A History of LAKE UNDERHILL - Part 4 The Finale

A History of LAKE UNDERHILL

Rick’s CitrusLAND Holiday Blog

Part 4: The Finale - Naming Lake Underhill

What’s in a name?

Names of 19^th century streets, lakes, and towns are oftentimes clues to discovering the story of that area. South Street makes little sense, for instance, until one realizes the street had been the southernmost east-west artery of the 1880 town of Orlando. The name even makes more sense when considering North Street, its original counterpart, existed until its name was changed to Robinson Street. Half way between the two was, and remains, Central Avenue.

Lake Underhill looking east from Orlando’s Joe Kittinger Park

Misspelled by the surveyor hired to lay out Jacob Summerlin’s, ‘Add to Orlando’, the town’s iconic Lake Eola (blog of 12/6/2016), was intended as a memorial to Eula, one pioneer’s childhood sweetheart. The 1840s Reed misspelling, a fort named for Florida Territorial Governor Reid, father of Orlando’s 1867 rescuer, Robert R. Reid, (blog of 8/14/2015), confused history with the unrelated Sir James Edward Reed (Part 3 of this blog). Maitland, the lake, town and streets, were all named for died in Florida’s Second Seminole Indian War, whereas the town’s Lake Sybelia was named following the death, at a young age, of the first wife of one of Maitland’s early town developers.

Names indeed provide clues for researching central Florida’s early history. Sanford got its name from Henry S. Sanford, the town’s founder, whereas the name Orlando had long remained a mystery in large part because of a false narrative regarding a Mythical soldier. Place names truly serve as an excellent starting point for searching the past, and so as I began researching this Lake Underhill blog, I began looking as well for the one person responsible for selecting the name, and why.

As established in Part 3 of this blog, the earliest verifiable use of the name Underhill at this east Orange County location was December 16, 1884. A deed written by newlyweds William & Ida Palmer made reference to the shoreline of “Lake Underhill.”

Surveyed as an unnamed ‘pond’ in 1843, the Palmer deed opened a 40 year window for possible pioneers to have named the lake. But the name Underhill is rare in all of pre-1885 central Florida. Lakes Conway & Butler were named for Survey Generals; Lakes Eustis & Harney for Generals serving in Florida’s Indian Wars; Lakes Anderson & Holden for early homesteaders on those lakes. But even with these examples in hand, the search for an Underhill in central Florida repeatedly came up empty handed.

Twenty-one (21) known pre-1885 landowners fronting Lake Underhill, including 38 confirmable spouse surnames, failed to reveal a connection to an Underhill family name or place. So, believing I had hit that proverbial brick wall, I started drafting a conclusion for this blog by telling of the many other ongoing mysteries, and suggesting the lake may remain one such example. I did not want to admit defeat in my research though, and so I dug deeper, deciding to research further the first known users of the name, William & Ida (Babbitt) Palmer.

My belief as to how Lake UNDERHILL got its name:

A 15 year old in 1880, Miss Ida May Babbitt was residing at Louisville, KY with her teacher, Miss Henrietta Barbaroux. Four years later, November 19, 1884, the 19 year old Ida (still a minor at that time) married William D. Palmer. The wedding took place at Louisville, KY, with one witness being Henrietta Barbaroux.

Newlyweds William D. & Ida M. Palmer, in 1885, lived with Henrietta Barbaroux at Summerlin Hotel in Orlando, FL. Ida stated in the Orange County census that year that her birthplace was Natchez, Mississippi (line 2 below). Henrietta Barbaroux gave her birthplace as Louisville (line 3 below).

1885 Census of Orlando, Orange County, Florida

Henrietta consistently listed her birthplace as Kentucky. Ida May consistently gave her birthplace as Mississippi. Why was the young girl from Mississippi not living with her parents? Why were Ida Babbitt and Henrietta Barbaroux always living together? More importantly for my blog’s ending, could Ida and Henrietta lead me to learning the long forgotten reason for naming Lake Underhill?

The girl from Natchez, Mississippi:

1880 May 1: “NOTICE to NON-RESIDENTS: State of Mississippi, Adams County: In the matter of Ida Babbit, a minor, is absent from this State, and now in Louisville, KY, her post office address being “care of Miss Henrietta Barbaroux.” This ad, notice of an impending auction of Natchez property, directed my attention away from Louisville and toward the birthplace of Ida. Only then did I find the answer I had been searching for. That, or I stumbled upon the most remarkable coincidence ever.

Ida May Babbitt, a minor, owned an eighth interest in “Brighton”, a 170 acre estate situated on “Second Creek.” A plantation, the parcel had belonged to Ida’s deceased grandfather, Charles W. Babbitt. Ida and her brother were each due a portion of the grandfather’s estate because their father, Adam, had died in 1867 from injuries he had sustained during the Civil War. Ida’s mother was also deceased, so in 1880, a sister of Adam Babbitt had become the Guardian of Ida May Babbitt, a minor child.

“Natchez, which is situated on the east bank of the Mississippi River, 280 miles, by water, above New Orleans.” The newspaper Marshall County Republican, in an 1875 article describing several Mississippi River towns, wrote this of the river port city: “It is built on the summit of a bluff 150 feet above the water, and on the narrow strip of land between the foot of the hill and the river. The latter portion of the city goes by the soubriquet of ‘Natchez Under-the-Hill’, or Natchez Landing.”

Born at Natchez, Ida May Babbitt traveled the Mississippi to and from Louisville, KY, where she lived with a ‘family friend’ Henrietta Barbaroux. Because Ida was not of age, court records maintained an ‘estate’ for the minor child, records of income received and expenses paid. Expense receipts establish that Ida had returned home on occasion, once within six months of her wedding. After shopping at Chamberlain & Patterson on the 6^th of May, 1884, Ida may Babbitt would have departed from the port of Natchez Under-the-Hill to return to Louisville, KY for her November marriage.

Natchez, Mississippi receipt, Miss Ida Babbitt, May 6, 1884

Seven months after shopping at Natchez, six months after walking down the aisle to marry William at Louisville, KY, Mrs. Ida May (Babbitt) Palmer, and her husband, signed three deeds, each at Orlando, FL, on 16 December, 1884. Each deed made reference to “Lake Underhill.”

Natchez, Under the Hill, source Library of Congress

I believe Lake Underhill at Orlando, Florida was named for a notorious Mississippi River port at the foot of Natchez, a riverside area known, even today, as Natchez Under-the-Hill. And now that you know my theory, let me know what you think.

CitrusLAND wishes you and yours a MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR. This Blog returns in January, 2018 with the first of a New Year chock full of fascinating central Florida history & mystery. January’s Series: WEKIVA MISFITS.

 www.CroninBooks.com is your one-stop

CENTRAL FLORIDA HISTORY STORE

References are available upon request, email Rick@CroninBooks.com

Author Richard Lee Cronin

Proud recipient of the 2017 Pine Castle Historian Award

A History of LAKE UNDERHILL - Part 3

A History of LAKE UNDERHILL

Rick’s CitrusLAND Holiday Blog

Part 3: A General & the Russian

How Lake Underhill got its name is, in my view, one of the great central Florida 19^th century mysteries. Who was Underhill? Who chose the name Lake Underhill? The first reference to this name appeared December 16, 1884, mentioned on a deed conveyed by newlyweds William & Ida Palmer. But by 1884, no fewer than three dozen surnames, (including maiden names of spouses), are traceable to the lake’s homesteaders. Not one of the early landowners appear to be related at an Underhill!

Intriguing Lake Underhill stories add to the mystery of its naming. One 1886 land sale for example, thirteen (13) months after the first document appeared showing the lake’s name, involved Alabama’s Brigadier General, Philip Dale Roddey. General Roddey owned land, described as the, “Southeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section 29, Township 22 South; Range 30 East,” for only five days.

That red square in the above map outlines Roddey’s 40 acre parcel. If you assumed that blue expanse in the map to be water, you are correct. Orlando’s Joe Kittinger’s Park can be seen in the map, at the intersection of Crystal Lake Drive and the East-West Expressway. Did General Roddey buy and sell land that was under water? No!

In 1890, Orange County surveyors made a comprehensive survey of all landowners. The surveyors prepared a map of those landowners, and for the two sections around Lake Underhill, Henry Nicholas Grenside is shown as owner of the 40 acres General Roddey sold in 1886. That 1890 survey work shows that three-fourths of Mr. Grenside’s parcel, immediately south of Norman Robinson’s land, was not inside the lake.

The map of landowners above, sketched in 1890 by Orange County surveyors, is exactly as recorded the year it was prepared. All entries, including the “Lake Underhill” notation at lower left center above, are as the surveyors work was recorded. Above (north) of the lake’s outline is one of the parcels ‘H. N. Grenside’ acquired from General Roddey.

Roddey & Grenside are indicative of central Florida’s worldwide allure that inspired land speculators to find their way to Orange County during the 1880s. Many didn’t even feel the need to step foot in the sunshine state. One such person was an Ex-Confederate General turned 19^th century inventor, Philip Dale Roddey.

Roddey purchased 6,595 Orange County acres in bulk at $1 per acre, and “flipped” the entire packaged deal within five days of his closing, completing both transactions far from Orange County. Grenside, a native of Moscow, Russia, bought all 6,595 acres of Florida land, closing on the deal January 9, 1886. All 6,595 acres changed hands at London’s Westminster Palace Hotel.  

To fully appreciate this unique real estate transaction we need to begin in September of 1883. At that time, England’s Sir James Edward REED purchased 65,000 acres in central Florida, property located mainly in east Orange County. Reed established the Florida Land & Mortgage Co as overseer of his Florida property. Within ten months, December 7, 1884, German Immigrant John Deutschman acquired 80 of Reed’s 65,000 acres, land located along the east and northeast shore of a lake identified that same month, in a deed issued by William & Ida May Palmer, as Lake Underhill. The Deutschman property can be seen on the 1890 survey of landowners above.

Central Florida’s Lake Underhill not only had a name at the dawn of 1885, the east Orange County lake had also become an American melting pot. Surrounding a body of water that for decades had remained nearly uninhabited, in less than a decade, land encircling the lake was owned by individuals from around the globe.

A Florida-Georgia family, MIZELL, had been joined by Irish Immigrant EAGAN; followed by two ROBINSON brothers, one from Michigan, the other from Kentucky. SINCLAIR of New England arrived, and enticed a DUNCAN family from Canada, as well as the CHURCH family of England. Ida of Mississippi added to an American born clan, followed by a German named DEUTSCHMAN. The great-granddaughter of our President Thomas JEFFERSON even owned land for a time along the lake’s shore.

To add to the melting pot, General RODDEY of Alabama travelled to England, set up a temporary home at perhaps London’s most glamorous hotel, in hopes of selling a patent, and instead acquired, for a few days, 6,595 Orange County acres, all of which he sold to Henry Nicholas GRENSIDE, a resident of England, and native of Moscow, Russia.

  

One particular parcel Roddey sold to Grenside separated Lake Underhill from the 80 acres owned, for nearly a decade, by Norman Robinson. Varying central Florida lake levels was the culprit that disappointed many a 19^th century landowner who had thought they acquired lakefront property. Deeds were issued referencing ‘Government Surveys,’ of the 1840s. A 1880s London buyer therefore could unwittingly buy a central Florida wetland.

Lake Underhill had a name by December 16, 1884, but where did that name originate? Homesteaders often named their lakes for loved ones, or places back home. Sometimes lake names changed over time. Lake Arnold, south of Underhill, started out as Lake Vernon. East Colonial Drive’s Park Lake was originally Lake Leora, named for the wife of Norman Robinson.

The military also named a few lakes in the 1840s, such Lake Harney and Lake Jesup. Lakes Conway and Butler were named for early Florida Surveyors, and some lakes are now known by the name given to them by American Indians. But who was Underhill? Or perhaps I should ask, where was Underhill?

No Underhill family homesteaded near the lake prior to its naming, nor was the name a maiden name of any spouse. No one settling around the lake can be traced to a place called Underhill - No one, that is, except ONE lakeside resident. Any you will soon meet her!

Thursday, December 21, 2017, in time for Christmas, is the conclusion to this four part series: A History of Lake Underhill, Part Four: Naming Lake Underhill!

 www.CroninBooks.com is your one-stop

CENTRAL FLORIDA HISTORY STORE

References are available upon request, email Rick@CroninBooks.com

Author Richard Lee Cronin

Proud recipient of the 2017 

Pine Castle Historian Award

A History of LAKE UNDERHILL - Part 2

A History of LAKE UNDERHILL

Rick’s CitrusLAND Holiday Blog

Part 2: A Louisville School Board (or two)

Three huge land deals, involving millions of central Florida acres, ignited what can best be described as a mediocre 1880s surge in Orange County’s growth. Hamilton DISSTON had started the surge by purchasing four (4) million acres. Disston in turn inspired two British groups, working independent of one another, to acquire thousands of acres at Sanford as well as a large portion of a desolate East Orange County.

Looking west today across Lake Underhill toward Orlando skyline

Included in the millions of acres changing hands during the 1880s was a tiny parcel on the northeast shore of Lake Underhill. Currently an Orlando Executive Airport runway, the parcel was purchased in 1884 by a German immigrant. By that time though, much of the lake shore had already become private property. Philadelphia’s Hamilton Disston and the two British investors indeed triggered a growth surge, but interest in the Lake Underhill area itself appears to be more the result of migrating Kentuckians.

#Louisvillians to be precise!

The red rectangle on the Orange 1888 map above outlines the area of present day Lake Underhill. The two townships (each square on map) east of Orlando shows little to no settlement as of that year. The lake doesn't even appear on this map.

A Louisville Editor and Educator:

Students of central Florida history might assume, incorrectly, that I’d be referring to Pine Castle’s Will Wallace Harney in stating a school principal turned newspaper editor was an early Lake Underhill homesteader. Harney settled on Lake Conway, moving from Louisville in 1869, where he had been both an editor and school principal. Harney built a home of native pine trees on a lake shore, thereby inspiring the naming of the town.

But another Louisville editor and school principal, Norman Robinson, came to Orlando a decade after Will Wallace Harney. Robinson bought numerous parcels around central Florida, including 80 acres on the north shore of Lake Underhill. Planes taxi today on land once owned by Norman Robinson, a New York native who had relocated at a young age to Louisville, Kentucky.

Norman became so engaged in land development at central Florida that he convinced a brother to relocate to Orlando as well. That brother, Samuel A. Robinson, eventually became a prominent Orange County Surveyor.

Norman Robinson maintained dual citizenship, for in 1879, in addition to being an Orlando land developer, he was still Principal of Louisville’s Holyoke Academy. He and Leora Bettison Robinson, his wife and an acclaimed author, also taught at Holyoke Academy. Prior to the school, Norman had been editor of Louisville’s Western Recorder, a Baptist newspaper still operating today.

Norman & Leora settled near downtown Orlando, where CATHCART Avenue of today crosses Colonial Drive (CATHCART was Leora’s mother’s maiden name). The acreage Norman bought at Lake Underhill sat about 2 miles due-east of Orlando, a trek made much easier today simply by taking Robinson Avenue due east from Cathcart to the road’s end at Orlando Executive Airport.

The Robinson Brothers’ 1880s landholdings were widespread. They were among the first, for example, to plat an Addition to Kissimmee City, and they expanded Orlando as well. Norman acquired land on the north shore of Lake Underhill as well, whereas Samuel, he selected acreage along the south shore. Today, Lake Underhill Park and boat ramp sits upon property originally owned by Samuel A. Robinson.

Snowbirds began taking interest in the quiet lakeside seclusion east of the county seat, largely due to the Robinson’s. Northerners such as Henry CONANT, a New York City piano manufacturer; Alexander DUNCAN, a Toronto Police Sargent; and a British emigrant turned citrus farmer, Hugh B. CHURCH, each celebrated the 1884 New Year as Lake Underhill neighbors, enjoying the Sunshine State far from the frigid North that each had long been accustomed.

Who else? Well, Benjamin B. ELSE! He too lived on lakefront acreage that, as far as Orange County recorded documents reflect, did not yet have a formal name.

The ‘OTHER’ Louisville Girls School:

As the Robinson brothers were taking interest in the body of water now known as Lake Underhill, the town of Louisville, Kentucky was still harboring two key players in the story of our East Orlando Lake. Both were school teachers!

Ida M. Babbitt celebrated her 15^th birthday at Louisville in 1880, but not while living with her parents. Ida was living with Henrietta Barbaroux, founder and principal of Barbaroux’ School for Girls. Three years later, at age 18, Ida listed her occupation in an 1883 Louisville Directory as “teacher.” She was still living with Miss Barbaroux.

Meanwhile, back at Orlando, heirs of Sheriff David W. Mizell, Jr., the first landowner on Lake Underhill, sold their lakefront property November 13, 1884. Three recorded deeds, having a combined five (5) pages, described the acreage sold without ever mentioning a name of the lake bordering one side of the land.

William D. PALMER, a native of Monticello, Jefferson County, Florida, bought the land from the Mizell family, days before departing for Kentucky. Six (6) days after the Lake Underhill deed had been signed, William married at Louisville. His bride was a school teacher, Miss Ida May Babbitt, and so the Lake Underhill plot thickens.

How do I know, you might ask, that it’s the same Babbitt? Within one month of their marriage, William D. & Ida M. Palmer were living at the Summerlin Hotel, in downtown Orlando. The Summerlin Hotel manager was Miss H. Barbaroux, who would go on to establish the Cathedral School for Girls at Orlando.

The Palmer newlyweds also made their first land sale of acreage William had purchased only days before their wedding. The deed the couple signed as Mr. & Mrs. Palmer included descriptive language of the property location, including the sentence: “Thence south along LAKE UNDERHILL.” 

The Palmer land sale of December 16, 1884 by the is the first known recorded document referencing the name Lake Underhill. That 12 acre parcel was purchased by Elizabeth Harn, wife of Sam Harn, an Orlando Realtor. The very same parcel is today Colonel Joe Kittinger Park.

Two central Florida lakes became home, in 1860, to a prominent citizen named David W. Mizell. A father and son, both were well-known to local history. Senior chose his parcel on Lake Conway, across from an ex-Louisville High School principal who went on to become an Editor at the Louisville Democrat newspaper. Junior selected acreage on a lake destined to become Lake Underhill, across the shore from where a one- time Editor of Louisville’s Western Recorder turned High School Principal homesteaded 80 acres. The coincidence of history is very often amusing, but even more so here in central Florida.

The first Lake Underhill parcel settled in 1860 went on to become, in 1884, the first recorded deed to establish the lake’s name as Underhill, a name not easily found in the annals of central Florida history. The Palmer’s sold additional lots as “Lake Underhill”, adding to a growing list of lake shore residents. Part Three of this Blog will introduce you to an Arkansas Brigadier General and his Moscow, Russia buyer, as our Holiday event, A History of Lake Underhill, continues. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, check out...

www.CroninBooks.com - your one-stop

CENTRAL FLORIDA HISTORY STORE

References are available upon request, email Rick@CroninBooks.com

Author Richard Lee Cronin

Proud recipient of the 2017 Pine Castle Historian Award

A History of LAKE UNDERHILL - Part 1

A History of LAKE UNDERHILL

Rick’s CitrusLAND Holiday Blog

Part 1: A Familiar Story; a Familiar Surname

Vehicles by the thousands scurry across the hectic overpass daily while their first time occupants consider ducking, so as to avoid all the low flying aircraft. Planes make a final approach above the traffic, each one aiming for a landing strip that begins at water’s edge, on the north side of Orange County’s 408. On the bridge’s south side, pleasure boats pulling skiers maneuver in and out of a maze of wave runners, while joggers watch the action from a popular lakeside trail. With so much occurring at this location, one might easily forget that at the center of it all is a mysterious body of water, known today as Lake Underhill.

East-West Expressway (The 408) at Lake Underhill

The East-West Expressway slices the lake in half. Also known as the 408, travelers on the east-west toll road have long used the expressway to access East Orange County. In fact, locals have either crossed over or driven around this lake for nearly a century.

An ‘Orlando, Underhill & Conway Express Wagon’ carried passengers and freight here as the 1880s, leaving Conway at 8:30 AM twice weekly, passing through “Underhill” about 9 AM, and arriving in Orlando ‘about’ 9:30 AM. For anyone desiring to return, the ‘wagon’ departed Orlando at 11:30 AM. The roundtrip fare was 40 cents. What then is the story of Lake Underhill? Who first settled at this body of water destined to become Lake Underhill? Or for that matter, who was Underhill?

The lake was not shown on maps prior to 1880, but an Official 1890 Orange County map not only shows the lake, it identifies the body of water as Lake Underhill.

A Familiar Story:

The lake’s absence from 1880 and earlier maps is misleading. Early pioneers arriving in Central Florida first settled alongside a narrow north-south artery, a dirt trail known as Fort Mellon to Fort Gatlin Road. This old forts trail is one and the same as the route I call First Road to Orlando (2015 by Richard Lee Cronin). Leaving Lake Monroe, the 1838 trail led south to towns; Maitland, Orlando, and eventually Pine Castle.

The earliest pioneers ventured into West Orange County as well, homesteading along yet another military trail, but prior to 1880, few had ventured east into the county. The end result was East Orange County developed much later than the western half.

Surveyors of the 1840s though had charted the entire county. In spring of 1843, Deputy Surveyor Henry Washington completed surveying Township 22 South; Range 30 East, the region that included Lake Underhill. Washington’s survey provides our first look at Lake Underhill, and also sheds light on why the 408 slices through the center of the lake today.

1843 Land Survey by Henry Washington

Lake Underhill is shown to straddle Sections 29 & 30

Lake Underhill straddles two, one-square mile survey ‘Sections,’ numbers 29 and 32. Each ‘Section’ contains 640 rounded acres. Between 1842 and 1900, most homesteads most were issued in 40, 80, 120 or 160 acre increments. Deeds were issued using legal descriptions from these 1840s surveys. As the ‘Section” line sliced through the body of water east-west known today as Lake Underhill, the dividing line for early property owners likewise cut through the lake’s center. As roads were needed, roads most often kept to the property edges. Hence, the East-West Expressway’s alignment!

Henry Washington called the water feature he surveyed in 1843 a “pond.” This was not unusual. Few lakes were named by the 1840s surveyors mapping them.

Most central Florida lakes were named by homesteaders and developers, with names often being family surnames or locale names. Lake Conway, for example, was named for Valentine Y. Conway, Florida’s General Surveyor at the time the lake was surveyed.

The Familiar Surname:

MIZELL is a central Florida pioneer surname most often associated with Harry P. Leu Garden’s, or perhaps the 600 acre Lake Conway estate. Widow Angeline Mizell did not however acquire the Leu Gardens land until after her husband’s death, while that huge estate fronting Lake Conway belonged to the Widow’s father-in-law.

Like father, like son, David W. Mizell, Sr. & Jr. selected lakefront property in 1860.

The first landowner on the shore of future Lake Underhill was David W. Mizell, Jr, a native of Florida born 1833. He bought this parcel August 1, 1860, at the same time his father, David W. Mizell, Sr. began accumulating acreage on Lake Conway.

Within one year of the land purchases, Junior and his brothers went off to fight in the Civil War. Surviving the War, David returned to Orange County only to die in an 1870 hometown ambush while he was surviving as Orange County Sheriff.

At the time of Junior’s death in 1870, his land was nearly two miles east of the tiny four (4) acre county seat of Orlando. Not until 1875 did Orlando incorporate, and even then, further development was at a snail’s pace. The lake destined to be Underhill remained well outside of city limits, although at this time, the lake did begin attracting a little attention from outsiders.

EAGAN of Florida’s Panhandle

Kate E. EAGAN, of Madison County, Florida, purchased 40 acres adjacent to and west of the Widow MIZELL’S property. Kate’s deed was dated December, 1875, and had been signed by several Florida Officials, including the Land Commissioner, Dennis EAGAN.

Dennis & Kate (LIVINGSTON) EAGAN were newlyweds. A Wisconsin native, Kate was born out west while her father served as a Registrar of Lands. The family moved back to Brooklyn, NY by 1870 though, in time for her to meet and marry Dennis, an Irishman and Union Infantryman, in 1873. After the wedding, the Eagan’s moved to Florida.

The Eagan’s purchased land throughout Orange County, but on January 1, 1877, the couple purchased 40 acres south of and adjacent to Widow MIZELL. Dennis and Kate however did not relocate to central Florida.

Another 1870s land transaction occurred September 10, 1879. Widow Mizell deeded a 40 acre parcel adjacent to the south property of her EAGAN neighbor. This parcel was deeded over to Widow Mizell’s daughter, Lula and husband, Humphrey T. ARNOLD.

1880: (1) MIZELL land; (2) EAGAN land; (3) ARNOLD land

At the close of the 1860s decade only one individual owned land at Lake Underhill. By the end of the following decade, three (3) individuals owned the west lakeshore: Mizell (#1 on map); Eagan (#2 on map) and Arnold (#3 on map). Two of these three parcels were vacant of homeowners, as neither Widow Mizell nor the Eagan’s lived lakeside.

The actual name Underhill for this lake does not appear to have existed as of 1880, but big changes were in store for upcoming decade, which is where I will pick up in Part Two of my Holiday BLOG: A Louisville School Board, on December 13, 2017.

Your Online History Store: www.CroninBooks.com

References are available upon request, email Rick@CroninBooks.com

Richard Lee Cronin

Proud recipient of the 2017 Pine Castle Historian Award

BUCKEYES and CitrusLAND's FIRST Avenue

BUCKEYES and CitrusLAND’s FIRST AVENUE:

I received an email several days back inquiring about the origin of an unusual First Avenue. The First Avenue in question was located in a rural part of Seminole County, off BUNNELL Road. It’s a very short street, ending after only two blocks at PINE Drive.

“Since any ‘1^st Avenue’ would typically be near the downtown area of a town,” the author of the email wrote; “was there a town located there?” I should add that there is NO Second nor Third Avenue anywhere nearby, only this one numbered street, a mysterious First Avenue, a street located far from the nearest metropolitan district.

  

FIRST Avenue off BUNNELL Road, beneath arrow in above map.

The gentleman inquiring about the mysterious 1^st Avenue had recently finished reading my book; CitrusLAND: Altamonte Springs of Florida. He told me my book was; “excellent, and I love how well you did your research.” Well, such kind words were certainly deserving of a response, so now having learned of the lone numbered rural road, and with my curiosity peaked as well, I set out to learn of the origin of 1^st Avenue. I knew where to begin my search, and the inquisitive email author had considered the same possibility as well.

A once-upon-a-time town of Forest City was nearby. But founded in 1883, Forest City, today a Ghost Town, was laid out using street names, not numbers. My email author also mentioned that he had purchased another of my books; CitrusLAND: Ghost Towns & Phantom Trains, but had not yet read it. Ghost Towns will be a helpful reference too, as Exhibit 16 on page 88 shows the actual 1885 Plat of Forest City.

The map included above shows a sliver of old Forest City, the southwest corner, outlined in green. Not shown on this map is the one-time location of the Forest City rail station.

For those knowledgeable of the present day area, Target Department Store occupies land where the Orange Belt Railway once stopped at a “handsome rail depot.” At this location was the intersection of Bay Street and Orange Avenue, (Bay Street is Forest City Road now, whereas Orange Avenue still goes by Orange Avenue today).

First Avenue of today, the subject of this blog, is outside the property platted in 1885 as Forest City. First Avenue is quite a distance, especially in the pre-automobile age, from Forest City’s main downtown intersection of Bay and Orange.     

In my very first book, I nicknamed central Florida CitrusLAND because this describes best how a wilderness evolved into the metropolitan area we know and love today. Many of the earliest settlers arrived at central Florida to farm Citrus, but quickly decided they could add to their personal wealth by developing a corner of their LAND as a new town. As a result, 160+ towns came on the scene during the 1880s.

Each new town founder tried to sell small town lots to snowbirds, northerners desiring an escape from harsh winters. Trying, as even First Avenue can attest, was the operative word here, for few who took on the challenge of developing central Florida then were successful.

Peter & Frederika Hoequist of Hamilton County, Ohio were one such example of the earliest families to attempt taming central Florida’s wilderness. The couple bought 160 acres in what was at the time Orange County. (A June 30, 1883 deed was issued to Peter Hogquist). At the time Hoequist bought his property, an established Cleveland Ohio department store owner had already acquired hundreds of adjacent acres, and was in the process of planning his town (Chapter 8 - Buckeye Territory; CitrusLAND: Ghost Towns & Phantom Trains). [Why the name Forest City? Forest City Racetrack opened in 1850, near Cleveland. For more, see CitrusLAND: Ghost Towns & Phantom Trains.]

Hoequist sold his land within the year. Harrison L. Donham and William J. Foster bought 120 of the 160 acres, and within a year, Donham bought out Foster.

So, by year-end 1883, Harrison L. & Elizabeth Donham of Hamilton County, Ohio, often misspelled Danham or Denham, owned 120 acres adjacent to, and southwest of, the 600+ acres owned by John G. Hower of Cleveland, Ohio. But this region in 1883 was not easily accessed. The nearest railroad station, said the 1885 Webb’s Historical publication, was “South Florida Railroad, 3 ½ miles east”. 3 ½ miles east via a sand rutted dirt trail!

Hower’s town of Forest City did not get rail service until 1886, but when the train did arrive, track of Orange Belt Railroad crossed diagonally through town. The southbound train departed Forest City, exiting Hower’s land near today’s intersection of Pearl Lake Causeway and Pine Drive. In 1886, this was the intersection of Pearl Lake and Pine Street, the southernmost east-west artery in Hower's town of Forest City. Present day Pine Drive, west of Pearl Lake Causeway, lines up perfectly with a once-upon-a-time Pine Street of Forest City.

Dr. Harrison & Elizabeth Donham, of Orange County, Florida, granted the Orange Belt Railway permission to cross their land. In 1887, Dr. Donham was listed in the Orange Gazetteer as a Physician at Forest City. He was also listed as a citrus grower. Peter Hoequist was listed as the Forest City Blacksmith.

Florida’s Great Freeze of 1895 devastated central Florida landowners. Many settlers up and left, returning to homes up north, or elsewhere to start anew. The Donham’s went back to Hamilton County, Ohio, where Dr. Harrison Lafayette Donham died in 1898. His wife Elizabeth (Watkins) Donham lived in Ohio until her death in 1907.

Would-be Orange County towns failed as the local population fled. Orange County of 1900 actually had fewer residents than in 1890. Property sat idle, property taxes went unpaid, and so during the mid-nineteens, Joseph E. McNeil, of Adams County, Ohio, began buying up thousands of Orange County acres, for mere pennies on the dollar, simply by paying off old unpaid tax bills.

If McNeil sounds familiar, refer back to our map. McNeil Road runs east to west, between Pearl Lake Causeway and Bear Lake Road. Seminole County was formed a few years before McNeil bought his land, and he platted a portion in the new county as McNeil’s Orange Villa, filed with Seminole County in 1917. Each square of the McNeil plat shown below is 640 acres in size. The square at far right, outlined in Orange, (Lot 60), includes pre-Freeze acreage once owned by the Donham’s of Hamilton County, Ohio. A red arrow points to the old route of Orange Belt Railway.

McNeil’s Orange Villa, recorded April, 1917

Land development didn’t get any easier for those who tried to start over in the twentieth century. Florida’s Great Land Bust of 1927-28, the financial market’s collapse of 1929, a Great Depression during the 1930s, and a World War in the 1940s, combined to leave much of central Florida undeveloped. Not until 1952 did the old Donham land show signs of renewed life – and then it was under a new name, Lavada Court.

Lavada Court, surveyed 1952, recorded 1955

Recorded in 1955, Lavada Court shows Pine Street rather than Pine Drive as it is today. Oak Street is now Shamrock Lane. 1^st Avenue remains 1^st Avenue today.

Ohio native Harrison L. Donham owned plenty of land adjacent to Forest City during the 1880s, ample acreage for expanding further westward, possibly planning to a Second Avenue, perhaps even a Third Avenue, had plans for the nearby Orange County town, a city founded by an Ohioan as well, worked out.

Little remains to remind us of these early pioneers, courageous men and women who attempted to tame central Florida. We can now, however, look at First Avenue, and to some extent Pine Drive, aka Pine Street, with an entirely new historical perspective.

First Avenues are typically near a downtown area, and yet in Seminole County, two such numbered streets are rural roads. Each are remnants of a ghost towns, Forest City and Sylvan Lake. Both stand as testament of a remarkable 19^th century history, and both are featured in CitrusLAND: Ghost Towns & Phantom Trains.

Visit www.CroninBooks.com for details on my books and much more

CitrusLAND: the amazing story of central Florida

Bibliography available upon request