The current brick building was constructed around 1918. After the train depot closed around 1960, the building housed the Chamber of Commerce, and then several other businesses. In 1998, Kay Chicone Ustler and Jerry Chicone, Jr. donated $150,000 to the City of Winter Garden to purchase the building for use as a museum. The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation opened the museum one month later. The museum is still active and is open from 1-5 PM everyday, excluding holidays.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation Collection, Winter Garden Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation Collection, Winter Garden Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>
The T&G Railroad was well known for both excellent customer service and frequent derailments. It had many nicknames, including "the Turtle and Gopher," "the Tug and Grunt," and "the Try and Go." Even with only 32 miles of track running from Tavares to Ocoee and a 6-mile spur to Clermont, the railroad was active and productive when Winter Garden was the largest citrus shipping point in the world. In 1949, the T&G generated more perishable freight per mile of track than any Class I railroad in the United States.

On December 31, 1969, the line between Winter Garden and Astatula was abandoned. The station continued to operate as an agency for the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad until March 1978, when it was closed and all services were transferred to a mobile agency. In 1979, the Central Florida Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society purchased and rehabilitated the building for use as its headquarters. The railroad museum opened in 1983. In 2003, the museum became part of the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>
The Edgewater Hotel closed in 1968 and remained dormant for approximately 25 years. When city officials began discussing demolition of the building in order to construct a parking lot, concerned citizens formed the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation (WGHF), a non-profit organization, to purchase and restore the building. Intervention by the WGHF became unnecessary when Max Blanchard and Mike Lanza bought the building for restoration in 1995. Eight years later, the hotel reopened as a bed-and-breakfast with shops and restaurants such as Scoops and The Chef's Table.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation.]]> Winter Garden Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>
In 1920, Bray went back into the hardware business at another location, and in 1934, he moved the business back to this building after his original store and contents were destroyed by fire. His wife, Dora Bray, and his children, George Bray, Jr. and Evelyn Lease Bray, ran the business after his death in 1949. In 1983, the family sold the business to Walter Toole and Patti Toole. A year later, they joined the Ace Hardware franchise, and in 1987, they moved the business into a larger space on South Dillard Street. Since then, the space has been home to a number of restaurants. This building is known as the longest store in Winter Garden at only 20 feet wide and 177 feet long. At the time that this photograph was taken, the building was home to the Sweet Traditions French Bakery & Cafe.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>
Originally, it housed a bakery operated by Albert E. Jones and a real estate company operated by Dillard. Lewis L. Kenneday opened the first Winter Garden theater in the second floor of the building about 1913. It operated until 1917, when it was replaced by the Lyric Theatre. In the 1920s, A. D. Mims, later a county commissioner, operated a barbershop along the Main Street storefront. A barber by the name of Allen Bland occupied the space later. Eighteen boarding rooms were available on the second floor after the theater closed. Various businesses, such as the Leader Department Store, the Winter Garden Pharmacy, Tibbals-Rexall Drugs, J. S. Reddick's meat market and a beer parlor, occupied the building at other times. At the time that this photograph was taken in 2014, the building was being occupied by Savoree.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> The Town Crier, from this building for a time.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> Robert E. Black. It initially contained apartments on the second story and a series of stores on the first. Several physicians maintained offices on the second floor. As a result, it was often referred to as the Clinic Building. During the 1930s, the building accommodated the office of the Florida Public Service Company and the post office. Arnold's and later McCord's Feed Store occupied space on the first floor. Raymond Dickson operated a plumbing and electric business in this building for more than 25 years. The neon sign advertising his business is still present. Today, the building houses several local businesses.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.]]> Winter Garden Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>