Hall City, Florida facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hall City, Florida
Former community
Scene at a farm at Hall City, 1915
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Glades
Founded by	G. Barton Hall

Hall City was a planned community in what is now Glades County, Florida. It was started in 1910 by Rev. George F. Hall, a retired Christian minister from Chicago, Illinois. His son, G. Barton Hall, managed the town locally from 1910 to about 1925.

Rev. Hall wanted Hall City to be a "temperance town," meaning no alcoholic drinks were allowed. He also planned to build a "Hall University" there. However, the town did not succeed. Most of the land was later bought by the Lykes Brothers, who still own the original site today.

Founding Hall City: A New Vision

Rev. Hall sold land for Hall City through the mail. People from all over the country, even Alaska, bought plots. Students interested in the new university also bought land. They contacted a realtor named Daniel Lence in Moore Haven.

Life in the Early Community

By 1917, Hall City was a "flourishing community" with about 100 residents. It had a hotel, a store, and several large bungalows (a type of house). Early settlers included W.H. Foote, Tom Smith, John J. Hess, and Carl Beckmire.

Barton Hall, Rev. Hall's son, ran the post office. Mail was brought to the post office from LaBelle by Oliver Bethey. Rev. Hall even named the streets, like "Chicago Avenue" and "Illinois Avenue." Traveling to Moore Haven from Arcadia was a long journey. The Hall City hotel served as a helpful rest stop.

The End of Hall City

The town was abandoned around 1920. By 1985, only a "fine flowing well," which was the town's water source, remained. The land deeds were passed down to the original citizens' families. However, these properties were found to have "very little value."

S.C. "Sonny" Stalls helped his father move the sidewalks from Hall City to Moore Haven. This shows how parts of the old town were reused.

Rev. George F. Hall: The Founder

Rev. George F. Hall was born on February 23, 1864, near Clarksville, Iowa. He was one of six children. George went to Drake University and first thought about becoming a newspaper reporter.

After his mother passed away in the early 1880s, he decided to become a minister. He married Laura Woods, the church organist, at his first church in Kansas. They had three sons: Paul Lyman, George Barton, and Wendell Woods Hall. The family moved often, finding jobs across the Midwest. They lived in Chicago during the World's Fair of 1893 and again in 1900.

Hall's Business Ventures

After preaching for some years, Hall started working with his brother-in-law. They held meetings in different cities. Hall also developed side businesses and investments. He became a published author on Christian topics. This allowed him to buy a large house in Chicago.

By 1910, Dr. Hall had earned a degree from a Bible College. He began looking for new business chances in the South. He and other investors bought land in Louisiana. They hoped to use it for lumber and mining. However, this project failed, causing Hall and his investors to lose a lot of money.

Rev. Hall had big plans for his Chicago church. He wanted to build a huge church with special facilities. But the congregation did not agree with his ideas. So, in 1910, he retired from ministry. He then focused on his new land deal in Florida, which became Hall City.

Hall's Family and Later Life

George's middle son, Barton, went to Florida in 1910 to manage the Hall City project. His youngest son, Wendell, later became a famous pioneer in radio during the 1920s.

Hall imagined Hall City starting with farmers buying land. These farmers would attract merchants. Eventually, students would come to "Hall University." Students would help pay for their education by working in the grapefruit and orange groves around the campus.

George Hall passed away on September 15, 1925, in Chicago. His various business projects had failed. His son Barton learned at the funeral that his father had died without money.

G. Barton Hall: Managing the Dream

Rev. Hall's son, G. Barton (Bart) Hall, was chosen to manage Hall City. Bart was eighteen years old and had just graduated from the University of Chicago's high school program in 1910. He was born in 1892. Bart was a good athlete, playing baseball and basketball.

Bart loaded up a Ford Model A car, which was set up like a camper. He traveled around the Midwest to visit family. Then, he headed to Florida. His job was to start building a town in what was then a wild area of the state.

Early Days in Florida

Bart Hall lived on the second floor of a hotel or boarding house in LaBelle, Florida. This was while he made plans for Hall City. He also spent time in Fort Myers, Florida. He took trips to the Everglades to see the Seminole Indians.

Rev. Hall, other relatives, and a girlfriend from Chicago wrote letters to Bart. They discussed business and family matters. Rev. Hall wrote about his efforts to find investors for the new town.

Documenting Hall City

Bart Hall was interested in photography. He used a Kodak "Picture Postcard" camera to record the early progress of Hall City. This camera made negatives the size of a postcard.

He put some of these pictures into a special album. This album was used to "pitch" or sell land to people interested in moving to Florida. Bart wrote detailed captions for each picture. These captions showed events and people important to the small town's history.

Family and Challenges

While Bart worked on clearing land, he also traveled to find investors. On one trip, he met Bertha Ruhl, whose parents were newspaper editors. They soon married. Their first son, George, was born at "Cozynook Farm," Bart's property in Hall City. Young George was sometimes called the "King" of Hall City.

Bart built and ran the Hall City Hotel and the Hall City Mercantile Company. His younger brother, Wendell, came to Hall City before World War I. Wendell worked for Bart for a short time. Wendell later became a famous songwriter and entertainer in the 1920s. He is known for popularizing the song "It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'".

As World War I began, land sales and profits for Hall City decreased. Bart had to move to Jacksonville for a while. There, he worked for a company that built concrete barges. Bertha became a music teacher, as she was a talented organist. Their second son, William Ruhl Hall, was born in Chicago in 1918 during a family visit.

After Hall City

The situation did not improve after World War I. The plans for Hall City eventually collapsed. The remaining parts of Hall City were sold off, often because taxes were not paid. The Lykes Bros. Corporation bought most of the property.

Bart worked for Standard Oil for a time. He then ran a gas station for a few years. In 1940, he opened a Pepsi-Cola distributorship. Bart and his son William ran the business until William joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1941. Wartime rationing of gas, tires, and sugar caused this business to fail too.

In 1944, Bart and Bertha bought a house in Sarasota, Florida. Bart worked selling ads for a local newspaper. Bart passed away in 1947 during a business trip in Eastman, Georgia.