Lake Monroe - One Dreadful February Morn

 

Part III – 18 January 2023:

One Dreadful February Morn

8 February 1837 

Camp Monroe had been established along the south shore of Lake Monroe in late December 1836, but troops had yet to be ordered to leave their post to explore inland. The soldiers reportedly stayed near Lake Monroe. Well to the south, where a town of Orlando would one day be established decades later, was still considered deep in Indian territory. The Army considered the region around Lake Monroe to be “deep in the part of the country in which the great body of the Seminole Nation is concentrated.”

Despite constructing a fortress on the shore of Lake Monroe in December 1836, those stationed at the fort stayed put. And instead of going in search of the enemy, the enemy came looking for them. The Charleston Mercury of 22 February 1837 published a report written by Colonel Fannin, who had been stationed at Camp Monroe, on the events of 8 February 1837.

“A battle occurred on the morning of the 8^th of February at the Encampment Monroe, at the head of Lake Monroe. This post was attacked at 5 o’clock in the morning, and a brisk firing kept up by both parties until 8 o’clock, when the Indians retreated.” Colonel Fannin, in command of about 250 regulars at that day, wrote “Captain Mellon, U S Army, was killed. Lieutenant J. T. McLaughlin and 14 privates were wounded. The hostiles were estimated at 3 or 400 strong.”

This February: Fort Gatlin Month

Countdown to Pioneer Days

The “Encampment Monroe” name was changed immediately to Fort Mellon, a fact that can be establish in the very same dispatch from Colonel Fannin: “The above intelligence is confirmed by the arrival at this place on Tuesday night last, of the Steamer Cincinnati, Capt. Curry. The attack on Fort Mellon, Encampment Monroe, was made, it is supposed, by Philip and his gang.”

 

Pensacola Gazette, 2 September 1837

“THE GRAVE OF MELLON” was the Pensacola Gazette headline of 2 September 1837: “On the south shore of Lake Monroe, in Florida, on the very ground where the battle of the 8^th of February was fought against the Seminoles, may be seen a little rectangular colonnade of palmetto pickets, enclosing the hallowed spot where are deposited the mortal remains of Capt. Mellon. Over his grave is placed a broad tablet, of that rare and peculiar stone which is only found in certain localities in Florida, and on it is chiseled the name and rank of the departed, with a notice of the manner and occasion of his death:

“Though remote from the haunts of civilized man, that grave still bears the token of human skill and affection. Though the ground is not consecrated by religious ordinance, as the prescribed sanctuary of the dead, it is consecrated in heroic story as the field of martial triumph. Could a gallant soldier desire a better resting place?”

Coming in March: Sarasota Month

Our Shared Heritage

“Mellon received a rifle shot in his breast very early in the action, and before the shout was heard which proclaimed victory along our lines, he had breathed his last. Although attacked by six hundred ferocious savages, bent on an indiscriminate massacre, and persevering for three full hours in the hope of accomplishing their purpose, our troops, but little more than half their number, and all recruits, nobly breasted the showers of rifle balls poured upon them, and so dealt with their assailants in turn, as would have done honor to veterans. In all the war, the Seminoles have never been more severely punished than at Lake Monroe. The only martyr on our post was Mellon, and the handsome stockade fort, now established there, is called by his name.”

 

First Road to Orlando (2016) by Richard Lee Cronin

The Dade Pyramids, National Cemetery, St. Augustine

After War’s end, the bodies of all fallen soldiers were removed from their temporary burial places established during the war and reinterred beneath three Dade Pyramids at the National Cemetery in St. Augustine.

Next Wednesday: Doyle & Brantley of Mellonville, Florida

Lake Monroe - Christmas 1836

 

Encampment Monroe, Christmas 1836 

Lake Monroe and namesake, President James Monroe

A year after sixteen plantations were burned to the ground in northeast Florida, Army troops, accompanied by volunteer Militia from Alabama and Georgia, began arriving at Lake Monroe to establish a supply post. The troops built an “encampment,” said dispatches, and named their new lakeside fortress Camp Monroe. The lake itself, previously known as Lake Valdez, while Florida was under Spanish Control, had only recently been renamed in honor of our Nation’s 5th President. Florida’s acquisition had been accomplished while James Monroe (1758-1831) was President, his term ending in 1825.

Orders given at the time were to build and occupy the camp but await further instructions before exploring inland, and so for 250 regular soldiers and 39 friendly Indians under command of Lieutenant Colonel Fannin, spent a lonely Christmas in December 1836 on Lake Monroe.

 

Sanford Historical Marker at Site of Fort Mellon

 Intended to serve as a supply fortress for delivery of soldiers and material to the region, a pier was constructed on Lake Monroe so that steamboats could dock. That dock was located one mile east of present-day Sanford, where today Mellonville Road begins a southbound journey that originally took the road 25 miles south, through utter wilderness, to Fort Gatlin. Beginning in 1842, this pier served as the gateway for incoming settlers coming to claim a homestead, but first, the Army had a job to do.

The Military had begun to mobilize in Florida soon after the two hostilities of the prior Christmas. Among those first to arrive was General Winfred Scott, arriving at Volusia Landing, the plantation and outpost founded in 1821 by Horatio S. Dexter (Part I). Scott, on April 24, 1836, eight months before Encampment Monroe was established, wrote of reaching Volusia Landing on the St. Johns River, just south of Lake George, where he awaited the arrival of General Abraham Eustis.

 

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General Scott’s dispatch also said he found the Steamer Essayons docked at Volusia, and so while waiting on General Eustis, decided to “embark in her, and with a guard of only seventeen men determined to penetrate, by the St. Johns River, the southern part of the peninsular as far as practicable.”

The purpose of the expedition, said Scott, was to test the navigability of the St. Johns River. Others had traveled this way before him, but as a military officer, he wanted to see for himself what was in store for his regiment should they be ordered to move further south into Indian Territory. His published report began with: “We found no difficulty in passing the bend of Lake Monroe.” That would have been the sharp 90 degree bend the river takes just prior to entering Lake Monroe from the west.

Essayons passed into and then across Lake Monroe, we learn from General Scott’s dispatch, then attempted to enter the small passageway connecting Lake Monroe with Lake Jesup. “We found the river beyond the lake nearly as bold as below,” wrote Scott. A sandbar prevented Scott’s expedition from entering Lake Jesup, so he added, “We do not doubt that we might have gone fifty or seventy miles further to Cape Canaveral, but unfortunately our boat drew more than four feet, and we only found four on the bar.”  Scott was writing about the portion of St. John’s River that connects the easternmost end of Lake Monroe with Lake Jesup.

 

Second Indian War Generals Scott and Eustis

General Scott’s April 1836 report added: “I was anxious to discover whether the Indians had any settlements on the upper part of the (St. Johns) river: and to find out the place of concealment of their women and children”. Scott concluded by saying his curiosities were answered when they (Indians) “fired upon us from a distance of 300 yards.”

Scott’s expedition returned to Volusia Landing, where on 25 April 1836, General Abraham Eustis arrived. Even then however, Eustis had little time to attend to future military plans. He was instead forced to instruct troops to evacuate. “Volusia”, wrote Scott, “for it had already become extremely sickly. Many cases of malignant bilious fever had occurred which, in the opinion of some of the physicians, threatened the approach of the yellow fever.”

Christmas fires of 1835 had been the reason for the Army coming to Florida. One year later, Lieutenant Colonel Fannin and his regulars found little reason to celebrate the coming of a New Year. But as bad as 1836 had been for the Army, 1837 was about to get much worse.

Much, much worse!

Next Week: Camp Monroe, 5 AM, 8 February 1837

Fort Mellon: The Christmas Fires of 1835

FORT MELLON MONTH – January 2023

Part I: The Christmas Fires of 1835

New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins

Forty years before Sanford was founded as the ‘Gateway to Orange County’ (the place we now know as Sanford of Seminole County), a pier was constructed a mile east on Lake Monroe that first served as the entry point for many of the area’s earliest pioneers. Built in December 1836 for steamboats needing to offload troops and supplies, the pier, by 1843, welcomed visitors and settlers to village of Mellonville, a community built around where ruins of a old fortress were still visible.

Mellonville was the first permanent settlement south of Lake Monroe, the original “gateway” to Central Florida, a village named for Fort Mellon of Lake Monroe. Sanford's Mellonville Road, shown in the photo below, the first Central Florida "road," still heads south from Lake Monroe today. 

Mellonville Road of today heading south from Lake Monroe

Although Mellonville was in fact built on the lake's southern shore, before Statehood, back in the days the ‘Florida Territory,’ many considered this land to be on the west side of the lake.

South versus west is an important distinction, because all land on the west side of the St. Johns River back then was deemed Indian Territory. Although the St. Johns River meanders south to north on its long journey to Jacksonville, the river, as it flows through Lake Monroe, is flowing east to west.

Fact is, Sanford and Orlando were considered in Indian Territory during the days of Mosquito County, and that is why there were no settlements in these parts. When the Army established their fortress on the south side of Lake Monroe in December 1836, they were in fact on the northern fringe of Indian Territory. And they built their fort at this location because of the Christmas Fires of 1835.

Lake Monroe before Settlements

Horatio Dexter (1785-1834), namesake of Lake Dexter and founder of the Volusia Landing, both of which are on the east side of the St, Johns River, described in 1823 the generally accepted but unofficial boundaries first “accepted” in 1763 by the Brits while they controlled Florida. Horatio Dexter said the boundaries “seem never to have been overstepped by the Spaniards” when they assumed control of Florida. But he was obviously unaware of the tens of thousands of acres in Spanish Land Grants – such as the Levy Grants at Micanopy and Lake Monroe – all of which were smack dab in the middle of that supposed “agreed to" boundary of the Indian territory.

Fact is Florida landholdings were a mess when the United States took control in 1821. There was a smattering of Colonials from the North who had become landowners, like Horatio Dexter from Connecticut. The American Indians supposedly owned land west of the Ocklawaha and St Johns Rivers west to the Suwannee River – meaning one could not travel from Tallahassee to St. Augustine without crossing Indian Territory. There were British Loyalists too, owners of large plantations east of the St. Johns all the way to and including the Atlantic Coast. These folks had escaped the colonies during the Revolution, and were not thrilled to learn they were again part of the colonies they had escaped from. Spanish landowners owned a piece of Florida too, land granted to them while Spain had control. And a few of the Spanish Land Grant holders – such as Moses E. Levy of Morocco, came to Florida from other parts of the world. Then too there were runaway slaves from the North. 

A melting pot the Florida Territory was indeed, but its many factions were not blending together. And by late 1835, the melting pot was about to boil over. The Dade Massacre of December 1835 occurred on the trail between present day Ocala and Tampa, and around Christmas of 1835, Indians attacked and set ablaze a total of 16 plantations east of the St. Johns River. Residents of St. Augustine reportedly saw the black smoke on the horizon off to the south, in the direction of New Smyrna Beach.

News traveled slowly in 1835. Vessels docking in the North delivered the news, so it was not until January 1836 that tragic stories of “scalped” women and children made the newspapers in the North. Following these two December attacks, the United States declared war on the Indian Nation.

Meanwhile, the Indians had retreated to the south, crossing Lake Monroe, to return to their land on the "west side" of the St. Johns River.

As the United States Began mobilizing troops to go in search of the warring Indians, fortresses were strategically located between the settlements along the east side of the St. Johns River and the borders of the Indian Nation on the west side. Fort Butler was established across the river from Horatio Dexter's Volusia Landing. Fort Christmas was built near the southeastern terminus of the St. Johns River, inland from the Atlantic Ocean. And “Encampment Monroe” was built and staffed at Lake Monroe - to guard against Indians trying to return to the river's "east side." No order was given however to travel inland from Lake Monroe, not yet anyway.

Next Week: Part II - Encampment Monroe 1836

This Series is Sponsored by the 5 Star Rated

First Road to Orlando, by Richard Lee Cronin

Available at Amazon.com and In-Person History Events

See my In-Person Events Schedule at www.CroninBooks.com

Rutland Mule: A Snippet of Orange County History

 

Othman Rutland Residence, Sanibel Island

Frances E. Hewlett, a WASHINGTON, DC Treasury Department Clerk, acquired 40 acres of Florida wilderness in 1885 West Orange County. Miss Hewlett and her land purchase is a fact, NOT fiction! Another fact is that Othman Rutland, a Florida native, was living on the western shore of Lake Apopka in 1889. Othman Rutland is NOT fiction!

Rutland, after an 1889 meeting with Miss Hewlett in her DC Office, wrote in his diary that Miss Hewlett had inquired about the TA&G Railroad, asking if it had reached Oakland yet? Othman wrote that he corrected her; “No Mam, the Tavares, Apopka & Gulf Railroad does not go to Oakland, the train heads west, to Lake Minneola.” Othman was no doubt surprised by Miss Hewlett’s response. “The plan however is to take the train into Orange County, turn south, and take the line south to Kissimmee.”

Circa 1887 Tavares, Apopka & Gulf Railroad map 

Othman Rutland had gone to Washington, DC hoping to learn of his father’s disappearance 25 years earlier. He was astounded that a DC clerk might know more than he about the foreclosed railroad back at his hometown.

The 1889 DC meeting between Othman Rutland and Frances Hewlett is fiction – a story in my Historic Novel, The Rutland Mule Matter. Or is it fiction?

The Tavares & Gulf Railroad, the successor to the TA&G, did in fact enter Orange County in 1890. Arriving at Oakland that year, the T&G Railroad planned to continue laying track south to Kissimmee, crossing hundreds of wilderness acres owned by numerous land speculators, some, including Miss Hewlett, who were employed as government clerks in Washington, DC.

In addition to factual DC landowners, a factual DC government file, labeled ‘The Rutland Mule Matter” kept the secret to the 1864 disappearance of Othman Rutland’s father. Care to read more about Othman, including his son’s Sanibel Island residence?

Visit my Website at www.CroninBooks.com for details

A historic Novel chock full of facts, The Rutland Mule Matter pairs well with “Citrusland, DC,” a FACTUAL history of District Columbians of Florida’s 19^th century Citrus Belt.

Did you know Florida is the ONLY State in the Union to have an Embassy in Washington, DC? Citrusland, DC is dedicated to the Florida House.

Mount Dora Historic Inn - Part 3 of 3

 

The Mount Dora Historic Inn

Part 3 of 3: The Doctor is in the House

 

Built by Ivan Franklin in 1910 for his family’s personal home, the charming dwelling at 221 E. Fourth Avenue has, for 122 of Mount Dora’s 141 years of existence, been an eyewitness to the evolution of an alluring lakeside village. The house that Ivan built has been home to many a Mount Doran who played an active role in the making of Mount Dora. 

Historic homes are a gem to any community, but the real treasure of each is knowing the role each gem played in the evolution of the town in which it proudly stands.

Known now as the Mount Dora Historic Inn, in past years this dwelling has gone by the “Geer Cottage” and, for almost seventeen years, the ‘Miss Eleanor G. Shaw home.” The house has served as both a full-time residence of local citizens and a winter retreat of families from the North, prominent snowbirds whose presence, even for only six months each year, enhanced the intriguing story of how Mount Dora came to be.

The house Ivan built on 4^th Avenue served for about a year as home to a beloved Mount Dora physician, Dr. Osmer L. Callahan. The Callahan’s lived in this cottage from August of 1920 until April 1921, a temporary lodging while the doctor’s wife, Rose (McNeal) Callahan, oversaw the building of their new home and medical office across from 221 – on the southwest corner of Fourth & Baker Street. The origin of Mount Dora Hospital was at 142 E. Fourth Avenue, and the building is still known today by the year it was built, the 1921 Building.

The 1921 building, 142 E. Fourth St., Mount Dora Hospital

Chapter 24: The Medical Professionals of Fourth Avenue

Mount Dora: The Lure. The Funding. The Founders.

By Richard Lee Cronin

 

The Callahan’s sold to Miss Eleanor G. Shaw, a Massachusetts native who migrated first to Gainesville, Florida. Miss Shaw acquired the house Ivan built in 1921, and continued owning the home until 1938, years during which she enjoyed bringing family and friends to Mount Dora for long visits. Of periods during which Eleanor wasn’t using this house, the Mount Dora Topic often cited snowbirds who had rented the “Miss Eleanor G. Shaw home on Fourth Avenue for the season.”

A member of the Philharmonic Society of Gainesville, Eleanor was described in the Topic as a great lover of music and was said to have “composed music for a number of songs, one of which ‘No Night There, was sung at her Gainesville funeral service.” (As of this writing the claim that Miss Shaw composed the music of ‘No Night There’ has not been verified. Although timing is about right, another individual is listed as the composer of this sheet music.)

Eleanor G. Shaw (1867-1940), while a resident in the 1920s, was an active member of Congregational Church (now Mount Dora’s oldest structure), where she was a choir member. She was also a member of an outstanding Mount Dora civic organization known as the King’s Daughters, which, during the Great Depression, provided clothing for Mount Dorans and ran a soup kitchen to feed the needy.

Two years before her death in 1940, Eleanor sold the house Ivan built to Mount Dorans Albert & Amy Waltz. “A valued citizen,” said the Topic of Albert Waltz, one-time Mayor and Chamber of Commerce President of Mount Dora, the Waltz’ owned the cottage at 221 E. 4^th Avenue for twenty years, deeding the home, on 26 December 1941, to their daughter and son-in-law, Edward & Florence (Waltz) Nutter. Albert was the founder of Mount Dora Builders Supply Company, and for a time, his son-in-law was an employee. As a builder, Albert Waltz, in 1926, was awarded a contract to expand the Lakeside Inn.

And so, having traced the occupants of 221 E. 4^th Avenue for its first 30 years, we appear to have come full circle. Edward Earl Nutter, like that of Ivan Franklin the home builder, was a carpenter and builder here in the village of Mount Dora.

Watch the comments section of my Facebook page for memories others have of

Mount Dora Historic Inn 

Also... 

Do you recall Mount Dora of 1969? A Christmas Day 1969 Model Railroad display on Donnelly Street? I would truly appreciate hearing from you if you do recall the event. You can email me at Rick@CroninBooks.com

WHERE THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE TRACKS MEET

Have you ever wondered about the history of your Lake County home? Perhaps I can help! I will be at Tavares History Museum, in the restored train station at Ruby Street and St. Clair-Abrams Avenue, from 10 AM to 2 PM on Thursday, May 26, 2022. The museum is celebrating their first Anniversary. Come on out and visit the museum that day, look over my Tavares and Mount Dora history books, and ask me about how to go about researching the history of your home.

Tavares History Museum is at the convergence of the Golden Triangle railroad tracks, a meeting place for Tavares trains from Eustis and Mount Dora.

On sale at the History Museum’s Anniversary Open House

Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County

Mount Dora: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders.

 

Books by Historian Richard Lee Cronin

Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County

The Rutland Mule Matter – A Civil War Novel

First Road to Orlando: The Fort Mellon to Fort Gatlin Trail

Citrusland: Ghost Towns & Phantom Trains

Beyond Gatlin: A History of South Orange County

Orlando Lakes: Homesteaders & Namesakes

Citrusland, DC: District of Columbians of Central Florida

Florida’s Indian River Duchess

Seven Honorable Floridians: Seven Voted NO!

Citrusland: Curse of Florida’s Paradise

 

Available at Amazon

Mount Dora Historic inn - Part 2

Part 2: Mattie's Place

The house Ivan built at 221 E. 4^th Avenue in 1910 became known as “Geer Cottage” in 1913. Charles & Ella (Brierly) Geer, snowbirds from Worcester, Massachusetts, had rented in Mount Dora for the winter of 1911, then purchased land in 1912 to build a home. The lot was on the northeast corner of 4^th and Baker, which is where the Geer’s settled, but they purchased Ivan Franklin’s home as a retreat for family and friends seeking an escape from the harsh Northern winters.

Charles A. Geer, born 1855 at Westerly, Rhode Island, was part owner of Whitaker Reed Co, a prominent maker of looms for the wool industry. By 1912 however he was ready to retire, and so he and wife Ella relocated full-time to Mount Dora. Charles became “an active officer in Mount Dora’s Yacht Club,” said Lake Eustis Region newspaper, and continued and active involvement until becoming bedridden. Following a “long and painful death,” Charles Geer died February 20, 1916.

For several years the Geer’s had been active in the community of Mount Dora, A 1913 ad in the Lake Eustis Region had listed his title as Rear Commodore of the Mount Dora Yacht Club.

Lake Eustis Region newspaper, February 20, 1913, C. A. Geer, Rear Commodore

 

Rick’s Blog beginning June 1, 2022: An Encore Presentation The day history was made at the Mount Dora Yacht Club

A Blog version of my 2022 Mount Dora Yacht Club on location presentation.

 

Several months prior to Geer’s death in 1916, the Widow Mattie B. Little of Mount Dora took title to both Geer homes, including the house at 221 E. 4^th Avenue built by Ivan Franklin. The deed to both homes were returned to Widow Ella Geer following her husband’s death, but this unusual transaction made Widow Matter Little the third owner of the Ivan Franklin house, even if only briefly. Most thought-provoking about this unusual short term ownership transaction is that it introduces a New England twist to this charming Mount Dora Historic Inn.

Mattie B. Little is a little-known Mount Doran who, during the early 1900s, played a big role, pardon the puns, in fashioning the sleepy little Central Florida town that had been adopted by a New England clan for use as winter residences. A decade before acquiring the Geer Cottage on 26 October 1915, Mattie and husband Charles had arrived at Mount Dora and purchased the Atterberry Store. Located at the southeast corner of 4^th and Donnelly, Charles & Mattie Little, of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, then converted the vacated general store into the historic Robert Burns Inn.

Robert Burns Inn, 4^th & Donnelly, Mount Dora

Mount Dora: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders. (Page 201)

 

As I said, the Little family affected Mount Dora in a large way, and much of the charm the city enjoys today is a result of Mattie and her exceptionally civic-minded daughter, Emma J. Tallant. The Little family’s influence even spilled over onto 221 E. 4^th Avenue.

Chapter 23: The Incomparable Emma J. Tallant

Mount Dora: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders.

 

George and Bertha S. Barnard, the fourth owner of the house on Fourth Avenue, took possession in April 1919. Snowbirds, the Barnard’s had been residents of Contoocook, a village in the city limits of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, the previous hometown of the Little’s of Mount Dora. So, to make myself clear, Mattie of Hopkinton bought the house Ivan built, sold it back, and then it was acquired a few years later by the Barnard’s of Hopkinton.

Fast forward a few years, Mattie Little was instrumental in forming The New Hampshire Club of Mount Dora. George E. Barnard was named the first Chairman of the Club, Mattie’s daughter, Mrs. Eugene A. (Little) Tallant, was named the clerk. Formed in 1930, the New Hampshire Club had four Charter Members, one having first arrived at Mount Dora in 1888.

The Mount Dora Historic Inn has been intricately involved in the development of Mount Dora from the moment Ivan Franklin moved his family in, but its rich history is just getting started.

 

This story resumes Sunday, May 22^nd with Part 3: The Doctor’s in the House.

 

Have you ever wondered about the history of your Lake County home? Perhaps I can help! I will be the Tavares History Museum, in the restored train station at Ruby Street and St. Clair-Abrams Avenue, from 10 AM to 2 PM on Thursday, May 26, 2022. The museum is celebrating their first Anniversary. Why not visit the museum that day, look over my Tavares and Mount Dora history books, and ask me about how to go about researching the history of your home.

On sale at the History Museum’s Anniversary Open House

Tavares History Museum at Tavares Union Depot

Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County

Mount Dora: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders. 

Books by Historian Richard Lee Cronin

Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County

The Rutland Mule Matter – A Civil War Novel

First Road to Orlando: The Fort Mellon to Fort Gatlin Trail

Citrusland: Ghost Towns & Phantom Trains

Beyond Gatlin: A History of South Orange County

Orlando Lakes: Homesteaders & Namesakes

Citrusland, DC: District of Columbians of Central Florida

Florida’s Indian River Duchess

Seven Honorable Floridians: Seven Voted NO!

Citrusland: Curse of Florida’s Paradise

Also available at Amazon

Mount Dora Historic Inn - Part 1

Mount Dora Historic Inn (1910)

Part 1: The House Ivan Built

 

A recent social media request by the keeper of a charming Inn at 221 E. 4^th Avenue in Mount Dora asked if anyone knew of the history of their Inn? While I did not know of its story then, I do love just such a history challenge, and aware of how fascinating the story of Mount Dora is, I decided to see what all I could learn about an historic Inn in Block 1 of downtown Mount Dora.

The most historic building among several at the Inn was built in 1910 according to Lake County records. The date built appears accurate, for a home appears at this location on the 1920 Sanborn Insurance survey of Mount Dora, and the year built is supported too by several curious deeds that year for a parcel known today as 221 East Fourth Avenue, Mount Dora, Florida.

 

1920 Sanborn Insurance Survey of Mount Dora

Right and above the "4th" in 4th AV. above is

'The House Ivan Built in 1910'

A young Mount Dora carpenter had become a proud father of a baby girl on November 27, 1909, so, it was perhaps the birth of Clara V. Franklin that prodded the father to build a family home. The father, Ivan A. Franklin, married Grace Leach September 2, 1908, five months after Mount Dora learned of the death of their town founder, Annie (McDonald) Stone-Donnelly.

Annie’s death complicated Ivan’s dream of building a family home. Three years before Annie’s death, she and husband John Donnelly had buried Annie’s only daughter, Nellie (Stone) Griffith. Soon after, Nellie’s husband left town, so when John P. Donnelly became a widower in 1908, he also became the guardian of Annie’s three grandchildren, youngsters who in turn became half-owners of all unsold property in their grandmother’s town of Mount Dora.

On March 1, 1909, John P. Donnelly, guardian of minor children Lila K. and Charles D. Griffith, was granted permission by the Probate Court to sell Mount Dora town lots. And on July 5, 1910, he deeded “all of two thirds of one-half undivided interest” in a parcel described as located in Block One (1), the legal description of which matches the parcel where the residence at 221 E. 4^th Avenue now stands. Annie J. Griffith, the oldest of Annie Donnelly's grandchildren, at that time residing in Gainesville, signed “all of her one-third of one-half undivided interest” on June 29, 1910. John P. Donnelly, on 5 July 1910, then conveyed to Ivan Franklin a deed for his one-half interest, giving full ownership of the "East half of the Southwest Quarter of Mount Dora’s Block One" to Ivan & Grace Franklin.

During the summer of 1910, house carpenter Ivan A. Franklin (1881-1949) proceeded to build his family home at 221 East Fourth Avenue in Mount Dora. Grace (Leach) Franklin (1886-1963) died at Orange County. Clara V. Franklin Doster, the first child to occupy the Franklin residence, relocated to Winter Park in 1970, where she died 20 November 1985 at the age of 75.

The New England Connection:

The Franklin’s sold their 4^th Avenue home May 16, 1913. The buyers, snowbirds turned full-time Mount Dora residents, were Charles A. & Ella J. (Brierly) Geer. The Geer’s however already owned a residence at the northeast corner of 4^th and Hawley Street, and so the house that Ivan built at 221 E. 4^th Avenue became a rental cottage, occupied during the winter of 1916 by an Ohio family – the very winter Charles A. Geer laid dying in his home just a few doors east.

As explained in my Mount Dora book;

Hawley Street became Tremain Street

Woodland Avenue became 3rd Avenue

Mount Dora: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders.

A history of Mount Dora by Richard Lee Cronin

The second Geer residence also appears on the 1920 Sanborn Insurance map above. Locate again the house Ivan built, above and to the right of the "4th", now look to the right, across Hawley Street (now Tremain), and you will see the Geer main residence they purchased from the Tremain's. This historic home still stands as well.

A New England connection with the 4^th Avenue house Ivan built however was not about to end, nor was the intriguing story of the structure that was to become the appropriately named, Mount Dora Historic Inn.

This history will resume Wednesday, May 18^th with Part 2: Mattie’s Place.

Have you ever wondered about the history of your Lake County home? Perhaps I can help! I will be the Tavares History Museum, in the restored train station at Ruby Street and St. Clair-Abrams Avenue, from 10 AM to 2 PM on Thursday, May 26, 2022, as they celebrate the museum’s first Anniversary. Plan to tour the museum, look over my Tavares and Mount Dora history books (perhaps even buy one or two), and be sure to ask me about how to research your home’s history.

A MEET and GREET at the One Year Anniversary of

Tavares History Museum

History, mystery, door prizes, and so much more

10 AM to 2 PM, Ruby Street & St. Clair-Abrams

Where Eustis, Mount Dora and Tavares Track converge!

Downtown Tavares