Pine Castle Pioneers / Pine Castle Lakes - Part 4 of 4

 

Pine Castle Pioneers / Pine Castle Lakes

Celebrating Pine Castle Pioneer Days ONLINE – Part 4

  

 Northeast Pine Castle Township of 1890

Part 4: The Finale - Pine Castle Pioneers / The Pine Castle Lakes

The greatest concentration of lakes in the 36 square miles of Pine Castle Township are clustered within an area of 9 square miles around Lake Gatlin, the strategic 1838 location of Fort Gatlin, the Army outpost which then became, by 1843, the first Mosquito County settlement south of Lake Monroe.

Fortress Gatlin was built on a spit of land surrounded by three lakes (see star on above map): Gatlin, Jennie Jewel, and Gem Mary. Each of these lakes were named prior to 1870 by pioneers who settled alongside them. Lake Conway, as mentioned earlier in this series, had been named in 1843 by Surveyor Benjamin Whitner in honor of his boss, Valentine Y. Conway, while a fifth lake, second largest body of water in the township, was first named Hogan until a name change in the 1880s made it Lake Jessamine. Hogan is a surname found in the Patrick family – one of the earliest of settlers to arrive in central Florida.

In 1890, Surveyor John Otto Fries prepared a detailed 1890 map often mentioned in this series

Access to water was a priority for every pioneer when selecting their homestead, and so it is easy to understand why the region around Fort Gatlin was among the first areas settled. And it is because this region was settled so early in the settlement of central Florida that we celebrate a Pioneers Days event today. Cypress Grove Park on Lake Jessamine, where the festivities take place when we are not having a pandemic, is also within one mile of where it all began in 1838 - Fortress Gatlin.

A variety of guest speakers were planning to present at the 2021 Pioneer Days event

Across from Cypress Grove Park to the north is historic Lake Holden. Aaron and Isaac Jernigan homesteaded half of Section 10 in 1873, within months of Surveyor Whitner completing this one-square mile section (green square on map above). After the Civil War, William H. Holden began buying land that was being auctioned off by the sheriff for unpaid taxes. He accumulated hundreds of acres including Isaac Jernigan’s old homestead. By 1882, William Holden had a grove of 3,000 orange trees alongside the lake that had by then adopted his name.

South of Section 10, Lakes Tyler (Aaron Jernigan’s son-in-law), Bumby (Immigrant Jesse of England), and Tyner (aka Tiner, the family of Leonard & Mary, including Clement, the son who in 1884 platted the first town site of Pine Castle).

Surveyor Whitner, after mapping 540 square miles of 1840s Mosquito County, selected one lake – Lake Gatlin adjacent to the abandoned fortress, to begin acquiring land in a new Orange County. He purchased two parcels before a town of Orlando was established further north. Whitner also brought members of the Randolph family to the shores of Lake Gatlin, Gem Mary, Jennie Jewel, and Conway. And it was because of Surveyor Whitner that South Florida Railroad, the first railroad to open South Orange County to settlements, laid track from Orlando south to Kissimmee through Pine Castle. Indeed, as far as this author is concerned, Surveyor Benjamin F Whitner was “The Architect” of South Orange County.

Much of this four-part series was extracted from two of my books on central Florida history. Orlando Lakes: Homesteaders & Namesakes, is an encyclopedia of 303 central Florida lakes – who settled each and why? Who named each and why? In 2017, Pine Castle Historical Society awarded me their 2017 Historian Award for my book, Beyond Gatlin: A History of South Orange County.

And there is still so much to talk about!

Next time, let’s meet in person at Pine Castle Pioneer Days

 ALSO,

I have TWO ON-LINE MARCH EVENTS coming up that you might want to watch:

On March 17, 2021, I will be the online guest speaker at the Orlando Remembered Group meeting which begins on Zoom at 9:30 AM. My talk is entitled, Harriett, Henrietta & Orlando’s Girl School, in honor of Women’s History Month (for details email Rick@CroninBooks.com ).

On March 25, 2021, Winter Garden Heritage Foundation is sponsoring my live on-line presentation of, When Winter Garden was Oakland. Details on how to tune in to this special West Orange County presentation will be posted as the date approaches.

IF YOU ENJOY CENTRAL FLORIDA HISTORY, YOU WILL LOVE

  CRONINBOOKS.com

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Visit my Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/richardcronin

 

Read reviews and purchase books at my Author Page above

 

Orlando Lakes: Homesteaders & Namesakes (2019)

THE AWARD WINNING - Beyond Gatlin: A History of South Orange County (2017)

First Road to Orlando (Second Edition 2015)

The Rutland Mule Matter – A Novel (2015)

CitrusLAND: Curse of Florida’s Paradise (Second Edition 2016)

TAVARES: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County (NEW in 2020)

 

Perfect for WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

 

FLORIDA’S INDIAN RIVER DUCHESS

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Author for Pine Castle Historical Society Publication:

Will Wallace Harney – Orlando’s First Renaissance Man