CENTRAL FLORIDA'S FASCINATING HISTORY: Sarah of Lake Conway

The intriguing Sarah of Lake Conway

Solving the Mystery of Orlando’s Origin

A 2020 Women’s Month Special Edition Blog

Sarah of Lake Conway

I recently stumbled across a fascinating 19^th century central Florida lady I’ll call, for the moment, Sarah of Lake Conway. Her married name did not at first set off a red flag for this historian, but if I’ve said it once I’ve likely stated a hundred times – researchers looking to resolve the mystery and intrigue of central Florida history must always look deep into to the genealogy and history of the extraordinary women who assisted in the founding of Florida’s Citrus-Belt.

Sarah of 1874 Lake Conway owned the land inside the red box shown above

I set out to do a series for Women’s History Month about remarkable frontierswomen named Sarah. There were quite a few such fascinating ladies during the 1870s and 1880s, and while researching for that blog, I stumbled upon another - Sarah of Lake Conway.

This particular Sarah acquired Lake Conway land in two purchases during 1874. I want to stress again the year – it was 1874! Her Lake Conway land was well south of Orlando, even south of the historic homestead where Will Wallace Harney had settled only four years earlier. Travel was still difficult at best, although Harney tells us that by 1874 a stagecoach was running from Mellonville to Orlando during the “winter and spring”.

Today, residents cross Sarah’s 1874 property via the historic Nela Avenue, driving through a neighborhood already rich in history. But remember, Sarah acquired her land long before Nela Avenue was ever laid out, and long before the first house was built on the peninsular separating the middle basin of Lake Conway from the lower.

1874 was the year Harney began building his ‘Pine Castle’. He celebrated Christmas that year by throwing an extravagant party at his new home on Lake Conway. But central Florida had yet to build its first railroad, and dirt trails remained the sole means of access land on Lake Conway. It is not known if Sarah attended Harney's Christmas party that year.

“A party from the States,” wrote Harney of an Everglades hunting expedition party from the North, visited him in April 1874, having, “trudged by the Pine Castle”. The dirt path leading from Fort Gatlin south to Lake Tohopekaliga – to the future location of Kissimmee City – was not easily traveled. Still, Sarah of Lake Conway purchased more than a hundred acres on the southwest shore of the lower of three Lake Conway basins.

Having come across this Sarah, I wanted to know why she would have been interested in this remote land?

“Hesperian fables true, If true here only.”

Fewer than 2,200 courageous souls were residents of 1870 Orange County, and the population didn’t increase all that much in the four years to follow. Our Sarah of Lake Conway did move however, relocating from New York City to Marion County, Florida between 1870 and 1874.

She also expressed interest in Orange County land about that same time. But homestead land was cheap and plentiful all along the 25 plus miles between Fort Mellon and Fort Gatlin, the main artery to access Sarah’s property. In fact, after reaching Fort Gatlin, Sarah still had nearly four miles of dirt trail to “trudge” heading to her parcel.

Why didn’t Sarah of Lake Conway simply buy land – one might inquire – at Port of Mellonville, where passengers disembarked the numerous steamboats coming south on the St. Johns River to the wilderness lands of Orange County? Well, that’s where the Sarah of Lake Conway plot thickens!

Sarah’s first land purchase was in fact at Mellonville. She and a brother Thomas purchased Lot 4 of Block 33 at Mellonville, closing on the land deal February 6, 1874. Again – another important date to remember – February of 1874!

Remember Orlando’s Closet?

I released First Road to Orlando in Second Edition in 2015. A history of how the Fort Mellon to Fort Gatlin military trail evolved into the first road to a remote county seat of Orlando, the book is presented in three parts. War to War (Part One) and Trail of Retired Warriors (Part Two) tells of how Mellonville, Fort Reid, Rutledge, Maitland and a mysterious little village of Orlando were founded. Part Three then analyzes the merits of each of a numerous versions as to how the town of Orlando came to be named.

My last chapter in First Road to Orlando in entitled Broome’s in Orlando’s Closet. I present in that chapter my theory about Orlando’s origin – a version never before told. Detailed facts were laid out in that chapter, although gaps admittedly did exist. A mysterious Attorney arrived at the little village of Orlando in 1874, 18 years after the village had been established as the Orange County seat. The Attorney of 1874 had a fascinating family connection to a Florida Governor of 18 years prior.

Documented proof however was missing. Why the attorney happened to come to Orlando that year couldn’t be documented - leaving room for doubt in my 2015 Orlando origins theory.

And then, a few weeks back, I happened upon Sarah of Lake Conway. This remarkable 19^th century lady is the missing link to resolving the amazing origin of Orlando. Next Wednesday, in Part Two of this Two Part Blog, I will introduce you to Sarah and her incredible family - all over again. This time, I'll have the documented evidence to support the theory presented in First Road to Orlando.

5 Star Review at Amazon: "Really enjoyed this book. There are so many interesting facts about Florida and the central Florida area and how we are connected to George Washington."

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