Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker: Seminole

Seminole

DR. SETH FRENCH (1824-1896)

Location:1700 French Avenue on grounds of Sanford Middle School
County: Seminole
City: Sanford
Description: Born in Potsdam, New York on May 2, 1824, French served as a Surgeon with the 21st and 35th New York Regiments, New York Volunteers during the early years of the Civil War. In 1863 he moved to Eau Clair, Wisconsin but susceptibility to rheumatism caused him to seek a warmer climate. French arrived in Sanford in the early 1870's coming up the St. Johns River on the steamship, Darlington. Soon thereafter, he bought 20 acres of land and built his house which stood on this land from 1872 until 1954. Part of the land was later donated by his son for a school on this site and the State Farmers Market. The street on which both are located has been known as French Avenue for many years. In 1876, Dr. French moved to Orange City in Volusia County and became involved in promoting the early settlement of the community. He served as a member of the Florida Senate in 1879 representing Volusia County and was appointed Florida's first Commissioner of Immigration for the years 1879 and 1880. About 1881, he moved back to his house in Sanford. He was a Mason, and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and owned citrus groves and property throughout Central Florida. Dr. French died in Sanford on January 29, 1896.
Sponsors: The Seminole County Historical Commission in Cooperation with the Florida Department of State

HENRY SHELTON SANFORD GROVE AND EXPERIMENTAL GARDENS

Location:520 East First St. In front of the Sanford Museum,
County: Seminole
City: Sanford
Description: In this vicinity, Henry Shelton Sanford, pioneer citrus grower, established the St. Gertrude grove in 1871. There, and at his Belair grove and experimental gardens, he advanced the industry through development of some 140 types of citrus. The Sanford gardens experimented with other tropical fruits, planting 30,000 exotic trees from South America and Africa. Much of the labor in the groves was performed by Swedish immigrants who settled at nearby New Upsala.

ALTAMONTE CHAPEL

Location:825 East Altamonte Drive
County: Seminole
City: Altamonte Springs
Description: Built in 1885, this chapel began as the Lake Brantley Union Church due to its proximity to Lake Brantley. Designed by a Boston architect, the chapel originally served as a place of worship for settlers from New England. A devastating freeze in 1895 destroyed citrus groves in the area, and forced the settlers to relocate. Ownership was transferred to Rollins College. As the town of Altamonte Springs grew, two pioneers bought the chapel from the college for $600. In 1906, they had it dismantled and relocated by wagon, first to where the current main sanctuary stands and later to this location. By 1955, the chapel was holding year-round services. An example of Carpenter Gothic style architecture, the chapel's pristine wooden structure is laced with the original stained glass windows along its sides and at the front of the church. It is topped with a chapel bell that calls people to worship every Sunday and for special occasions. The chapel features original wooden floors and pews, and an antique organ. The Altamonte Chapel continues to operate as a community church, and is often used for weddings, funerals, baptisms and other church events.

FOSTER CHAPEL

Location:Southeast intersection of S.R. 426 and Aulin Avenue across from Oviedo High School
County: Seminole
City: Oviedo
Description: Side One: The first reported worship service for the settlers around Lake Jesup was in 1869, under a brush arbor. For months, interdenominational services were held for Methodists and Baptists. By 1873, the Methodists were holding separate services under their own brush arbor. That year, the Florida Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South appointed a circuit rider, James G. Tyson, to serve the Lake Jesup area. In 1878, the 44-person congregation began construction of a church on land belonging to John R. and Henryetta Mitchell. Many of the new church’s furnishings were provided by Dr. Henry and Mary Foster, who were from Clifton Springs, New York. The Fosters, who had been wintering in the Lake Charm area since 1874, provided the church with a pulpit, altar rail, pews, an Estey reed organ, and stained-glass windows. The Fosters also frequently donated financially to the church, despite not being members of the congregation. In gratitude, the church congregation named the building Foster Chapel. The Rev. Robert H. Barnett preached a sermon in 1879 to dedicate the chapel. In 1882, the congregation purchased from the Mitchells the five-acre lot where Foster Chapel stood. Side Two: In 1887, the congregation decided to relocate the chapel to a “more suitable and convenient location.” Henryetta Mitchell gave the church a lot at the northwest corner of King Street and Lake Jessup Avenue. Two teams of oxen pulled the church on a series of logs down a path cleared through the woods to its new destination. Congregants recalled that Captain Meredith Brock played the organ and children sang as the building rolled along. The original site was converted into a cemetery. Rather than sell burial plots, the church opted to lease them for a period of 999 years. In 1889, a fire driven by high winds swept through the cemetery, burning oak trees and some of the wooden grave enclosures. Having been moved a year earlier, Foster Chapel escaped the fire. The chapel grew with the construction of a belfry and purchase a new church bell. The size of the congregation grew along with the building, and by the 1920s, there were around 150 members. In 1955, after years of fundraising, construction began on a new church building just to the west of Foster Chapel. It remained in use until 1956 when the new sanctuary held its first service.