DeForest Block
Sanford (Fla.)
Drugstores--United States
The DeForest Block, located at 101 East First Street in Sanford, Florida. The building was constructed in 1887 by Henry L. DeForest as a general store. During that same year, Downtown Sanford along First Street was devastated by a fire that started at a bakery. The DeForest Block is one of only a few sets of buildings that survived the fire. In 1917, the Seminole County Bank renovated the block. The building was
Smith, Austin
Original color digital images by Austin Smith, December 19, 2010.
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
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Sanford, Florida
First Street Between Palmetto Avenue and Magnolia Avenue
Streets--Florida
Grocers--United States
Buildings--Florida
Sanford (Fla.)
Avenues
First Street between Palmetto Avenue and Magnolia Avenue in Sanford, Florida in 1882. When General Henry S. Sanford (1823-1891) first established the City of Sanford, he laid out the streets on a grid plan. Streets running toward Lake Monroe were given names of native Florida trees, while streets running parallel to the lake were numbered.
Also pictured in the photograph was the Sanford General Store, founded by Henry Sanford (1823-1891) in March 1871. The store was created with hopes of bolstering the success of the Sanford Sawmill, opened the year prior. The creation of the store was the result of advising offered to Sanford by Edwin Eastman. Eastman advised that a general store would be the surest way to improve profitability of the ailing sawmill, as mill employees would be paid goods from the store. The general store’s initial years of operation were plagued by problems. The store suffered from periodic shortages of crucial supplies and local farmers, faced with poor agricultural production, had a difficult time turning their produce into the cash needed to purchase goods. The only way Sanford proved able to ensure consistent sales was through the extension of credit to local settlers. This approach proved untenable, however, as impoverished customers proved unable to pay their debts to the store. In January 1873, the store was owed $4,000 by delinquent customers, a number that ballooned to $25,000 by early 1879. As Sanford’s personal financial state suffered, maintaining the stock of groceries became increasingly difficult. By March 1879, Sanford, unable to continue the operation of the general store, disposed of the remaining supplies and leased the building, alongside the wharf and its attached warehouse, for three years terms at $550 per year. At the time that this photograph was taken in 1881, the store was being operated by Michael J. Doyle, an immigrant from Ireland and originally settled in Volusia County prior to the Civil War.
Chase & Company
Original 8.5 x 11 inch black and white photograph by Chase & Company, 1882: Chase Collection (MS 14), box 211, folder 3.30A, item No. 1, <a href="http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/" target="_blank">Special and Area Studies Collections</a>, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
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Sanford, Florida
Lawton Brothers Store, 1910
Oviedo (Fla.)
Stores, Retail--United States
Hardware industry--Florida
A photograph of the Lawton Brothers Store in Oviedo, Florida, in 1910. The man behind the cash register in the photograph is likely Thomas Willington Lawton (1882-1963) or his brother, Winborn Joseph Lawton, Sr. (1881-1971). T. W. Lawton graduated from Rollins College in 1903. He later received his master's degree from Andover Newton College in Boston, Massachusetts. Following college, Lawton returned to Oviedo, where he married Charlotte "Lottie" Lee (1887-1984) and served as the principal of the Oviedo School from 1905 to 1907. In 1916, he became the first elected Superintendent of Schools of Seminole County. He held that post until 1952 and passed away 11 years later in 1963. Lawton Elementary School is named in his honor.<br /><br />W. J. Lawton, Sr. served as a trustee of the First Baptist Church of Oviedo, as well as a secretary and treasurer for the church's Sunday school. He graduated from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, in 1900. Lawton married Lillian Della Lee (ca. 1883-1977) and had four children: Elizabeth Lawton Laney, Kathryn Lawton, John. K. Lawton, and Winborn Joseph Lawton, Jr. Lawton was in the mercantile business, worked as an insurance agent, and grew citrus.
Original black and white photograph: Private Collection of Bettye Reagan.
Reagan, Bettye Jean Aulin
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Oviedo, Florida
Lawton's Store by Bettye Reagan
Oviedo (Fla.)
Painting--Florida
Art--Southern States
Stores, Retail--United States
Hardware industry--Florida
A painting by Bettye Reagan, a local artist in Central Florida, inspired by a photograph of the Lawton General Store Oviedo, Florida sometime between 1900 and 1939. The store was run by two brothers: Thomas Willington Lawton (1882-1963) and Winborn Joseph Lawton, Sr. (1881-1971).<br /><br />T. W. Lawton graduated from Rollins College in 1903. He later received his master's degree from Andover Newton College in Boston, Massachusetts. Following college, Lawton returned to Oviedo, where he married Charlotte "Lottie" Lee (1887-1984) and served as the principal of the Oviedo School from 1905 to 1907. In 1916, he became the first elected Superintendent of Schools of Seminole County. He held that post until 1952 and passed away 11 years later in 1963. Lawton Elementary School is named in his honor.<br /><br />W. J. Lawton, Sr. served as a trustee of the First Baptist Church of Oviedo, as well as a secretary and treasurer for the church's Sunday school. He graduated from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, in 1900. Lawton married Lillian Della Lee (ca. 1883-1977) and had four children: Elizabeth Lawton Laney, Kathryn Lawton, John. K. Lawton, and Winborn Joseph Lawton, Jr. Lawton was in the mercantile business, worked as an insurance agent, and grew citrus.
Reagan, Bettye Jean Aulin
Original painting: Reagan, Bettye. <em>Lawton's Store</em>. 1998: Private Collection of Bettye Reagan.
Reagan, Bettye Jean Aulin
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Oviedo, Florida
Thomas Willington Lawton and Winborn Joseph Lawton, Sr. at the Lawton General Store
Oviedo (Fla.)
Stores, Retail--United States
Hardware industry--Florida
Thomas Willington Lawton (1882-1963) and his brother, Winborn Joseph Lawton, Sr. (1881-1971), at the Lawton General Store in Oviedo, Florida. T. W. Lawton graduated from Rollins College in 1903. He later received his master's degree from Andover Newton College in Boston, Massachusetts. Following college, Lawton returned to Oviedo, where he married Charlotte "Lottie" Lee (1887-1984) and served as the principal of the Oviedo School from 1905 to 1907. In 1916, he became the first elected Superintendent of Schools of Seminole County. He held that post until 1952 and passed away 11 years later in 1963. Lawton Elementary School is named in his honor.<br /><br />W. J. Lawton, Sr. served as a trustee of the First Baptist Church of Oviedo, as well as a secretary and treasurer for the church's Sunday school. He graduated from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, in 1900. Lawton married Lillian Della Lee (ca. 1883-1977) and had four children: Elizabeth Lawton Laney, Kathryn Lawton, John. K. Lawton, and Winborn Joseph Lawton, Jr. Lawton was in the mercantile business, worked as an insurance agent, and grew citrus.
Original black and white photograph: <a href="http://oviedohs.com/" target="_blank">Oviedo Historical Society</a>, Oviedo, Florida.
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Oviedo, Florida