Florida Trailblazer: William W. Woodruff

William Washington Woodruff (1831-1841)

 Imagine an orange grower of 1860 turned State politician, a fellow 30 years of age, riding astride a scrappy mule as he journeyed ever so slowly 115 miles along rugged Florida dirt trails between Sanford and Gainesville, and you will have successfully conjured up a glimpse of William Washington Woodruff of Fort Reid, Florida.

One of two little-known Orange County residents of 1860, William Woodruff, in January 1861, traveled to Tallahassee to take part in Florida’s Secession Convention. His role as a delegate at the convention transformed Woodruff into one of the most widely known citizens of his day. As for the other little-known delegate from Orange County – Isaac N. Rutland - not so much.

Nancy (Galloway) Woodruff - Beck

William Woodruff, born 1831 in Mississippi, came to Orange County’s Mellonville in the 1850s to live with his father, Elias Woodruff. Elias had been appointed the first postmaster at the Lake Monroe village of Mellonville on 31 March 1846. The father and son also established a citrus grove of 40 acres, a historic parcel which became known as “Woodruff Place.”

In 1860, William Woodruff and Isaac Rutland, two of only several young men residing in all of Orange County, were chosen to serve as delegates representing Orange County at the Secession Convention. Both men voted NO to Secession at the convention, two of only seven delegates to oppose Florida leaving the Union. Both men then remained in Tallahassee to write a new Florida Constitution, and afterwards, each then enlisted in the Home Guard, a local Orange County Calvary regiment charged with protecting Central Florida from a possible Union invasion.

William Woodruff narrowly escaped being captured by the Union Army in May 1864 at Cook’s Ferry, near Lake Jesup. He reportedly swam across the St. John’s River to safety. As a member of the Home Guard, William was able to return home to his wife Nancy (Galloway) at times during the War. Two Woodruff children were born during the War, and another two after.

William Washington Woodruff died in 1872. Widow Nancy (Galloway) Woodruff remarried, to Charles Beck, a subject for a later 2024 Trailblazer. 

The Rutland Mule Matter, Florida's Civil War Historic Novel

Seven Honorable Floridians, The Seven Delegated who voted NO! 

Both will be available at Pine Castle Pioneer Days, February 2024

Ethel State Park Grand Opening, March 9, 2024

And Amazon.com  

Florida Trailblazer: Robert R. Reid II

 Robert Raymond Reid II (1789-1841)

The namesake of Fort Reid (Mellonville Road east side of Sanford) was Robert Raymond Reid II, Florida’s Territorial Governor from 1839 until his death from typhoid fever in March 1841. Reid II was soon mistaken by surveyors with several Reed’s who came to Florida, including Florida's Governor Harrison Reed, who served from 1868 thru 1873.

Reid II spoke in favor of allowing the Army to wage war as they saw fit when the Second Indian War began to drag on. The Army showed their appreciation for his support by naming Fort Reid in his honor. Named in 1842, surveyors showed it as Fort Reed as early as 1846 – locking in the confusion throughout Florida’s history. The survey section below is borrowed from my 2015 book, First Road to Orlando.

1845 Government Survey showing "Fort Reed."

"First Road to Orlando" Exhibit

Robert R. Reid II was the father of Robert R. Reid III, the merchant of Palatka who traveled in 1867 to the wilderness of Orange County to submit the low bid of $900 at a Sheriff’s auction for 113 acres of what we now know as downtown Orlando. Thirteen years after acquiring Orlando at auction, Reid III, in 1880, paid to resolve the land dispute between himself and the Patrick clan, a dispute that threatened to have the railroad bypass Orlando.

First Road to Orlando (2015)

Reid III is indeed an important name in the fascinating story of 19^th Central Florida, a story I first wrote of in 2013 in ‘First Road to Orlando,’ and a fascinating history expanded upon in my 2023 book, ‘Orlando: A History of the Phenomenal City.’

Orlando: a History of the Phenomenal City (2023)

Available at Pine Castle Pioneer Days, 24 & 25 February 2024

Ethel State Park Grand Opening, 9 March 2024

And at Amazon.com

Florida Trailblazer: Hannah (Huestis) Adams

Hannah (Huestis) Adams of Tangerine, Florida

0109 Hannah (Huestis) Adams

Hannah (Huestis) Adams is the first Central Florida pioneer to be highlighted throughout the year 2024 in my Florida Trailblazer series. As I write this post a blizzard is burying much of Iowa in snow, so it is easy to understand that, especially in the 1870s, Iowans might choose to escape the winter and spend their winter months in Florida. The Adams family did just that!

One can read a lot about her husband, for Hannah (Huestis) Adams was the wife of Tangerine, Florida founder Dudley W. Adams. Hannah and her sister Bessie were rugged Central Florida Frontierswomen as early as 1875. But there were no railroads in Central Florida then, so they came to Lake Beauclair south of the present town of Mount Dora overland. They became Tangerine snowbirds even before the neighboring town of Mount Dora was founded.

Dudley W. Adams (1831-1897)

Why Hannah and her clan endured the difficult journey to tough it out in Central Florida is likely best explained by a poem written by her husband Dudley: 

"In the radiant, the magic glow, 

reflects itself in the lake below; 

The rainbow clouds have each shining fold, 

richly embroidered around the gold, 

O! Where on earth is a scene more fair 

than a sunset view on Lake Beauclair?"

Dudley and Hannah of Tangerine, Florida are featured in my book, "Mount Dora: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders." (2021). Tangerine of Orange County was so close to Mount Dora of Lake County that residents often thought of themselves as Lake County citizens. 

Available for purchase at the Tavares History Research Center

121 E. Alfred St., Tavares (Open Tuesday & Thursday 10-2)

Pine Castle Pioneer Days Festival February 24 & 25, 2024

Ethel State Park Grand Opening, March 9, 2024 

And at Amazon.com

New Smyrna Beach via Pine Castle Pioneer Days

 

New Smyrna Beach via Pine Castle Pioneer Days?

Historian Robert Redd to be a History Tent Guest Speaker 

The History Tent by Pine Castle Historical Society

One of our nine guest speakers at this year’s Pine Castle Historical Society History Tent, we are thrilled to announce, will be Historian Robert Redd of Volusia County.

But why, some might question, a Volusia County speaker in Pine Castle, Florida? A question of this nature would be reasonable for those new to our area, or even for one who is not up to par on how Central Florida developed during its earliest years.

Volusia County history, however, should feel right at home here in Pine Castle, in the heart of Orange County - and for a plethora of reasons.

Orange County’s second post office opened 5 June 1845 at New Smyrna, merely three days after the first Orange County post office had opened at Enterprise. Each place is today part of Volusia County, but back in 1845, New Smyrna was a village in the newly established county of Orange, in the newly formed State of Florida. For the next nine years, from 1845 until 1854, Orange County had oceanfront property to offer - but only a handful of settlers dared to venture this far south in the new State.

The 1850 census of Orange County recorded 566 inhabitants, with half of these courageous citizens living east of the St. Johns River in what would become Volusia County in 1854. The remaining 250 plus brave souls lived in what is now Orange, Osceola, Seminole and half of Lake Counties.

J. McRobert Baker (Exhibit 10, Beyond Gatlin: a History of South Orange County by yours truly)

In 1854, State Legislator J. McRobert Baker introduced a Bill to create Volusia from Orange County. Volusia was made official on 29 December 1854. Although a resident of Duval County, J. McRobert Baker was interested in Orange and Sumter County, and he even owned 40 acres at Fort Gatlin – the Pine Castle region of today. (Fort Gatlin is east of and just up the hill from Cypress Grove Park, where the History Tent will be located). 

J. McRobert Baker was also responsible for sneaking a Bill through the legislature making Orlando the County Seat of Orange County in 1857. With Orlando the County Seat, chances of a railroad crossing Baker’s property at Fort Gatlin increased – thereby increasing land values too.

Unfortunately, as I explain in Beyond Gatlin: A History of South Orange County, J. McRobert Baker became a casualty of the Civil War. His involvement with the future of Orange and Volusia Counties ended abruptly, but his accomplishments pre-Civil War endured. Volusia and Orlando exist in their current form largely because of J. McRobert Baker.

Decades later, the Dixie Highway passed through Volusia County, Orlando, and then Pine Castle on its way to all points in South Florida.

Pine Castle circa 1910

Volusia and Orange have a lot of history to share, so plan on attending Robert Redd’s 2 PM presentation on Saturday, 24 February 2024, in the History Tent at Pine Castle Pioneer Days. He will be discussing how postcards of yesteryear can aid in learning about our history, and he will have an assortment of cards to demonstrate just such a claim.

While you are at Pioneer Days, stop by my booth adjacent to the History Tent and say hello. I'll be the fellow who introduces Robert Redd at 2 PM, and you can then find me in my booth nearby. I’m always eager to talk Central Florida history.

Bring your family and tell your friends!

See you at Pioneer Days, February 24 & 25, 2024

Custodians of Orlando, Florida History - Part 3

 Part Three: Orlandoans Remembered 

Towering nineteen stories above the skyline in 1971, the new Continental National American Insurance building on Orange Avenue became a harbinger for the next generation of buildings in downtown Orlando. Known by locals as the CNA Building, the impressive skyscraper set an example of excellence for other downtown high-rises to follow, launching a transformation from a small southern city into a World-Class Metropolis. Today, one must look closely to view the CNA amidst the busy Orlando skyline. One word often used to describe this evolution: “Progress.”

As the impressive new CNA building neared completion, an Orlando landmark several blocks to the north was preparing to refurbish its aging lobby. Commercial Interior Designer Dan Acito was hired to oversee the refurbishing of San Juan Hotel’s lobby. A Cincinnati transplant, (not yours truly), Dan was new to the Central Florida area, having relocated his established Ohio based business to Winter Park in 1968.

The original San Juan Hotel Circa 1885

Nearly a decade after his San Juan Hotel remodeling project, “progress” led to the historic hotel falling victim to the wrecking ball. Acito was at that time quoted as saying, “we decided if we can’t save the building physically, we’ll save it visually.” The "we" for whom Dan Acito was speaking was the Orlando Remembered group, an organization he and a dozen others had organized in the aftermath of the destruction of the San Juan Hotel.

Organized as a Committee of the Orange County Historical Society, the mission of the Orlando Remembered group included the placement of displays in downtown lobbies to memorialize the historic structures that once graced Orlando’s downtown district. One of the early displays was of the San Juan Hotel, but in June 1985, “250 people helped unveil the Orlando Remembered memorabilia display of the Bass Hotel – Spanish Restaurant Block.”

The historic Bass Hotel, operated by Walter C. Bass, an Orlandoan proclaimed in 1973 to be a “City Father,” was the proprietor of the hotel which once stood alongside the historic Wilmott Building, on the east side of South Orange Avenue, where today stands the CNA Building. The Bass Hotel, prior to Walter acquiring the hostelry, had originally been known as the Astor Hotel.

 1915 Orlando Directory for the Astor Hotel

Orlando’s Astor Hotel of 1914 occupied the upper two floors of the newly completed Giles-Hovey Building. Constructed by Orlandoans James L. Giles and C. A. Hovey, their three-story building stood beside the Wilmott Building, completed around 1914 by the legendary Captain Wilmott.

Historic structures are not merely architecturally pleasing, they remind us too of the remarkable individuals, men and women, who transformed a free-range cow pasture into a vibrant Orlando we know and love today. Remembering their buildings are but one reason for preserving the magnificent structures of yesteryear. They are also memorials to the Orlandoans who built them. 

Still, for Orlando anyway, it seems to have been a challenge – albeit labor of love – for those who have struggled over the years to preserve the visions of yesteryear. They did so under various Society names, but they all had one thing in common - saving the past.

We may not have an Orlando Historical Society anymore, but we do have individuals still trying to preserve the past. And Orlando Remembered, for nearly 44 years now, has been one such organization doing just that.

This is your invitation to an extra-special Orlando event. 

If Central Florida history is of interest to you, we at Orlando Remembered invite you to attend our meeting on 18 October 2023. Free and open to the public, this meeting is held on the 2nd floor of the downtown library, where at 10:15 AM on that date, we will present, “Remembering Orlandoans,” an exclusive visual history of some of the remarkable men and women who have participated in the founding and development of Orlando.

Worth repeating is this, our 10:15 AM event is free and open to the public.

Custodians of Orlando, Florida History - Part 2

 Custodians of Central Florida Hisotry

Part Two: This Dog has History

“This dog has a history,” a catchy 9 November 1956 headline for an Orlando Sentinel article in which a piece of tree bark, in the shape of a dog, was described as one of the items on display at the Orange County Museum. The museum was located then “in the old red brick courthouse.”

Described as a piece from the historic Council Oak tree near Pineloch Lake, a photo of the tree bark artifact (shown with this post) had also been an exhibit in ‘Orlando in the Long, Long Ago’ (1938), by author Kena Fries. Miss Fries, daughter of Orange County surveyor John O. Fries, wrote of visiting the old Council Oak in September of 1904, and of her picking up the tree bark, “a chip with the most peculiar markings and shape, resembling a watch dog.” Kena Fries also wrote that she had been visiting the residence of J. M. Alden on the day she collected the tree bark, a casual mention that is itself a statement chock full of intriguing Orange County history.

Known as the ‘Yankee Artist of the Pacific Coast,’ James M. Alden retired in 1891 after 57 years in the Navy. He had been a participant in the Navy’s West Coast Expedition and his paintings of that journey are today valuable collector items. In his later years with the Navy, Alden served in Washington, DC as Secretary to Rear-Admiral David Dixon Porter. Upon retiring he and wife Frances (Hewlett) Porter purchased an existing home on the west shore of Lake Pineloch, a home that had originally been the residence of Francis W. Eppes, the grandson of President Thomas Jefferson. Francis Eppes began building his home in 1871, and although remodeled a time or two over the past 150 years, his historic residence continues to stand guard over Lake Pineloch.

We do not know if Kena Fries was aware of the history of the Alden residence, or of the artistic talent of James M. Alden, who would later paint the dead and decaying Council Oak. In 1915, Clarence E. Howard, in his book ‘Early Settlers of Orange County,’ included a black and white photo of Alden’s ‘Council Oak’ painting. Along with the painting was a brief history of Orange County authored by Annie (Caldwell) Whitner in which she wrote: “At Fort Gatlin, stands the bleached trunk and bare widespread branches of an immense dead Live-Oak. The red men and white men met here to hold a council.”

 

Melrose Room, Second Floor downtown, Orlando Library

10:15 AM October 18, 2023

If Central Florida history is of interest to you, I invite you to attend our Orlando Remembered meeting on 18 October 2023. Free and open to the public, our meeting is held in the Melrose Room on the 2nd floor of the downtown library, where at 10:15 AM on that date, my special presentation, “Remembering Orlandoans,” will feature a visual history of the remarkable men and women who participated in the founding and development of Orlando. Worth repeating is this, our 10:15 AM event is free and open to the public.

Now, as for the historic Council Oak and the Custodians of Orlando History, this series will continue. Stay tuned!

Custodians of Orlando, Florida History

 Custodians of Orlando History

An Orlando Remembered Group Series 

By Author & Historian Richard Lee Cronin

 Part One:

Have you attended an Orlando Historical Society meeting lately? Neither have I, which is why I became curious of late as to why no such organization exists today. A Society by this name did in fact exist once upon a time but has since become part of Orlando’s rich history its members had set out to preserve.

The Orlando Historical Society was not the first such organization organized to be the custodians of Orlando’s fascinating history. As early as 1912, prior to Seminole County being carved out in 1913, Annie Louise (Caldwell) Whitner of Sanford, as Chairperson of an Orange County Historical Society formed to preserve Central Florida history, authored a brief history of the county – and included the legend of Fort Gatlin’s infamous Council Oak, a notable tree dead yet still standing near the homestead of yet another member of the early Society (more on the tree later in this series).

Historians, including yours truly, have authored numerous books about the origins of our Orange County seat of government, and in most every case, we authors relied heavily on the invaluable information passed along to us by volunteers who had taken on the role of custodians of relics and data relating to our past.

One organization the custodians of the past operated under was known as the Orlando Historical Society. Another such organization was the Orange County Historical Commission, who in 1964, opened an exhibit on the 8th floor of what was then the new Courthouse Annex (since demolished), a building which replaced the historic 1892 red brick courthouse shown with this post. One item on exhibit at that time was the bell (Insert of photo above) retrieved from the red brick courthouse just prior to its demolition.

Plan to attend this exclusive presentation

Free and Open to the public

10:15 AM October 18, 2023

Orlando Remembered Meeting

 Orlando Library Downtown

Orlando native Donald Alexander Cheney, son of Orlando pioneer Judge John M. Cheney, served as Chairman of the Orange County Historical Commission from its founding until his death in 1983; was credited as well for establishing a historical museum in Loch Haven Park; and assisted in the 1971 formation of the Orange County Historical Society, serving as its first President. Donald A. Cheney (1889-1983), said his obituary, “Virtually was the history of Orange County.”

So then, who better for us to feature in kicking off this special Orlando Remembered series?

If historic Orlandoans are of interest to you, plan to attend the October 18, 2023 Orlando Remembered meeting, in the Melrose Room on the 2nd floor of the downtown library, for a special presentation of “Remembering Orlandoans”. This free event starts at 10:15 AM and is open to the public.

Meanwhile, this Custodians of Orlando History series will be continued. Stay tuned!