The F. B. Knowles Train

This is a photograph from about 1890, taken at the Orlando trainyard with the F.B. Knowles locomotive leading the Dinky train. Francis Bangs Knowles (1823-1890) greatly impacted Winter Park during his time here, which was only seven years total. He made his first trip to Florida at age 60, returning two years later to build a home in Winter Park and to become a founding director of the Winter Park Company with Loring Chase. Knowles played a key role in the founding of Rollins College in 1885, personally financing the campus' first building, Knowles Hall. He lent money for the completion of the Seminole Hotel, gave money towards the construction of the Knowles Public School, and was president of the Orlando-Winter Park Railway, or Dinky Line.

This article was written by former archivist, Barbara White, MLIS.