The Amazing Women of Lakes Lurna & Pineloch

Obscured by a wall of commercial buildings lining the east side of South Orange Avenue is LAKE LURNA, a serene body of water unseen by most who travel this way. The lake’s peculiar name is as mystifying today as the remarkable lady who purchased the acreage fronting three sides of the same lake the year it was christened “LURNA.” A resident of Alexandria, Virginia, Martha J. T. Burke bought the land in 1884. Her husband, John W. Burke, recorded the plat of Lake LURNA that same year.

Lake LURNA was the second Orlando subdivision recorded by “John W. Burke,” the first being 80 acres bordering the west side of 80 acres owned by Francis W. Eppes, the grandson of Thomas Jefferson. The Eppes homestead fronted LAKE PINELOCH, whereas the Burke parcel fronted LAKE JENNIE JEWEL on the south, and present day Pineloch Avenue to the north. Neither Eppes nor Burke purchased their 80 acre lots. Each received deeds to their land through an estate. The grandson of President Thomas Jefferson received his parcel from William M. Randolph. Martha Jefferson (Trist) Burke received her parcel from her deceased parents, Nicholas P. Trist, the former private secretary to President Jefferson and beloved husband of Virginia Jefferson (Randolph).

The plot as they say, thickens! The intrigue however did not begin or end with these two landowners. All 160 acres had previously been owned by a fascinating lady who had begun her life in South Carolina. Her father however had begun his life near Monticello, the Virginia home of President Jefferson. And after the death of Francis W. Eppes, the house he had built on Lake Pineloch was purchased by the bride of a retired Secretary of Navy – both prior residents of Washington, DC.

The Amazing Women of Lakes LURNA & PINELOCH will conclude a 4 Part series presented free of charge to attendees of Pine Castle Pioneer Days, by historian Richard Lee Cronin. Come sit a spell at the Pine Castle Historical Society ‘HISTORY TENT’ on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 2 PM. Allow 45 minutes for the presentation and question-answer period, and then share your family memories and/or photos with members of the Central Florida Genealogical Society who will be on site.

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/events/770691179966824/

Be sure and check out each ‘Top of the Hour: Under the Tent’ presentation of both Saturday & Sunday, offering a different central Florida history topic by a variety of history enthusiasts from 11AM to 3 PM both days.

Note: Lake JENNIE JEWEL is profiled on pages 155-156; Lake LURNA pages 188-189; and Lake PINELOCH pages 237-238 of: ‘Orlando Lakes: Homesteaders & Namesakes’, an Encyclopedia of 303 historic central Florida lakes, by Richard Lee Cronin (Copyright 2019).

VISIT www.CroninBooks.com for more on the fascinating history of central Florida