The Lake House on Lake Pineloch - Part 2

 

The Lake House

Historic Lake Pineloch – Part 2

The Council Oak by J. M. Alden (c 1915)

 

 

Part 2: The Tree across the Lake

Frances Eppes certainly would have viewed the large Live-Oak while constructing his lakefront residence in 1871, and maybe even visited it, although he made no mention of The Council Oak of Fort Gatlin as far as is known. But a later occupant of the Eppes home however went as far as painting the tree - the sole visual evidence that the Council Oak did in fact exist.

James M. Alden was the “talented artist” identified in 1915 by Anna Louise (Caldwell) Whitner as the person who painted the then dying tree. She also included a photo of Alden’s painting with a written history telling of how the tree had been a meeting place for Seminole Indians. The tree, Anna said, was dead when James M. Alden painted it.

The Council Oak, likely the last painting by James M. Alden, certainly had not been his first. Another painting by Alden was of a historic residence at F Street and 15^th Ave. in Washington, DC. James M. Alden painted that home in 1874, and a copy of that painting graces the cover of, Citrusland, DC: District of Columbians of Florida’s Citrus Belt, by yours truly. The home was described as the residence of the architect of our nation’s White House, but even that painting had not been the first for an artist known as the “Yankee Artist of the Pacific Coast.”

James M. Alden, Yankee Artist of the Pacific Coast

After traveling the Pacific Northwest as a young Naval Officer between 1857-1860, painting such amazing sights as Yosemite Falls, and after service in the Civil War, James M. Alden then spent the next 25 years as Secretary to Admiral Porter at Washington, DC.

A Widower when he retired in 1890, Alden married Frances Hewlett, a retired “DC Clerk”.

Miss Frances Hewlett was already an Orange County landowner when she married James M, Alden in 1890. She had followed the lead of other “DC Clerks” by investing in grove land as early as 1884. After her marriage to Alden, she came to Florida to select their retirement home, and chose the historic Francis W. Eppes residence on Lake Pineloch.

The house had changed hands a few times after the death of Eppes in 1881, so it is unclear if Frances was aware of the historic nature of the home she acquired, but in her purchasing this specific residence, Frances had in fact preserved the home that Francis had built.

 

Author and historian Kena Fries, daughter of Orange County surveyor John O. Fries, wrote Orlando in the Long, Long Ago in 1938. In her book she told of visiting the J. M. Alden home in 1904. She also wrote of the Council Oak, generally believed by historians to have been on the east side of Lake Pineloch. Kena’s account however, despite offering a wealth of information, gave a different location for the tree.

“On the west side of Pine Loch Lake, where the old trail wound its way thru the pine woods, there once stood an immense live oak, said in its glory to have been the largest live oak in all of central Florida. It was known as “Council Oak”, the gathering place of the Seminole warriors. Here it is stated on what seems to be reliable authority, was planned the Dade Massacre and many other sudden attacks on the early settlers.” The “old trail” was indeed on the west side of the lake, but the Council Oak is believed to have been on the east side of the lake.

Council Oak tree bark collected by Kena Fries

Kena went on to explain that the tree had been struck by lightning. “In September 1904,” said Kena, while spending the day with the late J. M. Aldens we rowed across the lake. (If the tree had in fact been on the west side of the lake, Kena would not have had to row “across” to see the tree). While visiting the dead standing tree in 1904 (about the same time Alden painted the tree), Kena Fries “picked up a chip (bark) with the most peculiar markings and shape, closely resembling a watch dog.” She included a photo of the Council Oak’s bark in her book.

Continued below:

Pine Castle Pioneer Days 

The History Tent

Sponsored by Pine Castle Historical Society

Pine Castle Pioneer Days

Cypress Grove Park, 290 W. Holden Ave.

Orlando, Florida

See Part One for Saturday Schedule of Speakers

Sunday, February 27, 2022 Schedule of Guest Speakers

11:00 AM Railroads shaped YOUR Central Florida

by Richard Lee Cronin

Noon Jernigan’s, Patrick’s & early Orange County History by A. Stephen Patrick

1:00 Florida’s World War II Heroes, by Tom Tart

2:00 A Turbulent Decade: Civil War & Reconstruction in Central Florida by Jeff Hooper

3:00 Pine Castle: Today & Tomorrow,

A Panel discussion led by Larry Miles

Each topic will begin promptly at the appointed hour

See Part One for Saturday Schedule of Speakers

 

Continued from above:

 

Pine Castle Pioneer Days is all about celebrating central Florida’s heritage, a history closely tied to Fort Gatlin, the Council Oak, and arguably the Eppes – Alden home - the most historic residence in all Central Florida, a Lake house begun in 1871 by Francis W. Eppes.

 

Kena Fries had come to America as a young girl with her mother, arriving on the Orlando in the late 1870s, coming to Orlando to join her father. John O. Fries who was already working as an Orange County land surveyor.

John Otto Fries had first laid eyes on the village of Orlando on Christmas Day 1871, the year the grandson of President Thomas Jefferson was building a home several miles further south.

Francis Eppes, as far as we know, built the first house on Lake Pineloch, but he was not the first property owner of the acreage upon which he built his house. Eleven years before Eppes started construction of his home, a deed was issued to a remarkable central Florida frontierswoman, a fascinating woman I refer to as, Lady Isaphoenia.

Next Friday, our countdown to Pioneer Days continues with Part 3: The Lady of Lake Pineloch.

Mark your calendar for Pioneer Days

Pioneer Days, February 26 & 27, 2022

Stop by my Central Florida History Booth

Richard Lee Cronin, Author & Historian

www.CroninBooks.com