Located approximately one-half mile to the northwest was the site of the Drew Mansion, home of George F. Drew, governor of Florida during the difficult period of readjustment following Civil War Reconstruction from 1877 to 1881. Built in the late 1860's, the two-story mansion, with its color-matched oak parquet floors, was surrounded by formal gardens and was one of the first homes in the area to have modern utilities. This once elegant Florida landmark was destroyed by fire in 1970. Closely related to George F. Drew's career was the sawmill and manufacturing complex of Ellaville, which he established in the mid-1860's. Route 90 led through this town of several hundred people. The ruins of the sawmill stand on the west bank of the Withlacoochee River near its confluence with the Suwannee. Ellaville flourished as long as the yellow pine lasted, declined after 1900, and ceased to exist when the post office closed in 1942.