Pine Level, DeSoto County, Florida

Pine Level was founded in the 1850s and had bars, saloons, a courthouse, a jail, stores, churches and homes.

In July 1933, the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized the East & West Coast Railway to abandon the tracks from Bradenton to Arcadia.

Compiled in the late 1930s and first published in 1939, the Florida guide listed Pine Level's population as 30 and described the folklore associated with nearby Horse Creek:Before 1880 this and neighboring streams were favorite haunts of 'Alligator' Platt, renowned hunter, whose exploits are preserved in the lore of south Florida.

Platt would shortly reappear, astride his victim, and ride it triumphantly ashore, his thumbs hooked in the 'gator's eyes.

It was easy to capture the biggest saurian that way, with no expense for gunpowder and shell, said Platt, recommending the method to his contemporaries.