Wannee was a small town in the late 1800s located at the west end of the Seaboard Coast Railroad. The railroad originated in Starke, went through Alachua and Bell before ending in Wannee, usually making the round trip once a day with a train named "Peggy." This was the first railroad in the area.

You could continue on west by crossing the Suwannee River on a ferry if you wanted. 15 cents for a man and a horse!

Wannee had, in addition to the railroad station, a dock for steamboat traffic, some small dry goods stores, sawmills, saloons and homes.

The Slaughter House (a hotel named after early Slaughter family settlers) was built in Wannee, serving also as post office and general store. It was dismantled when Wannee began to decline in the early 1930s and moved by wagons to Trenton and rebuilt near the then busy railroad depot. Travelers could get a good meal there for a quarter! The hotel suffered extensive damage from a fire in the late 1930s and was eventually cleared away.

The railroad was taken up in 1936. Wannee now serves as a residential community for those who want to live off the beaten path and there is now a public boat ramp near the old hotel and railroad yard location. You can still plainly see the remnants of the dock.

Sun Springs, at the south end of this loop into history is a small community with their own beautiful private fresh water spring.