner store was operated by several descendants of pioneer William Sparkman until the 1960s.

ACROSS KENNARD STREET. ON LEFT CORNER IS:

Bank of Waldo The Bank of Waldo was completed in the first decade of the twentieth century. This two-story brick masonry building shows off the skill of master masons Arthur Corthran and James Sanders, members of Waldo’s African American community.

DIRECTLY BEHIND THE BANK BUILDING ON EARLE STREET IS:

Pettit House Built in the 1890s, the one-story Pettit house with its open front porch is located behind the Bank of Waldo. It was the home of Nathan Conan Pettit, who moved into town so that his daughter Effie could attend school. Miss Effie later taught for many years in Waldo.

TWO HOUSES PAST THE PETTIT HOUSE IS:

Harry Agin House Currently located directly across the street from the Waldo Fire Department, this was the home of Harry M. And Mary Bell Agin. He was an engineer for the Seaboard Railroad and in 1919 served as the Mayor of Waldo.

CONTINUE ON EARLE STREET TO:

Methodist Church . This two-story block church was built in 1877.The bell tower was added in 1910.

CONTINUE ON STRAIGHT AHEAD TO THE TWO STORY YELLOW HOUSE WITH SCREENED FRONT PORCH:

Cauthen Boring House This two-story home with a symmetrical facade, stands diagonally on a corner lot across from the Waldo Community School. It was built in the 1880s by Thomas M. Cauthen, an influential member of the Waldo community who operated a wood products business in Waldo.

TO THE RIGHT OF THE CAUTHEN BORING HOUSE:

George Barker House This stately frame vernacular home with victorian embellishments was built by Captain George H. Barker, who operated the wood-burning dredge that dug the canals linking Lake Alto to Lake Santa Fe. He was also the captain of the F.S. Lewis which steamed between Waldo and Melrose.

WALK BACK TO THE METHODIST CHURCH, TURN RIGHT ON WILSON STREET TO STOP SIGN ON CORNER. TURN RIGHT ON COLE STREET TO FIRST HOUSE ON RIGHT 

Renault House This two-story home, with its conspicuous front gable, was the home of Dr. D.L. Renault, from Paris, France, who established a medical practice in Waldo by 1883.

ACROSS THE STREET IS THE CHURCH PARSONAGE (NOW THE LIBRARY) AND TO ITS RIGHT:

The Yerkes Center served two different congregations over the years, but is no longer designated as a religious structure. This Carpenter Gothic church with its tall bell tower was built as the First Presbyterian Church of Waldo in 1884.

TURN LEFT THROUGH THE PARKING LOT. BEHIND THE YERKES CENTER IS:

Jolly House This was the home of Andrew Jolly, born in 1864, who ran apothecary shops for several doctors during the 1880s. His son, Frank, was the town’s druggist during World War I.

ACROSS THE DIRT ROAD IS:

Eastern Star In 1966 Waldo Lodge No. 10, F. & A.M., celebrated its 100 years of progress by laying the corner stone and meeting in the new Masonic Temple on Seydel Street, west of the center of town near the Episcopal Church (now the Yerkes Center).

BACK TO COLE STREET, TURN RIGHT. WALK TO RIGHT CORNER OF WEEKS STREET 

Franklin DeSha House Wooden pegs that joined the beams of the Franklin DeSha house can still be seen in the attic of what is probably Waldo’s oldest home.

CONTINUE ON COLE STREET TO RIGHT CORNER OF KENNARD STREET:

Entenza Cigar Factory Built in 1881. Of the many historical buildings that one might think of now with regret, there remained only the old bank building and the second cigar factory that served as the "temperance hall," the meeting place of the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, and the Pythian Sisters.

CROSS KENNARD TO WALDO ROAD, TURN LEFT TO FIRST BUILDING ON LEFT:

Barber Shop R. P. Longbottom was the barber here in the 1920s. Now houses the Waldo Historical Society Archives.

CONTINUE NORTH TO CASA LOS BRUJAS:

Alexander Store. The Alexander Store, now an antique store, was originally a dry goods emporium.

CONTINUE NORTH TO CORNER OF EARLE STREET

The Sparkman Store A one-story brick structure with opposing entrances.

CROSS WALDO ROAD TO CABOOSE.