RICHLOAM

This is the site of the former Schroder Land and Timber Company (SLTC) clubhouse. John Schroder, owner of the SLTC, purchased large tracts of land in Hernando and Pasco counties, including the area later known as Richloam. Built around 1916, the clubhouse served as both the company headquarters and the home of its foreman, Lucius Sidney “Sid” Brinson. While SLTC used much of its land for logging and turpentine production, other parts were sold to prospective farmers. The company brought buyers to the area on a train, nicknamed “The Goat,” and the clubhouse included a demonstration farm to showcase local crops. In 1926, SLTC sold the clubhouse and most of its land in the area to the Richloam Land Company (RLC). Hoping to take advantage of the Florida Land Boom, RLC continued to sell lots to new farmers, but had limited success. In 1936, as part of the U.S. Land Resettlement Program, the federal government acquired the land in Richloam from the SLTC, RLC, and other private owners. Some land owners resisted resettlement. The Works Progress Administration began replanting previously clear cut pine trees. In 1954, the State of Florida purchased the Richloam land and incorporated it into the Withlacoochee State Forest.