Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker: Orange

Orange

JACK KEROUAC HOUSE

Location:1814 Clouser Avenue
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: Writer Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) lived and wrote in this 1920s tin-roofed house between 1957 and 1958. It was here that Kerouac received instant fame for publication of his bestselling book, On the Road, which brought him acclaim and controversy as the voice of The Beat Generation. The Beats followed a philosophy of self-reliance and self-expression. The unedited spontaneity of Kerouac’s prose shocked traditional writers, yet it brought attention to a legion of emerging poets, musicians, and artists who lived outside the conventions of post-World War II America. Photographs show Kerouac in the house’s back bedroom, with piles of pocket notebooks in which he scrawled thoughts and dreams while traveling. In April 1958, following completion of his follow-up novel, The Dharma Bums, and a play, the Beat Generation, Kerouac moved to Northport, New York. He died in 1969 at the age of 47. In 1996, author Bob Kealing discovered the house’s significance while researching an article to mark Kerouac’s 75th birthday. In 1998, The Kerouac Project established a retreat here for aspiring writers in tribute to him. In 2013, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sponsors: Jack Kerouac Writer in Residence Project and the Florida Department of State

H.H. DICKSON AZALEA PARK/WASHINGTON SREET BRIDGE

Location:100 Roseardin Drive
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: Dickson Azalea Park began as a natural stream, later named Fern Creek, in a deep ravine surrounded by native ferns, palms, and oaks. It once was a watering hole for cattle herders driving their animals south. State Senator Walter Rose (1888-1958) purchased 40 acres of land here in 1916 and platted most of it for development. He set aside five acres adjacent to the creek for a park, called Senator Rose Park, which he deeded to the City of Orlando in 1924. In 1933, the Civitan Club presented the City Council with a proposal to beautify the overgrown park and asked the city to re-name it in honor of Colonel Henry Hill Dickson (1849-1935). An Orlando business pioneer and civic leader, Dickson devoted his energies to the beautification of Orlando, and was instrumental in planting azaleas throughout the city. In 1935, ground was broken for restoration of the overgrown property. Local landscape architect Mulford Foster designed the scheme for the park’s plants, water features, bridges and paths, and Works Progress Administration labor built the park’s walls and steps. Dickson Azalea Park was designated an Orlando Historic Landmark in 1991. By 1926, it was clear that the deteriorating wooden bridge over Fern Creek could no longer accommodate vehicular traffic that was increasing daily as Orlando’s development during the Florida Land Boom moved farther east. The Orlando City Council decided to replace the wooden structure with a modern, more durable bridge. In July 1926, bids were submitted by several bridge companies. A $10,400 proposal submitted by the Concrete Steel Bridge Company of Miami Beach was selected. Headquartered in New York City, the firm was a recognized leader in construction technology. Orlando City Engineer Morton Hagartney designed the span. The Washington Street Bridge is an especially fine example of a reinforced concrete arch deck bridge. Three 20-foot-long arches form the substructure that support the bridge’s deck, and cantilevered floor beams widen to provide walkways on both sides of the bridge. Urn-shaped balusters set in panels separated by low pilasters and historically-inspired light fixtures on tapered posts give the bridge a classical appearance. The Washington Street Bridge is the only bridge of its kind in the City of Orlando, and was designated a Historic Landmark by the city in 1991.
Sponsors: Azalea Park: The City of Orlando, District 4 Commissioner Patty Sheehan, Girl Scouts of Citrus Council, Orlando Garden Club, Lake Lawsona Fern Creek Historical Neighborhood Assocation and the Florida Department of State Washington Street Bridge: Eugene & Lois Pawlak & Family, Dr. Howard Green & Family, the Van de Bogert Family, Deborah Kohan, the Magley Family, Robin & Nancy Lewis, Nancy & Walk Jones, Kathy Wickman, Theresa Smith and the Florida Department of State

EPPES-SHINE PLOT, GREENWOOD CEMETERY

Location:1603 Greenwood Sreet
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: Side 1: Buried here are members of the Eppes and Shine families, descendants of President Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and the father of the University of Virginia. Francis Wayles Eppes VII, Jefferson’s grandson, was born in 1801 to Maria Jefferson and John Eppes. He spent his childhood in the care of Jefferson, who encouraged interests in religion, public service, and education. In 1829, Eppes moved to Tallahassee, where he grew cotton and served as a justice of the peace and intendant (mayor). He helped found St. John’s Episcopal Church and promoted public schools. He secured the location for the West Florida Seminary, a precursor to Florida State University, and led its governing board through turbulent times. By 1869, Eppes had moved to Orlando to spend his final years as a citrus farmer at his home, Pine Hill on Lake Pineloch. He helped found the First Episcopal Church, now the Cathedral of St. Luke’s. After a lifetime of public service and civic leadership, Francis Eppes died on May 30, 1881. Side 2: The Shines were among Orlando’s earliest civic-minded families. Three Shine brothers married three daughters of Francis Eppes, and two of the brothers and their families followed Eppes from Tallahassee to Orlando at the end of the 1860s. David S. Shine, married to Caroline Eppes, became deputy clerk of Orange County and was later appointed postmaster. Captain Thomas J. Shine, married to Martha Eppes, was the director of the First National Bank, a board of trade officer, an alderman, and commander of the Orlando Guards, later named Shine Guards. In 1879, Thomas built a home on Orange Avenue with the first indoor bathroom in Orlando. He named the cross street Jefferson Street in honor of his wife’s family. Martha and Caroline Shine served their communities as members of the Rosalind Club, Sorosis, and other charities. The third Shine brother, Dr. William F. Shine, served as a Civil War surgeon and practiced medicine in St. Augustine after the war. He was married to Maria Jefferson Eppes, who founded the St. Augustine Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution that bears her name. The Eppes-Shine family is remembered as one of Orlando’s most influential families.
Sponsors: City of Orlando

1887 WINDERMERE SCHOOLHOUSE

Location:117 West 7th Avenue
County: Orange
City: Windermere
Description: Side 1: Opened in 1887, this structure is the only surviving one-room school house in Orange County, and one of the few still standing in Florida. The Frame Vernacular building, capped with a metal roof, was communally constructed using locally milled heartwood from Florida long leaf pine. A well dug near the front door remains. Maude Adams, one of the first full-time teachers, educated generations of settlers and town builders within these walls. Ms. Adams received a salary of $22 per month for the education of 22 pupils. The students ranged from grades K-12 and were the children of citrus grove owners and workers. During the early 20th century, the school house served as headquarters for the local Board of Trade, a Women’s Club, a Union Church, a polling station, and a meeting hall. The building ceased to be used as a schoolhouse in 1916 when a larger schoolhouse complex was established. In 1918, Lloyd and Minnie Armstrong acquired the schoolhouse and the surrounding property from real estate developer Cal Palmer. The Armstrong family altered the building into a “cracker style” home by attaching two sleeping wings and a broad covered porch. Side 2: The schoolhouse became the center of the home and served as the kitchen and dining room. Eight of the Armstrong’s nine children were raised in the building. Many old citrus trees and ornamentals planted by the family are still present. During the 1930s the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration built an outhouse at the back of the property. Minnie and Lloyd’s daughter, Eunice Armstrong-Parramore, acquired the property after the death of her parents. In 1995, Eunice and Manuel “Perry” Parramore deeded it as a historic legacy to the Town of Windermere. The additions were removed and the structure was restored to its original school house form. In 2011, citizens organized to prevent an attempt to move the building, which would have compromised its historic integrity. On January 31, 2012, a town charter amendment was passed overwhelmingly by the voters of Windermere to preserve the 1880s schoolhouse in its original location. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, it remains by a citrus grove, within sight of Lake Butler, canopied by historic trees.
Sponsors: Windermere Historical Preservation Board, Windermere Garden Club, Windermere Parks and Recreation, Mary Frances Fischer-Howard & Family, John & Deanna Armstrong, Bren & Mayor Gary Bruhn

BLACK BOTTOM HOUSE OF PRAYER

Location:921 Bentley Street
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: In the summer of 1916, a few Black families from the Deep South settled in an area of Orlando called the Black Bottom, so named because when it rained, water settled in the area and remained so long that residents built canoes for transportation. As was the custom of the time, the Black families worshiped in neighborhood homes and shared their soul food. In 1925, the Black Bottom House of Prayer was constructed as the home of the Pleasant Hill Colored Methodist Episcopal congregation, later renamed Carter’s Tabernacle CME. It was financed through a stock purchase from the Orange County Building and Loan Association. Thirty shares were purchased at $100 per share, for a total of $3,000. The building was designed in the popular Spanish Mission Style with exterior stucco finish, arched doorways, casement windows, and a red-tiled roof. The thick brick and stucco walls were thought to have a cooling effect in the Florida sun in the days before air conditioning. This church building, used by Justice for All Ministries led by Pastor Dana “Action” Jackson, continued its African American mission through the power of prayer in the 21st century.
Sponsors: Justice for All Ministries, National ADHD Foundation, Inc., The Byrd Law Group, P.A.

DR. HOWARD A. KELLY PARK

Location:400 East Kelly Park Road
County: Orange
City: Apopka
Description: Rock Springs is the source of the Rock Springs Run, a swift running stream with an average flow of 26,000 gallons per minute and a constant temperature of 68 degrees. The spring flows from limestone containing fossils that date back 17 million years. In 1855, the State of Florida, wanting to encourage settlement in the state’s interior, awarded land near Rock Springs to William S. Delk, a veteran of the Second Seminole War. Delk later became the owner of the area’s largest plantation. He used the Rock Springs Run to power his grist mill, sawmill, and cotton gin. Delk’s heirs sold the land to lumber companies. In 1910, New Jersey doctor, Howard A. Kelly visited Rock Springs. Kelly, one of the founders of Johns Hopkins Hospital and an internationally recognized gynecologist, was an avid naturalist. Taken with the “sweet” spring water from the “mysterious cave,” he purchased 200 acres around Rock Springs in 1921 for use as a wildlife preserve and bird sanctuary. Kelly and his wife gifted the land to Orange County in 1927 with the understanding that it would remain a public park open to every citizen. Orange County named the park Dr. Howard A. Kelly Park.
Sponsors: Apopka Historical Society, Museum of the Apopkans

THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. LUKE

Location:130 N. Magnolia
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: Francis Wayles Eppes, grandson of President Thomas Jefferson, moved from Tallahassee to Orlando in 1869. Eppes was the first pioneer to gather Episcopal settlers in the area for worship. This early group formed the Saint Luke mission church in 1881. They purchased this site at the corner of Jefferson Street, so named after Eppes’s grandfather, in 1882 for $300 and built a small wood frame church. In 1884, Saint Luke became a parish church. In October 1892, the Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida was established, and Rt. Rev. William Crane Gray became its first bishop. In 1902, Saint Luke became the cathedral for his jurisdiction. In 1922, Saint Luke continued as the cathedral for the newly admitted Episcopal Diocese of South Florida. This Gothic Revival building was designed by architect Philip H. Frohman, who also served as the chief architect of the Washington National Cathedral. Construction began in 1925. In 1970, the Diocese of South Florida was divided with Saint Luke continuing as the cathedral for the Diocese of Central Florida. Saint Luke Cathedral’s choirs have toured the world as cultural ambassadors of the United States and the City of Orlando.
Sponsors: Members of the Cathedral Church of Saint Luke

WINTER GARDEN DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT

Location:Plant Street from Dillard Street to Highland Avenue
County: Orange
City: Winter Garden
Description: On this corner, farmers built a small wooden train station soon after the Orange Belt Railroad reached the area in 1886. By 1899, the Tavares & Gulf Railroad constructed a second rail line and depot nearby. Wooden stores rose alongside the parallel tracks and Winter Garden was incorporated in 1908. Prosperity fueled Winter Garden’s growth from 1910 to 1960. The town became a major citrus shipping point, and downtown served as the region’s shopping center. Nearby, Lake Apopka gained recognition as “the large-mouth bass capital of the world.” During the second half of the 20th century, the city center declined. Automobiles replaced train travel, strip malls outpaced downtown Plant Street stores, and Lake Apopka became severely polluted. After multiple freezes during the 1980s decimated the citrus industry, the buildings in the dilapidated downtown district stood mostly abandoned. Orange County replaced the Plant Street railroad tracks with the West Orange Trail in 1994, which sparked a turnaround. In 1996, a district featuring 24 commercial structures was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Through the strong efforts of residents, merchants, and city officials, the city center has undergone a rebirth.
Sponsors: Winter Garden Heritage Foundation

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - MAITLAND

Location:Maitland Presbyterian Church, U.S. 17/92
County: Orange
City: Maitland
Description: This congregation was organized in 1882 by ten Presbyterian settlers under the direction of the Rev. W.G.F. Wallace when Maitland was a pioneer hamlet. The church building was constructed in 1883, and it is one of the oldest churches still in use in this area. The church is typical example of pioneer ecclesiastical architecture of its period.

FORT CHRISTMAS

Location:S.R. 420, near mile marker 11.832
County: Orange
City: Christmas
Description: As white settlers moved into Florida in the 1820's and 1830's, there were growing demands that the Seminole Indians be removed to a reservation west of the Mississippi. Efforts to convince the Seminoles to move failed, and in 1835 the conflict known as the Second Seminole War began in earnest. Late in 1837, Maj. Gen. Thomas S. Jesup, overall commander in Florida, began intensive preparations to carry the fighting to south Florida, where he believed he would find a large force of hostile Indians. These preparations included opening a road on the west side of the St. Johns River and building along the road several posts to serve as depots for operations to the south. On Decmeber 25, 1837, troops under the command of Brig. Gen. Abraham Eustis established Fort Christmas on the north side of a creek a short distance from here. General Jesup himself led the column south from Fort Christmas early in January. By late January Jesup's troops were receiving their supplies by water from the St. Lucie River, and in March Fort Christmas was abandoned. While this simple wooden fortification was short-lived, it gave its name to the town of Christmas, a short distance south of here.
Sponsors: sponsored by the orange county historical commission in cooperation with department of state

MOSELEY HOUSE

Location:11 Taylor St.
County: Orange
City: Eatonville
Description: Taylor Street is the eastern boundary of Eatonville and is the site of Jim and Matilda Clark Moseley’s home. Matilda, or “Miss Tillie,” as she was affectionately called, was the niece of Joseph Clark, Eatonville’s founder and first mayor. Early dwellings in Eatonville were mainly single-family, one-story, 500-square-foot wood frame houses with no more than 2 or 3 rooms. One such house was located at 11 Taylor Street, built c. 1888 and is known as the Moseley House. Tillie was born and reared in Eatonville, where she served as a Sunday school teacher, church pianist and community activist. She married Jim Moseley, son of the fourth mayor of Eatonville. As a member of Eatonville’s pioneer family and due to her community involvement, many considered her a walking historian. Eatonville’s most acclaimed citizen - Zora Neale Hurston - author and folklorist - was Tillie’s best friend and a frequent visitor. Much of Hurston’s work is set in Eatonville and she would often stay with the Moseleys when she returned. The house is a repository for early Eatonville memorabilia, including the Moseley family and Zora Neale Hurston, and is a place to preserve African-American history and culture.
Sponsors: THE FLORIDA STATE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL ASSEMBLY AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

OLDEST MASONIC LODGE BUILDING IN CONTINUOUS USE IN FLORIDA

Location:E. Main St. and Alabama Ave.
County: Orange
City: Apopka
Description: Masonic Lodge #36 of the Grand Jurisdiction of Florida was established in 1856 and is still serving under a warrant issued that year. This building was erected here in 1859; the upper story has been continually used for lodge meetings. The original lower floor was used as post office, school, church and general store. Masons from miles around visited the community, which was known as The Lodge until the Town of Apopka City was chartered in 1882. In 1952, due to the effects of deterioration and highway widening, the lower story was removed and replaced. Orange Lodge #36 is a "Moon Lodge" and meets on or before the full moon and two weeks thereafter.
Sponsors: sponsored by the city of apopka bicentennial committee in cooperation with department of state

SITE OF FORT GATLIN

Location:Summerlin St. near Gatlin Ave.
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: On November 9, 1838, during the Second Seminole Indian War (1835-42), the U.S. Army established Fort Gatlin in Mosquito County. This fort was named for Army Assistant Surgeon John S. Gatlin (1806-1835), who was killed in the Dade Massacre in 1835. The site of the fort was chosen as a military outpost due to its strategic position overlooking three lakes and because the area was frequented by Native Americans led by Seminole Chief King Philip and his son Coacoochee. The Fort served the state militia during the war until the Army withdrew in 1849. A few soldiers and families remained in the area, growing citrus and raising cattle. In 1856, Fort Gatlin became the county seat of Orange County, created from Mosquito County in 1845. The community’s name was later changed to Orlando, a name attributed to militiaman Orlando Reeves, who was reportedly killed in a skirmish during the Second Seminole War. It is believed that Reeves is buried near the site of Fort Gatlin. In 1941, during World War II, the United States Navy established the Underwater Sound Reference Laboratory near this site on Lake Gem Mary because of the great depth of the lake. The lab was closed in 1997.
Sponsors: THE FORT GATLIN HISTORICAL GROUP, THE FORT GATLIN HISTORICAL GROUP, ORANGE COUNTY GOVERNMENT, AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

SITE OF FORT McNEIL

Location:vicinity of Tosohatchee State Preserve, S.R. 532,
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: During the Seminole Indian War in 1837, a stockade with blockhouses at diagonal corners was constructed upon this site. It was named FORT McNEIL in memory of 2nd Lt. John Winfield Scott McNeil, USA, who fell gallantly in the action near Dunlawton September 11, 1837. He was the son of General John McNeil, USA, and nephew of Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States.
Sponsors: Orange County Historical Commission in Cooperation with Department of State, Bureau of Historic Preservation

WINDERMERE TOWN HALL

Location:520 Main St.
County: Orange
City: Windermere
Description: The settlement of Windermere began in the mid-1880s when Englishman Stanley Scott built his home in the area, giving it and the surrounding orange groves the name of Windermere, in memory of the Lake Windermere region of England. Other settlers followed, and a town site was platted in 1889, but the community was not formally incorporated until 1925. The town council had no permanent meeting place. Elected officials and citizens often met at the Windermere Woman’s Club, which was destined to become Town Hall. The two-story wood frame clubhouse had been erected on the shore of nearby Lake Butler in 1922 and was moved to its present site in 1938 for use as a community center. It formally became the seat of local government in 1945. Today the square surrounding the town hall is the focus of civic and recreational activity in Windermere. Facilities found there include the Chase Memorial Library, basketball courts, a municipal office building and the Cal Palmer Memorial Building, a small wood frame building constructed in 1911 by one of Windermere’s most prominent early residents. Both the Town Hall and the Cal Palmer Building are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Sponsors: TOWN OF WINDERMERE AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

BLACK BEAR TRAIL

Location:900 S. Orlando Ave.
County: Orange
City: Maitland
Description: The Black Bear Trail, so-named because it ran through the natural habitat of the black bear, was organized by the Black Bear Trail, Inc., an association of officials of Chambers of Commerce, boards of trade and cities lying along the route of the new highway, whose objective was to provide a direct, safe route to historic and scenic sites from Canada to Florida. In April 1927, members of the Association marked the new route through Maitland along what is now Highway 17-92 by placing insignia showing a black bear painted on an orange oval background on both sides of telephone poles along the road. This road joined the Dixie Highway at Lake Lily and both names described this road from this point south. When completed, the Black Bear Trail ran from Quebec, Canada to St. Petersburg and Miami, Florida, and opened to travelers some of the most scenic areas in the country.
Sponsors: THE CITY OF MAITLAND AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

LAKE LILY DRIVE

Location:701 Lake Lily Drive, Lake Lilly Park
County: Orange
City: Maitland
Description: This road was the first direct route from Northeast Florida to Maitland. It followed Maitland Avenue around this west side of Lake Lily and continued south on what is now Highway 17-92. During the Second Seminole War the United States Army used this trail to connect the forts along its route. Fort Maitland was built in 1838 on the west shore of Lake Maitland, a day’s march from Fort Mellon (Sanford). The fort was named in honor of Captain William Seton Maitland (1798-1837) who was cited for bravery in battle of 1836, and died in 1837 as a result of wounds received there. The fort was located south of the present Fort Maitland Park and was in use only until 1839. In 1915, Orange County paved the route with bricks, making it the first grouted brick road in Florida. This road became part of the Dixie Highway, which opened in 1925 and ran from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to Miami. In 1927 the road was joined to the Black Bear Trail at Lake Lily. Both names described the road from this point south. These bricks were covered by asphalt in the 1960’s and in 1998 the asphalt was removed and the Maitland Historical Society restored the bricks, with assistance from the City of Maitland and the Florida Department of State.
Sponsors: THE CITY OF MAITLAND AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

RAILROADING IN MAITLAND

Location:Intersection of Lake Lily Drive and Central Avenue
County: Orange
City: Maitland
Description: Before the railroad to Lake Maitland, travelers boarded a steamboat in Jacksonville for the trip up the St. Johns River to Sanford. The St. Johns River is one of only three rivers in the United States that flows from south to north. Landing at Sanford, passengers hired a horse or team to take them overland to Lake Maitland. The South Florida Railroad was the first to this area from Sanford. Maitland residents Dr. Clement C. Haskell (1847-1900) and Bolling Robinson Swoope (born 1842) were Treasurer and Superintendent respectively. The new railroad, completed to Lake Maitland in 1880, terminated at the southern edge of town and opened new markets for shipments of citrus and other products to the north. Passengers met at the depot were transported by horse and buggy to their destinations. The stationmaster’s office was located in Packwood Hall, then the town hall, until the depot was built in 1883. It was torn down in 1969 due to tornado damage. In 1883 the Henry B. Plant Investment Company purchased the railroad, and the line was extended to Tampa. The Plant Railroad System consolidated into the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902 and the Seaboard Coastline Railroad by 1903. CSX currently owns the railroad.
Sponsors: THE CITY OF MAITLAND AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

ASTRONAUT JOHN WATTS YOUNG

Location:815 West Princeton Street
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: John Watts Young, NASA astronaut, Gemini veteran, Apollo moonwalker, and space shuttle commander, was the first American to travel in space six times. As an Orlando High School student, Young lived in this house at 815 West Princeton Street from 1945 until graduation in 1948. In 1965, he co-piloted Gemini-Titan III, a program that directly benefited Project Apollo's development and the first voyage to the moon. In 1972, Young was aboard Apollo XVI, the fifth manned landing on the moon, and was the ninth person to walk on the moon. He was commander on the first human-guided test flight of the first space shuttle, Columbia STS-1 in 1981 and the Challenger STS-9 in 1983, which carried Spacelab-1, a removable science laboratory. Young became the Special Assistant to the Director of the Johnson Space Center for Engineering, Operations and Safety in Houston, Texas, in 1987.
Sponsors: City of Orlando Commissioners Office District 3, College Park Merchants and Professionals Association, College Park Neighborhood Association, Orange County Historical Society, Inc., Orlando High School Class of 1948, Dana Holland, Caryl Curtis McAlpin, Ja

ORLANDO ARMY AIR BASE

Location:Intersection of Maguire Boulevard and East Livingston Street
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: Orlando Municipal Airport opened in 1928 on 65 acres of land north of Lake Underhill. In 1940, with Europe at war, the United States Army took over the airport for defense purposes, activating it as the Orlando Army Air Base on September 1, 1940. The first Army Air Corps planes arrived on September 5, 1940. The Base provided a training center for pilots and fighter and bomber groups. The United States entered World War II on December 7, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1942, B-17 bombers and their crews moved to the newly-completed Pine Castle Air Force Base, now the Orlando International Airport, and the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics moved to the Orlando Army Air Base, by then grown to 1000 acres with 6 runways. The size and importance of the Orlando base, where pilots tested new aircraft, including P-26 and P-40 fighter planes, brought notable visitors such as Chief of the Army Air Force General Hap Arnold and entertainer Bob Hope. At the end of World War II the base became a separation center for thousands of servicemen and women resuming civilian life. It was returned to the city of Orlando in 1946. Renamed Herndon Airport in 1961, it became the Orlando Executive Airport in 1982.
Sponsors: The City of Orlando, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and the Florida Department of State

COMMUNITY OF PIEDMONT

Location:Peidmont-Wekiwa Rd. between Orange Blossom Trail and Apopka Blvd.
County: Orange
City: Apopka
Description: Piedmont, named in the late 1890s, was comprised of a wide area around Blue lake, one and one-half miles east of Apopka City. It was a close-knit community populated in the 1870s almost entirely by Swedish immigrants. Among the earliest settlers were the Andersons, Thollanders, Jacksons, Olsons, and Larrsons. Railroad tracks were extended through the settlement in 1885, and the Piedmont Railroad station was constructed in 1890. Emily Jackson Swanson (1911-2001), living here her entire life, was the last Piedmont resident born of Swedish parents. A small store and a schoolhouse, the center of the community, served as a social center and church. Residents cultivated citrus groves and vineyards establishing several wineries. Residents also farmed raising livestock, produce, and poultry. In the late 1890s, a saw mill was built that continued into the 1920s, and the Florida Central and Peninsula Railroad built a new railroad freight station. The Piedmont post office, established to serve 75 residents in 17 homes in 1903, was discontinued in 1922. In the 1920s, electric service became available. The Piedmont Chamber of Commerce was formed in 1929. The area was annexed into the City of Apopka in 1986.
Sponsors: The Apopka Historical Society, the City of Apopka, and the Florida Department of State

LOVELL'S LANDING AT LAKE APOPKA

Location:2929 Binion Rd. Magnolia Park
County: Orange
City: Apopka
Description: In the 1870s, the early settlers of northwest Orange County looked to area waterways as commercial highways. Lake Apopka, the head of the Ocklawaha chain of lakes, offered access to the St. Johns River near Palatka and a way for citrus and vegetable growers near the banks of the lake to transport their products. In 1872, William A. Lovell (1828-1903) purchased 225 acres of land on the northwest side of the lake. At this location, he established a landing to serve as a hub for freight service on Lake Apopka and the surrounding region. Before steamer service began on the Ocklawaha in 1882, fruits and vegetables from 17 landings around the lake were brought to Lovell’s Landing for delivery by oxen to Clay Springs and areas further north. As commerce through Lovell’s Landing increased, the community constructed its own school, which operated from 1884-1895. In the 1920s, Apopka built a dock, clubhouse, and picnic grounds at the landing. In 1926, Orange County built a road connecting Apopka to the area. Waterway commerce from Lovell’s Landing subsequently declined as more and faster methods of transporting fruits and vegetables came to the region.
Sponsors: Apopka Historical Society, Orange County Board of County Commissioners, and the Florida Department of State.

HENRY NEHRLING'S PALM COTTAGE GARDENS

Location:2267 Hempel Ave
County: Orange
City: Gotha
Description: This site was home to Dr. Henry Nehrling (1853-1929), an internationally-renowned horticulturalist, naturalist, botanist, ornithologist, and writer known as the “patron saint of Florida gardens.” Here, and at his later Naples gardens, between 1886 and 1929, Nehrling introduced and tested over 3,000 new and rare species of plants and trees, as well as Florida native plants. Over 300 of these became essential to the state’s ornamental horticulture, including caladiums, palms, bamboos, magnolias, amaryllis, Indian hawthorne, and crinum lilies. Nehrling’s gardens became a mecca for plant lovers and a tourist destination in the early 1900s, and were visited by many prominent people, including President Theodore Roosevelt and renowned horticulturists David Fairchild and Liberty Hyde Bailey. Nehrling collaborated with the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and, in 1929, was awarded the Meyer Agricultural Explorer Medal. He was a founding member of the American Ornithological Union and the Florida Audubon Society, and wrote extensively on plants and birds. His most notable works include “Our Native Birds of Song and Beauty”, “The Plant World in Florida”, and “My Garden in Florida.”
Sponsors: The Henry Nehrling Society, Rotary Club of Windermere, Windermere Garden Club, Bloom & Grow Garden Society, and the Florida Department of State

CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Location:331 Lake Avenue
County: Orange
City: Maitland
Description: The Church of the Good Shepherd (known as "The Chapel") was established in 1882 by the Right Reverend Henry Benjamin Whipple, the first Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Minnesota, who wintered in Maitland because of poor health. Bishop Whipple envisioned his church as “. . . a place where the poorest man on earth may find here his Saviour's home.” The property for the church was donated by Mr. C.H. Hall in 1875. The church’s congregation formally began in 1879, when its members met in the parlor of Bishop Whipple’s house across the street from the present church. The church was designed by architect Charles C. Haight of New York City, and was constructed in 1883 by builder James A. McGuire. The timber frame building is an excellent example of the Carpenter Gothic style, and has a rectangular nave, a belfry with a tall pyramidal roof, and unusual triangular battens in its board and batten exterior. The church’s original 1884 stained glass windows were designed by Charles Booth in the Aesthetic Style, and are exceptional examples of this rare type of design in stained glass. The Church of the Good Shepherd was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
Sponsors: The Church of the Good Shepherd and the Florida Department of State

WHITE HOUSE OF ZELLWOOD STATION

Location:2126 Spillman Drive
County: Orange
City: Zellwood
Description: Built in 1869, just east of Zellwood, the White House was the winter home of the Harry S. Paul family from Pennsylvania. It was sold in the 1940s to the Sam Coen family corporation, who planted citrus groves. The Libby Company obtained a lease for the property in 1953, and appointed George McClure as the production manager. He lived in the house with his family for most of the 1950s and 1960s. The house then sat vacant for many years, and was believed to be haunted due to the way the wind blew through the broken windows and caused doors to seemingly swing on their own. In 1973, the Cayman Development Corporation purchased the house along with 837 acres for the development of the Zellwood Station mobile home community. The corporation wanted to preserve the house’s old Florida architecture from demolition, and moved the 290-ton building two blocks to its current location. In 1974, at the first Zellwood Sweet Corn Festival, Florida Secretary of Agriculture Doyle Connor spoke to attendees from the front porch. The White House and the surrounding area were purchased by Zellwood Station Cooperative, Inc. in 1993. The building serves as the company’s administrative office and remains a focal point of the community.

ATLANTIC COASTLINE STATION

Location:1400 Sligh Boulevard
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: Side One: In 1880, the South Florida Railroad built a railway through Orlando. The small community boomed with land speculators, citrus and cattle investors, and tourists. In 1902, the larger Atlantic Coastline Railroad acquired the South Florida Railroad. Although three earlier Orlando stations were located on Church Street, Atlantic Coastline hired architect M.A. Griffith to design a new station on Sligh Boulevard in 1926. Griffith traveled the Pacific Coast and drew inspiration from Spanish architecture and colonial parish churches. The W.T. Hadlow Construction Company of Jacksonville received a $300,000 construction contract for the Spanish Mission style building. Twin bell towers, arches, parapet, and tile roof reflect this influence. Griffith designed the letters of “ORLANDO” over the west entrance arch. When the station was dedicated in January 1927, it attracted a crowd of more than 6,000 and became an immediate icon. The racially segregated station included a separate waiting room with ticket windows and restrooms for African American passengers on the south side of the building. Built-in curved wooden settees, once featured in both waiting rooms, remain only in the current waiting room. Side Two: Known historically as the Atlantic Coastline Railroad Station, this building represented the city’s efforts to encourage tourism in Orlando during the 1920s Florida Land Boom. Since its opening, the station has served as a passenger terminal for residents, visitors, and workers. The words “Seaboard Coast Line” on the east arched parapet replaced “Atlantic Coast Line” after the two rail companies merged in 1967. The station was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey with six drawing sheets archived in the Library of Congress. On February 27, 1978, it was designated as an Orlando Historic Landmark. An extensive renovation began in 2014 to restore the station including the original wood doors and windows. Careful research revealed original colors of the building, window sills, and domes. In 2015, the project won the City of Orlando’s Historic Preservation award for Outstanding Commercial Rehabilitation. The station is considered the largest and finest example of Mission Revival architecture in Central Florida and is the only train station of this style in the state. The station serves Amtrak’s Silver Meteor and Silver Star Lines and the SunRail commuter train.
Sponsors: City of Orlando

WINTER GARDEN HISTORIC DISTRICT (REORDER)

Location:Plant Street from Dillard Street to Highland Avenue
County: Orange
City: Winter Garden
Description: On this corner, farmers built a small wooden train station soon after the Orange Belt Railroad reached the area in 1886. By 1899, the Tavares & Gulf Railroad constructed a second rail line and depot nearby. Wooden stores rose alongside the parallel tracks and Winter Garden was incorporated in 1908. Prosperity fueled Winter Garden’s growth from 1910 to 1960. The town became a major citrus shipping point, and downtown served as the region’s shopping center. Nearby, Lake Apopka gained recognition as “the large-mouth bass capital of the world.” During the second half of the 20th century, the city center declined. Automobiles replaced train travel, strip malls outpaced downtown Plant Street stores, and Lake Apopka became severely polluted. After multiple freezes during the 1980s decimated the citrus industry, the buildings in the dilapidated downtown district stood mostly abandoned. Orange County replaced the Plant Street railroad tracks with the West Orange Trail in 1994, which sparked a turnaround. In 1996, a district featuring 24 commercial structures was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Through the strong efforts of residents, merchants, and city officials, the city center has undergone a rebirth.
Sponsors: Winter Garden Heritage Foundation

TINKER FIELD

Location:1610 West Church Street
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: Side One: Joe Tinker (1880-1948) was an Orlando real estate developer and professional baseball player. While playing with the Chicago Cubs from 1906 to 1910, Tinker won four pennants, two World Series championships, and was part of a famous double-play combination with teammates Johnny Evers and Frank Chance. He managed the minor league Columbus Senators until 1919, when he moved to Orlando to manage the Orlando Tigers. His Orlando real estate firm thrived during the 1920s Florida land boom. Tinker promoted construction of a new baseball stadium to encourage spring training in Orlando. Construction began in December 1922, and Tinker Field was dedicated in April 1923. The all wood stadium seated 1,500 and the ballpark was said to be larger than Yankee Stadium. The field, which is thought to have been a baseball field since 1914, consisted of red Georgia clay and a grass outfield of Bermuda sod. In 1963, the stadium was rebuilt incorporating 1,000 seats from Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C., which had been built in 1911. Spring training was held at Tinker Field until 1990 and home teams included the Cincinnati Reds (1923-1933), Brooklyn Dodgers (1934-1935) and the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins (1936-1990). Side Two: On March 6, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “Integration Now” speech from the pitcher’s mound to a crowd of approximately 2,000 people. This was Dr. King’s only visit to Orlando and his only speech in central Florida. King was in Orlando attending a Southern Christian Leadership Conference and made appearances at a workshop at Shiloh Baptist Church and the rally at Tinker Field. King participated in the St. Augustine Movement in the summer of 1964, which played a major role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That same year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. Tinker Field was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 for its association with baseball and Joe Tinker, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. Thousands of baseball players trained here, including Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Lou Gehrig, Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, and Michael Jordan. In 2015, the baseball diamond and field were designated an Orlando Historic Landmark based on the site’s association with civil rights and its significance to major league and minor league baseball in Orlando.
Sponsors: City of Orlando

JOHN R. MOTT HOUSE SITE

Location:528 East Washington Street
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: Side One: Built in 1920, the former house at 528 E. Washington Street was once home to Nobel Peace Prize winner John Raleigh Mott (1869-1955). As general secretary of the National War Work Council, a World War I era Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) program, Mott received the Distinguished Service Medal for his relief work for prisoners of war. Mott served as general secretary of the YMCA International Committee from 1915-1928 and president of the YMCA World Committee from 1926-1937. As a leader of many civic and Christian organizations, he traveled abroad and delivered thousands of speeches. He averaged 34 days a year on the ocean for 50 years and crossed the Atlantic over 100 times and the Pacific 14 times. Known to travel plainly, he refused a ticket on the Titanic to sail instead on a less extravagant ship. Mott received honorary degrees from six universities including Yale, Edinburgh, Princeton, and Brown. His numerous international honors, awards, and designations included recognition from China, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Siam, Sweden, and the United States. Mott was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946 for his humanitarian work. Side Two: John Mott retired to Orlando in 1938 and bought the one-story bungalow at this site. Over the course of his career, Mott wrote sixteen books and delivered thousands of speeches. During his retirement, he compiled volumes of his speeches, letters, and papers. The compilations included correspondence with prominent American and International philanthropists and political and religious leaders. In 1952, Mott’s wife Lelia White died. They had married in 1891 and had four children. After her death, Mott married Agnes Peter, a descendant of Martha Washington. Following his death in Orlando on January 31, 1955, Mott’s family donated his collected works to the Yale Divinity School Library where it fills 230 archival boxes that occupy 95 linear feet of shelf space. These papers provide information and insight regarding individuals and religious movements from 1880-1955. The bungalow Mott lived in was demolished in 2013 to provide additional space for Lake Eola Park. John Mott was interred in St. Joseph’s Chapel of the Washington National Cathedral. He remains locally and internationally renowned for his accomplishments and leadership.
Sponsors: City of Orlando, The Nollet Family, The Van Dusen-Wheeler Family

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Location:601 South Highland Avenue
County: Orange
City: Apopka
Description: This little church began as a simple rectangular board and batten structure built in 1886 by the First Congregational Church on Main Street in Apopka. Services were held in the church for ten years until the Great Freeze of 1895 forced the congregation to disband. The building housed various businesses during the subsequent years, and eventually fell into neglect. In 1902, two Orange County educators, sisters Elizabeth Emma and Mary E. Dart, prevailed upon Saint Luke’s Cathedral in Orlando to purchase the building for $75 and start an Episcopal Mission. The Dart sisters, alongside other Episcopalians, restored and re-consecrated the church. Bishop William Crane Gray held the first service on November 16, 1902, in the renamed Church of the Holy Spirit. Parking issues and traffic noise forced the congregation to relocate the church to its current location in 1970. Congregation growth prompted the construction of a new church building, and the “Big Church” was consecrated by Bishop John W. Howe in 1990. The original “Little Church” serves as Holy Spirit’s Memorial Garden Chapel. Both churches display Carpenter Gothic architecture and reflect the Gospel Story of Jesus Christ in stained-glass windows.
Sponsors: Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit

CARVER COURT PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECT

Location:S. Westmoreland St. Between Conely and W. Gore St.
County: Orange
City: Orlando
Description: Built in 1945 for $468,700, Carver Court was a public housing development set up by the Orlando Housing Authority in an effort to stimulate the economy, resolve growing slum and housing problems, and meet local demands associated with the massive defense buildup that had occurred during World War II. The development consisted of 16 one-story buildings and 12 two-story buildings. Carver Court was a prime example of a planned residential community, reflecting important urban planning and housing design theories of the period. As a well-defined group of affordable, multi-family, residential buildings organized around open spaces, Carver Court exemplified public housing projects constructed throughout the country during the late 1930s and 1940s. A team of Orlando’s most prominent architects and landscape architects, including Arthur Beck (1899-1990), the first Jewish architect in Orlando, Herbert L. Flint, landscape designer for the first public housing complex in Jacksonville, and F. Earl DeLoe (b. 1893), designed the housing complex. Originally built to house African-American families, Carver Court reflected attitudes toward segregation and the housing of low-income families that were characteristic of the time.
Sponsors: THE ORLANDO HOUSING AUTHORITY AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE