Enterprise, Florida: Difference between revisions
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In 1565, [[Pedro Menendez de Aviles]] explored the St. Johns River, perhaps reaching Lake Monroe. He and his men may have been the first Europeans to see the huge white shell mound looming on the shoreline at what would much later become the site of a settlement called Enterprise. This shell midden had accumulated over several thousand years as the native people tossed out the debris of their meals. At the time of contact with Europeans, the area was home to the [[Mayaca]] [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]], who lived in the area south of Lake George down to Lake Monroe and eastward to the coast. The Mayaca people relied for their survival on riverine resources such as [[snail]]s and [[shellfish]], turtle and alligator. They also hunted deer, fowl, and bear, and gathered [[root]]s, [[Nut (fruit)|nut]]s and [[berries]]. Conflicts with the Spanish and the resulting cultural disintegration decimated the tribe by the early 18th century. The [[Seminole]] Indians from [[Alabama]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] eventually moved in to fill the void left by the Mayaca and other Florida tribes. |
In 1565, [[Pedro Menendez de Aviles]] explored the St. Johns River, perhaps reaching Lake Monroe. He and his men may have been the first Europeans to see the huge white shell mound looming on the shoreline at what would much later become the site of a settlement called Enterprise. This shell midden had accumulated over several thousand years as the native people tossed out the debris of their meals. At the time of contact with Europeans, the area was home to the [[Mayaca]] [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]], who lived in the area south of Lake George down to Lake Monroe and eastward to the coast. The Mayaca people relied for their survival on riverine resources such as [[snail]]s and [[shellfish]], turtle and alligator. They also hunted deer, fowl, and bear, and gathered [[root]]s, [[Nut (fruit)|nut]]s and [[berries]]. Conflicts with the Spanish and the resulting cultural disintegration decimated the tribe by the early 18th century. The [[Seminole]] Indians from [[Alabama]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] eventually moved in to fill the void left by the Mayaca and other Florida tribes. |
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===Settlement=== |
===Settlement (Lani Friend)=== |
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Beginning in the early 1800s while the peninsula was still under Spanish rule, the US government began a concerted program to drive the Seminole Indians south and off of desired territory along the border between Spanish Florida and the US colonies. This resulted in three long and costly conflicts called the Seminole Wars. During the Second Seminole War, "Fort Kingsbury," a [[stockade]] defense, was built about 1837 on the north shore of Lake Monroe as a satelite fort of Fort Mellon across the lake in the area of present day Sanford, Florida. |
Beginning in the early 1800s while the peninsula was still under Spanish rule, the US government began a concerted program to drive the Seminole Indians south and off of desired territory along the border between Spanish Florida and the US colonies. This resulted in three long and costly conflicts called the Seminole Wars. During the Second Seminole War, "Fort Kingsbury," a [[stockade]] defense, was built about 1837 on the north shore of Lake Monroe as a satelite fort of Fort Mellon across the lake in the area of present day Sanford, Florida. |
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In 2004 Volusia County designated Enterprise as an area worthy of special protection in the form of a historic overlay which will provide the community with special safeguards against intensive or inappropriate development and will foster the creation of a historic district within its boundaries. Lakeshore Drive is designated as a state scenic road and bears special protections in the form of the Scenic Corridor Management Plan designed by the county. Green Springs is now a popular county park featuring historic exhibit panels, picnic tables and pavilions, overlooks, trails, and a playground. Also within the physical bounds of Enterprise, but annexed into Deltona, is the once private Thornby Estate which will become the next jewel in the string of parks and greenspace being preserved along the lakefront of this historic area. |
In 2004 Volusia County designated Enterprise as an area worthy of special protection in the form of a historic overlay which will provide the community with special safeguards against intensive or inappropriate development and will foster the creation of a historic district within its boundaries. Lakeshore Drive is designated as a state scenic road and bears special protections in the form of the Scenic Corridor Management Plan designed by the county. Green Springs is now a popular county park featuring historic exhibit panels, picnic tables and pavilions, overlooks, trails, and a playground. Also within the physical bounds of Enterprise, but annexed into Deltona, is the once private Thornby Estate which will become the next jewel in the string of parks and greenspace being preserved along the lakefront of this historic area. |
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Revision as of 17:08, 2 April 2009
Enterprise is an unincorporated community in Volusia County, in the U.S. state of Florida, and its former county seat. Situated on the northern shore of Lake Monroe, it is flanked by the cities of DeBary and Deltona. Once the premier destination of steamboat tourism on the St. Johns River, Enterprise served as the county seat for three different counties. It is the site of the Florida United Methodist Children's Home.
History
Early History (Lani Friend)
In 1565, Pedro Menendez de Aviles explored the St. Johns River, perhaps reaching Lake Monroe. He and his men may have been the first Europeans to see the huge white shell mound looming on the shoreline at what would much later become the site of a settlement called Enterprise. This shell midden had accumulated over several thousand years as the native people tossed out the debris of their meals. At the time of contact with Europeans, the area was home to the Mayaca Indians, who lived in the area south of Lake George down to Lake Monroe and eastward to the coast. The Mayaca people relied for their survival on riverine resources such as snails and shellfish, turtle and alligator. They also hunted deer, fowl, and bear, and gathered roots, nuts and berries. Conflicts with the Spanish and the resulting cultural disintegration decimated the tribe by the early 18th century. The Seminole Indians from Alabama and Georgia eventually moved in to fill the void left by the Mayaca and other Florida tribes.
Settlement (Lani Friend)
Beginning in the early 1800s while the peninsula was still under Spanish rule, the US government began a concerted program to drive the Seminole Indians south and off of desired territory along the border between Spanish Florida and the US colonies. This resulted in three long and costly conflicts called the Seminole Wars. During the Second Seminole War, "Fort Kingsbury," a stockade defense, was built about 1837 on the north shore of Lake Monroe as a satelite fort of Fort Mellon across the lake in the area of present day Sanford, Florida.
To recruit citizens who would occupy the land and drive out the Seminoles for good, the government passed the Armed Occupation Act in 1842, granting 160 acres (0.65 km2) to settlers who would clear, cultivate and hold 5 acres (20,000 m2) for 5 years. Over 200,000 acres (800 km²) south of Palatka were opened for development. One of more than 1,000 who applied was Cornelius Taylor from San Pablo (now Mayport), a colorful frontiersman and militia man who raised a band of fifteen families to establish the colony of Enterprise.
Taylor built an inn atop the shell midden to attract visitors traveling by shallow-draft steamboat. At his plantation there, he planted citrus, cotton, and sugarcane and built a sugar works and steam mill. He and the other occupationists harvested live oak and sold it to firms such as Palmer and Ferris for ship construction by the Navy. At this time an epidemic, believed to be smallpox, claimed his oldest daughter and 9 slaves. In 1843, Taylor was a territorial representative to the Florida legislature and had Enterprise named as the county seat of Mosquito County. In 1845 when Florida became a state, part of that county was reformed into Orange County with the county seat moved to Mellonville. Taylor was known as a man who had many enemies and in 1845 a gang of them sailed over from Mellonville to harrass him about county papers. A fight ensued, and Taylor shot one of the men and was brought to trial on a charge of murder. He was acquitted on grounds of self-defense. This together with economic difficulties caused Taylor to take his family to Texas and start a ranch to supply cattle to the army fighting the war with Mexico. In 1849, when that venture fell through, Taylor joined the Gold Rush to California, sailing on a ship from Matamoros. He was said to be lost at sea during a bad storm.
In 1851, Jacob Brock began buying land a mile west of the original settlement at a site where there was already a small hotel and post office. Brock built a wharf and laid out streets and lots. A steamboat captain with "a notable reputation for the lavish and original nature of his profanity," Brock transported to Enterprise invalids seeking a health cure from the local springs and wealthy tourists seeking adventure in the uncharted wilderness. In 1854, he completed The Brock House, a two story hotel that became known as one of the the finest northern-style winter resorts on the river. Brock operated the first regular steamboat passenger service from Jacksonville to Palatka, expanding to Enterprise. In 1854, Enterprise was once again named county seat, this time for Volusia County.
It was a 206-mile (332 km) trip aboard the Darlington which departed Jacksonville at 8:00 AM on Saturday, timed to receive passengers discharged from ocean-going ships. It would arrive and spend Sunday in Palatka, from which it departed at 5:00 AM on Monday morning, docking at Enterprise that evening. Only by daylight did prudent captains navigate the narrow, crooked upper part of the St. Johns River. Crewmembers had to watch for snakes, slithering aboard out of Spanish moss in overhanging trees, and also for alligators, shot before they could tangle with the paddlewheel.
The Civil War
The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron division commanded by Union Captain George Balch set out to capture Confederate steamboats on the St. Johns River. Seized at Lake Monroe on March 14, 1864 was the Hattie Brock, named for the captain's daughter, and loaded with 150 bales of cotton for export to help finance the rebel cause. It was towed to Brock's wharf to load wood fuel. From the veranda of The Brock House, the New York Tribune would report, Miss Brock expressed grief and indignation at the capture of her namesake by the Yankees. The marines were reportly glad to get away as soon as their boats were supplied. They took with them 2 black males and 3 black females from their stop in Enterprise, and 2,000 pounds of sugar from a refinery, which was then demolished, about 2 miles (3.2 km) farther downriver on the east side of DeBary Creek.
Boom and Bust
Following the rebellion, the state experienced a boom in tourism, and Enterprise became a fashionable resort and sportsmen's paradise for fish and game. "No dreamland on earth," wrote Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1873, "can be more unearthly in its beauty and glory than the St. Johns in April." Sold and renovated in 1876, The Brock House was then the most famous hotel in the state, with guests including President Ulysses S. Grant, President Grover Cleveland, General William Sherman, Jay Gould and members of the Vanderbilt family. Others came from England, France and South America. In 1877, Enterprise was incorporated.
Another notable visitor was (Samuel) Frederick deBary of New York City, a wealthy importer of champagne and other French wines. After staying at The Brock House in 1870, he would buy 400 acres (1.6 km2) to the west in 1871 and build "DeBary Hall," a mansion and hunting lodge. Acquiring much more land, deBary planted orange groves and pecan trees. In 1876, he established the DeBary Merchants Line, a steamship company contracted to carry mail from Jacksonville to Enterprise. He contributed money to build the Gothic Revival All Saints Episcopal Church, completed in 1883. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Atlantic Coast, St. Johns & Indian River Railroad in 1885 linked Titusville with Enterprise, from which ran a spur line to the Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railroad at Benson Junction in present-day DeBary. But in 1888, Florida experienced an epidemic of yellow fever. The population of Enterprise dwindled, and the county seat was moved to Deland. The freezes of 1894 and 1895 wiped out the citrus industry in much of the state, including the deBary groves. Enterprise voted to de-incorporate in 1895. Its distinctive midden, once featured on the city seal, would disappear, the shells used to pave streets and sidewalks.
Today (Lani Friend)
In 2004 Volusia County designated Enterprise as an area worthy of special protection in the form of a historic overlay which will provide the community with special safeguards against intensive or inappropriate development and will foster the creation of a historic district within its boundaries. Lakeshore Drive is designated as a state scenic road and bears special protections in the form of the Scenic Corridor Management Plan designed by the county. Green Springs is now a popular county park featuring historic exhibit panels, picnic tables and pavilions, overlooks, trails, and a playground. Also within the physical bounds of Enterprise, but annexed into Deltona, is the once private Thornby Estate which will become the next jewel in the string of parks and greenspace being preserved along the lakefront of this historic area.
Recent
In 1924, the George E. Turner Power Plant was built near the shore of Lake Monroe. The town was renamed "Benson Springs" in 1927, a change petitioned by the owner, employees and guests of the Benson Springs Hotel. Never popular, the name "Benson Springs" changed back to "Enterprise" in 1937, the year the deteriorating hotel was razed to increase room for the Florida United Methodist Children's Home. The Florida East Coast Railway branch was abandoned in the 1950s, its track removed in the 1970s. Dismantling the George E. Turner Power Plant began in 2007, and was completed in February of 2008. Today, Enterprise struggles not to be absorbed by Deltona.
External links
Municipalities and communities of Volusia County, Florida, United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |