Barberville (FL) (Images of America)

For as long as people have traveled in Central Florida, Barberville has been an important crossroads for their journeys. Native Americans created a trail that crossed the St. John's River, passed through the future Barberville, and continued over the Tomoka River to what is now Ormond Beach. When the Spanish came to Florida, they adopted the path and renamed it the Spanish Trail. As pioneers moved to Barberville in the 1800s, the town served as an intersection linking Pierson and Seville to the north, DeLeon Springs and DeLand to the south, Ormond Beach and Daytona Beach to the east, and Astor and Ocala to the west. As urban sprawl envelops much of Central Florida, Barberville remains a rural, agricultural outpost celebrating and remembering local history and culture and encouraging visitors and tourists to do the same.