First Street Looking West from Sanford Avenue on the 4th of July

First Street Looking West from Sanford Avenue on the 4th of July

4th of July on First Street

Sanford (Fla.)

Streets--Florida

Fourth of July

4th of July

Independence Day (U.S.)

July Fourth

In 1870, a lawyer from Connecticut by the name of Henry Sanford purchased 12,548 acres of open land west of Mellonville. His vision was to make this new land a major port city, both railway and by water. Sitting on Lake Monroe, and the head of the St. Johns River, the city of Sanford earned the nickname of “The Gate City of South Florida.” Sanford became not only a transportation hub, but a leading citrus industry in Florida, and eventually globally. This image of First Street looking west from Sanford Avenue was taken on July 4, 1886, when businesses were developing and families were settling. However, in the following year, disaster and devastation hit the city of Sanford in the form of fires, freezes, and disease. In September of 1887, a bakery on on First Street caught fire, which lead to the rapid spread through other wooden buildings, eventually causing the east side of Sanford to disappear in devastation. Luckily, rebuilding began immediately with brick structures, rather than the flammable wood. This photo can provide an idea of what life was like during the 1880s in Sanford, and how quickly it can be destroyed.

Chase & Company

Original 8.5 x 11 inch black and white photograph by Chase & Company, July 4, 1886: Chase Collection (MS 14), box 211, folder 3.30B, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

1886-07-04

Digital reproduction of original 8.5 x 11 inch black and white photograph by Chase & Company, Jul 4, 1886.

Chase Collection (MS 14), box 211, folder 3.30B, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Sanford Collection, Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

Folder referenced in Chase Collection finding guide, http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.

image/jpeg

135 KB

8.5 x 11 inch black and white photograph

eng

Still Image

Sanford, Florida

28.812002, -81.264991

1886-07-04/1886-07-04

Donation

SS.K.A.1.2; SS.K.A.2.2; SS.K.A.2.3; SS.K.A.2.5; SS.K.G.2.1; SS.1.A.1.1; SS.1.A.2.2; SS.1.A.2.3; SS.1.C.3.2; SS.1.G.1.5; SS.2.A.1.1; SS.2.C.3.2; SS.2.G.1.2; SS.3.A.1.1; SS.3.G.1.1; SS.3.G.2.6; SS.3.G.4.2; SS.3.G.4.3; SS.4.A.1.1; SS.5.A.1.1; SS.5.G.1.4; SS.6.W.1.3; SS.8.A.1.2; SS.8.A.1.5; SS.8.G.4.5; SS.912.A.1.1; SS.912.G.1.2; SS.912.A.1.4; SS.912.A.1.7; SS.912.G.1.4; SS.912.G.4.5; SS.912.G.4.8; SS.912.W.1.3; SS.912.W.1.6

History Teacher

Civics/Government Teacher

Geography Teacher

Entire Chase Collection is comprised of four separate accessions from various donors, including Cecilia Johnson, the granddaughter of Joshua Coffin Chase and the children of Randall Chase.

The displayed collection item is housed at Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida to display this item for educational purposes only.

Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida

<a href="http://ufdc.ufl.edu/" target="_blank">Digital Collections (UFDC)</a>

Ennion, Kayla C.

Brochure,Sanford: Central Florida's Waterfront Gateway. Sanford, Florida: City of Sanford, 2005.

The Seminole Herald. Sanford: Our First 125 Years. [Sanford, FL]: The Herald, 2002.

Sanford Historical Society (Fla.). Sanford. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2003.

"Sanford: a Brief History." City of Sanford. http://www.sanfordfl.gov/index.aspx?page=48.

"Sanford: A Brief History"

Sanford, Fla.
July 4th./ 1886.

1 black and white photograph

8.5 x 11 inch