WILLOW

NAME: Willow
COUNTY: Manatee
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 3
CLIMATE: Fine
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime 		COMMENTS: Take 301 South to near the Hillsborough County Line and turn east on Willow Road. Go to the Dead End and you are in Willow. Few scattered trailers as residents and a large farm. The Gulf Coast Railroad Museum stores it's renovated train cars and those waiting for renovation there at the end of the line. The RR cars are on private property. Be Careful.
REMAINS: Little to none. On the track reportedly is a depot or warehouse. The unused track is quite grown over and you might need a machete to get to the building. Further down the track it is a moderate hike to the broken down RR Bridge across the Little Manatee River. The building is on Private Property. Be careful.

Willow was an established sawmill town by the robbins family. At the site there was once a sawmill, turpentine still, the robbins home, church, general store, workers homes each having a little garden plot, and a house of prostitution. A post office was established there in 1889. The demise of the town was not the rr but the great depression. The price of lumber got so low that the robbins family could not make a living. They closed the mill but allowed all the workers to continue to live in their company homes free of charge with the hope of opening up again soon. Instead they moved the business to tampa and are still there today. The old steam engine that hauled the lumber to market sits on display at their tampa store. The workers either moved to tampa and worked for robbins or moved on. The site of the sawmill and turpentine still are immediately to the south as you face the abandoned tracks. However there are no remains. Submitted by: Mike Woodfin

 This is a correction / update to Willow Fl. I am a member of the Florida Railroad Museum and do a lot of there photography for them. I have uploaded photos of the bridge. The images are about a year old. All of the Willow remains (except the bridge) are now owned by the FRRM and it is all private property and due to recent thefts it is all under cameras now. All that remains are some concrete foundations I will try to forward photos soon. Chances are if someone is in the rail road yard when you are there they will let you go take photos. WARNING if you go to the bridge there is a back way in however this is a very dangerous gang area with lots of dog fighting and other questionable activities use great caution if you go here and do not go alone!!!  It is very easy to get lost if you go in the back way and the image off Google Earth is very old and the roads are not all still there. We were approached within 500’ of going on the property. It is public property but not policed.
Eric Austin
Lightworks Digital Imaging & Photography


Turpentine Still
Courtesy Mike Woodfin


This Steam Engine is the actual engine used at the Willow Sawmill until it was retired. It is on display in front of the Robbins Lumber Office in Tampa.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin


Willow Bridge
Courtesy Eric Austin


Willow Bridge
Courtesy Eric Austin


Remnant of Willow Sawmill
Courtesy Mike Woodfin


Remains of Willow Sawmill
Courtesy Mike Woodfin


Willow Sawmill ruins
Courtesy Mike Woodfin


These ruins were hidden in the scrub until the Florida Railroad Museum uncovered them
Courtesy Mike Woodfin


Willow Sawmill Foundations
Courtesy Mike Woodfin


The Florida Railroad Museum is in the process of building a replica in the vicinity of these ruins but do not plan to disturb the site
Courtesy Mike Woodfin


For information about the Florida Railroad Museum and access to the site contact  them at: www.frrm.org
Courtesy Mike Woodfin


Relic of the Robbins Sawmill at Willow
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

 BACK