Homestead Documentation for Benjamin James
Oviedo (Fla.)
Property--Florida
Homesteading
The homestead documentation for Benjamin James. James' homestead was located in the southwestern portion of present-day Oviedo. James was born Savannah, Georgia, and migrated to Hastings, Florida, where he met his wife, Esther James. The couple married on January 24, 1913, at what then was called The Woods, on the eastern side of the town of Gabriella, near Bear Gully Lake. The couple had nine children, in addition to the four children from Esther's previous marriage.<br /><br />On July 8, 1921, James filed a homestead for 160 acres for his growing family at The Woods. Following a hurricane devastated Miami on September 11, 1926, the James family opened their property to Floridians left homeless in the aftermath. These refugees became the first settlers of the Jamestown and included Bob and Flossie Wells, George and Nettie Davis, and Morris J. "Preacher" and Margaret Williams, the Nails, the Olivers, the Perrys, the Bryants, the Evans, the Brannons, the Walkers, and the Ryans. James is the only African American to have a Central Florida town named after him.
Original homestead document: Private Collection of Kathy Parry.
Parry, Kathy
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Benjamin James Homestead, Jamestown, Oviedo, Florida
Fire Association to Begin Drive
Goldenrod (Fla.)
Winter Springs (Fla.)
Fire departments--United States
A newspaper article published by <em>The Oviedo Outlook</em> on July 7, 1971. This article discusses the Seminole-Goldenrod Fire Association membership drive. Goldenrod formed its volunteer fire department in the 1950s with its own trucks and erected a building on Palmetto Avenue in Goldenrod, Florida, to serve both Orange County and Seminole County residents. Around 1969, Orange County established a fire department at that location at 4755 Palmetto Avenue. In order to service the Seminole County residents of Goldenrod, the volunteer fire department moved to this location and became the Seminole-Goldenrod Volunteer Fire Department. The location was later taken over by Seminole County and renamed the Seminole County Fire Station 23.
Mathers, Marilyn
Original newspaper article: Mathers, Marilyn. "Fire Association to Begin Drive." <em>The Oviedo Outlook</em>, Vol. 1, No. 3, July 7, 1971: Private Collection of Dan Beistel.
<a href="http://www.seminolevoice.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Oviedo Outlook</em></a>
Beistel, Dan
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Seminole-Goldenrod Volunteer Fire Department, Goldenrod, Florida
Oviedo Area Map and Business Guide
Oviedo (Fla.)
An area map of Oviedo, Florida, and its surrounding areas. A number of advertisements from the businesses surrond the perimeter of the map. While the date is unknown, the map is believed to have been published sometime between 1970 and 1978. <br /><br /> The Timucuan Native Americans originally inhabited the area of present-day Oviedo, although the remains of their settlements have disappeared. Homesteaders arrived along the shores of Lake Jesup in 1865 just after the Civil War ended and began growing celery and citrus. The area was called the Lake Jesup Community until March 13, 1879, when postmaster Andrew Aulin, a Swedish immigrant, chose the name Oviedo.
Original map by Willett Ad Maps: Private Collection of Sue Blackwood.
Willett Ad Map
Blackwood, Sue
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Citizen's Bank of Oviedo, Oviedo, Florida
Oviedo Saw and Mower, Oviedo, Florida
Meat World, Oviedo, Florida
Oviedo Body and Paint Shop, Oviedo, Florida
RCA C&R TV Sales and Services, Oviedo, Florida
Eileen's Creative Mud Ceramics, Oviedo, Florida
Albert's Jewelers, Oviedo, Florida
Oviedo Florists, Oviedo, Florida
Ci Gi's, Oviedo, Florida
Oviedo Child Care Center, Inc., Oviedo, Florida
Cedar Chest of Fashion Fabrics, Oviedo, Florida