Frontierswomen
of Central Florida
A
Women’s History Month Tribute
By
Richard Lee Cronin, CroninBooks.com
4
March 2022
Day 4
CitrusLAND is observing Women’s History Month by
honoring extraordinary Central Florida frontierswomen. And as we celebrate
Women’s History Month throughout March, we are also promoting each day a local
History Museum, listing days and hours of operation.
See our History Museum of the Day in this Post
Annie Louise #Caldwell Whitner
arrived at Fort Reid in 1867 (now Sanford), coming from Civil War-torn North
Carolina as a teenager with her parents. Her father, having witnessed too much
misery and pain as a Civil War physician, planned to retire at Fort Reid. But
instead, Dr. Andrew Caldwell, then the only medical doctor anywhere near Fort
Reid, continued to practice, becoming a prominent Sanford area physician.
The Caldwell’s built a home along what this author has
dubbed the First Road to Orlando, a dirt path – the old Indian War military
trail – which connected Lake Monroe with Fort Gatlin and the county seat of
Orlando. So, as a young lady, Annie Caldwell witnessed the influx of newcomers to
an ever-developing Citrus-Belt region. The historic Caldwell residence is still
standing today.
Among Annie Caldwell Whitner’s contributions to Central
Florida were her writings, for much of what we first learned of the earliest
days comes from, ‘An Early History of Orange County,’ authored by Annie
and published in 1915 under her married name, ‘Mrs. J. N. Whitner’. Annie
Whitner’s history was published as part of a “Foreword” in Clarence E. Howard’s
book, Early Settlers of Orange County.’
The Council Oak (1915) photo
included with Annie Caldwell’s History of Orange County
Annie told us of the sacred “Council Oak” at Fort
Gatlin, a live-oak tree that by 1915 was on its final days. Said to have served
as an Indian gathering place, her history included a photo (see above) of a
painting done by J. M. Alden of the sacred tree.
Annie Caldwell Whitner was instrumental in organizing
the first Orange County Historical Society in 1913. Sanford and Fort
Reid were at that time in Orange County and became part of a new Seminole
County in 1913. Annie, in 1927, also served as a consultant for a more detailed
Orange County history authored by Rollins College President, William F. Backman,
A History of Orange County by Blackman was at the time the most
comprehensive history of the county.
The circa 1913 Orange County Historical Society
founded in part by Annie (Caldwell) Whitner, is not the same Orange County society
which exists today. The current society was founded in 1971, and it remains
uncertain how much of the original historical information gathered by the first
society was transferred to the latter. The Council Oak painting, donated in
1971, has not been located to date despite several searches.
[Further reading: Beyond Gatlin: A History of South Orange County, and CitrusLANDFL: Curse of Florida's Paradise, both by Richard Lee Cronin.]
Miss Flora #Call Disney,
said the Orange County Gazetteer of 1887, was the schoolteacher in the little
town of Acron. Today a Lake County Ghost Town, Acron of 1887 was the home of a
Canadian lad named Elias Disney. On January 1, 1888, Miss Flora and Elias
Disney married at her parent’s home in nearby Kismet. Acron and Kismet, both
Orange County towns in 1887, are now Lake County Ghost Towns.
Described in 1887 as a “howling wilderness” when
founded in 1883, Kismet, about 6 miles south of Altoona, can be described today
about the same. Back in 1885 though, Charles Call, Annie’s father, was teaching
school at Kismet.
The freeze of 1894-95 killed many an orange grove,
including the grove of Elias & Flora Disney, so like so many other central
Florida families, the Disney’s moved away. Their son, Walt Disney did return –
and in a big way.
Sarah #Church Whitner,
(1820-1890) after first raising a family at Madison, in Florida’s Panhandle, came
to Fort Reid (now Sanford) after the Civil War, where she made central Florida
history.
Sarah
(Church) Whitner
Sarah partnered with Mary (Pitts) Randolph (see later
post in this series) to manage the first ever free-standing hotel south of Lake
Monroe. Constructed in 1869, Sarah and Mary established the historic Alaha
Chaco, or Orange House Hotel, situated in an orange grove of 40 acres.
Even more than merely managers of the first hotel in
Orange County though, Sarah Whitner and Mary Randolph were the first known
female proprietors in all of Orange County – operating a hotel at a time in
history when women typically did not involve themselves in business. (Note: credit
for establishing the Orange House Hotel has, in the past, been given to William
Mayer Randolph, husband of Mary, and to Fort Reid land agent Matthew R. Marks. Recorded
deeds however prove otherwise).
Sarah was the wife of Benjamin F. Whitner, Jr., the first
surveyor of South Orange County, that region south of Orlando, a region which includes
Lake Conway, the Disney area, Kissimmee, and more. The Whitner’s acquired a
considerable amount of land in the Pine Castle region prior to the Civil War, and
after the war, the family settled at Silver Lake south of Sanford.
Sarah’s husband, Benjamin F. Whitner, was the brother
of Joseph N. Whitner, Sr, and father-in-law of Annie (Caldwell) Whitner first
mentioned in today’s post.
[Further reading: CitrusLAND: Curse of Florida's Paradise; First Road to Orlando, and Beyond Gatlin: A History of South Orange County, each book by Richard Lee Cronin].
Our History Museum of the Day:
STEFFEE HOMESTEAD & MUSEUM
4280
W. Vine Street, Kissimmee, Osceola County
Open
daily 8 AM to 5 PM but call first to verify
407-569-8356
The original 1890 Shingle Creek Cabin, originally used as a family
hunting and fishing camp, sits along the creek. A trail crosses historic Shingle
Creek, near where, in 1890, the Florida Midland Railroad crossed on
its way from Apopka to Kissimmee.
According to the park’s website, bike, canoe, kayak, and
paddleboard rentals are now available.
DON’T
MISS TODAY’S BIG EVENT
LAKE
COUNT RAILROAD HISTORY
Tavares History
Museum 10 AM to 2 PM
Tavares Trains
Presentation by R.
L. Cronin
Tavares Trains
presentations times: 10 AM; 11:30 AM & 1 PM
Questions
or comments? Rick@CroninBooks.com
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