A History of LAKE UNDERHILL - Part 3

A History of LAKE UNDERHILL

Rick’s CitrusLAND Holiday Blog

Part 3: A General & the Russian

How Lake Underhill got its name is, in my view, one of the great central Florida 19^th century mysteries. Who was Underhill? Who chose the name Lake Underhill? The first reference to this name appeared December 16, 1884, mentioned on a deed conveyed by newlyweds William & Ida Palmer. But by 1884, no fewer than three dozen surnames, (including maiden names of spouses), are traceable to the lake’s homesteaders. Not one of the early landowners appear to be related at an Underhill!

Intriguing Lake Underhill stories add to the mystery of its naming. One 1886 land sale for example, thirteen (13) months after the first document appeared showing the lake’s name, involved Alabama’s Brigadier General, Philip Dale Roddey. General Roddey owned land, described as the, “Southeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section 29, Township 22 South; Range 30 East,” for only five days.

That red square in the above map outlines Roddey’s 40 acre parcel. If you assumed that blue expanse in the map to be water, you are correct. Orlando’s Joe Kittinger’s Park can be seen in the map, at the intersection of Crystal Lake Drive and the East-West Expressway. Did General Roddey buy and sell land that was under water? No!

In 1890, Orange County surveyors made a comprehensive survey of all landowners. The surveyors prepared a map of those landowners, and for the two sections around Lake Underhill, Henry Nicholas Grenside is shown as owner of the 40 acres General Roddey sold in 1886. That 1890 survey work shows that three-fourths of Mr. Grenside’s parcel, immediately south of Norman Robinson’s land, was not inside the lake.

The map of landowners above, sketched in 1890 by Orange County surveyors, is exactly as recorded the year it was prepared. All entries, including the “Lake Underhill” notation at lower left center above, are as the surveyors work was recorded. Above (north) of the lake’s outline is one of the parcels ‘H. N. Grenside’ acquired from General Roddey.

Roddey & Grenside are indicative of central Florida’s worldwide allure that inspired land speculators to find their way to Orange County during the 1880s. Many didn’t even feel the need to step foot in the sunshine state. One such person was an Ex-Confederate General turned 19^th century inventor, Philip Dale Roddey.

Roddey purchased 6,595 Orange County acres in bulk at $1 per acre, and “flipped” the entire packaged deal within five days of his closing, completing both transactions far from Orange County. Grenside, a native of Moscow, Russia, bought all 6,595 acres of Florida land, closing on the deal January 9, 1886. All 6,595 acres changed hands at London’s Westminster Palace Hotel.  

To fully appreciate this unique real estate transaction we need to begin in September of 1883. At that time, England’s Sir James Edward REED purchased 65,000 acres in central Florida, property located mainly in east Orange County. Reed established the Florida Land & Mortgage Co as overseer of his Florida property. Within ten months, December 7, 1884, German Immigrant John Deutschman acquired 80 of Reed’s 65,000 acres, land located along the east and northeast shore of a lake identified that same month, in a deed issued by William & Ida May Palmer, as Lake Underhill. The Deutschman property can be seen on the 1890 survey of landowners above.

Central Florida’s Lake Underhill not only had a name at the dawn of 1885, the east Orange County lake had also become an American melting pot. Surrounding a body of water that for decades had remained nearly uninhabited, in less than a decade, land encircling the lake was owned by individuals from around the globe.

A Florida-Georgia family, MIZELL, had been joined by Irish Immigrant EAGAN; followed by two ROBINSON brothers, one from Michigan, the other from Kentucky. SINCLAIR of New England arrived, and enticed a DUNCAN family from Canada, as well as the CHURCH family of England. Ida of Mississippi added to an American born clan, followed by a German named DEUTSCHMAN. The great-granddaughter of our President Thomas JEFFERSON even owned land for a time along the lake’s shore.

To add to the melting pot, General RODDEY of Alabama travelled to England, set up a temporary home at perhaps London’s most glamorous hotel, in hopes of selling a patent, and instead acquired, for a few days, 6,595 Orange County acres, all of which he sold to Henry Nicholas GRENSIDE, a resident of England, and native of Moscow, Russia.

  

One particular parcel Roddey sold to Grenside separated Lake Underhill from the 80 acres owned, for nearly a decade, by Norman Robinson. Varying central Florida lake levels was the culprit that disappointed many a 19^th century landowner who had thought they acquired lakefront property. Deeds were issued referencing ‘Government Surveys,’ of the 1840s. A 1880s London buyer therefore could unwittingly buy a central Florida wetland.

Lake Underhill had a name by December 16, 1884, but where did that name originate? Homesteaders often named their lakes for loved ones, or places back home. Sometimes lake names changed over time. Lake Arnold, south of Underhill, started out as Lake Vernon. East Colonial Drive’s Park Lake was originally Lake Leora, named for the wife of Norman Robinson.

The military also named a few lakes in the 1840s, such Lake Harney and Lake Jesup. Lakes Conway and Butler were named for early Florida Surveyors, and some lakes are now known by the name given to them by American Indians. But who was Underhill? Or perhaps I should ask, where was Underhill?

No Underhill family homesteaded near the lake prior to its naming, nor was the name a maiden name of any spouse. No one settling around the lake can be traced to a place called Underhill - No one, that is, except ONE lakeside resident. Any you will soon meet her!

Thursday, December 21, 2017, in time for Christmas, is the conclusion to this four part series: A History of Lake Underhill, Part Four: Naming Lake Underhill!

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References are available upon request, email Rick@CroninBooks.com

Author Richard Lee Cronin

Proud recipient of the 2017 

Pine Castle Historian Award