A postcard with a picture of the Lynn Haven Hotel in Lynn Haven, Florida, built in 1911. The hotel was three stories high and featured large porches with views of the North Bay. The hotel was later turned into the Lynn Haven Sanitarium which housed veteran patients being treated for illnesses. The building burned down in the late 1920s. This postcard is part of a private collection kept by Roger Hipel of St. Cloud, Florida.
Original 5 x 3 black and white postcard: Private Collection of Roger Hipel.
A postcard depicting a group celebrating Memorial Day in 1912 in Lynn Haven, Fla. One man in the center of the group holds and American flag on a pole, while four children sit on the boardwalk. This postcard is part of a private collection kept by Roger Hipel of St. Cloud, Florida.
A postcard with a photo of two natives on a buggy drawn by a steer and a horse. They pass a store which has a sign for ice cream in the window. In the distance behind them are houses. This postcard is part of a private collection kept by Roger Hipel of St. Cloud, Florida.
A postcard depicting a scene on Florida Avenue in Lynn Haven, Florida. Business buildings line the dirt road. Early automobiles can be seen parked outside the buildings in the distance. The post office building is immediately to the left. This postcard is part of a private collection kept by Roger Hipel of St. Cloud, Florida.
The Lynx Central Station, located at 455 North Garland Avenue in Downtown Orlando, Florida, during renovations in 2004. The former bus station was located at 78 West Central Boulevard, which is the site of City of Orlando Fire Station No. 1 as of 2013. Lynx is operated by the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (CFRTA) and serves the Greater Orlando area, including Orange County, Seminole County, and Osceola County, as well as limited service to Lake County, Volusia County, and Polk County. The CFRTA was formed in May 1972 under the name the Orange-Seminole-Osceola Transportation Authority (OSOTA). In 1984, the bus service was renamed the Tri-Country Transit (TCT). In 1992, the TCT began operating as Lynx and the OSOTA's name was officially changed to the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority. The Lynx Central Station was opened in 2004 and serves as the central hub of the bus network. The station is expected to serve as a station for the SunRail.
Original color digital image by Thomas Cook, 2004: Private Collection of Thomas Cook.
RICHES of Central Florida
Lynx Central Station, Downtown Orlando, Florida
A page from the Lyons Township High School yearbook from 1937. The public high school is located in La Grange, Illinois. The page contains a partial list of students from the school, their personal quotes and their extracurricular activities. A notable person listed on the page is Arthur Herman Huisken Jr. (1919-1996). He is described as a "good looking, wise cracking ‘friendly fellow’" who collected stamps and had a fascination with art. Born on January 30, 1919, in Baltimore, Maryland, Huisken later moved to the Midwest with his family, living in Wisconsin and Illinois. While attending Purdue University, Huisken enlisted in the United States Navy Reserves. After graduation, he received commissioning as an officer, first as a Ensign and later a Lieutenant Junior Grade. He served on the USS Steamer Bay, which was as an escort carrier that assisted in various operations in the Palau Islands, the Philippines, and Japan. The ship returned to the West Coast of the United States in August of 1945. After his discharge on April 22, 1946, Huisken began his career with General Electric in the plastic division of the company. His career took him to various places, including Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Decatur, Illinois, Taunton and Lynn, Massachusetts. While in Pittsfield, he met Janet Gray, whom he married on October 26, 1946. The couple bore a daughter, Deborah, and a son, David. After his retirement from General Electric, he and his wife moved to Central Florida, settling in Leesburg. On July 3, 1996, Huisken passed away at the age of seventy-seven, leaving behind his wife and two children. The Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, placed a memorial headstone in honor of Huisken and later for his wife, Janet, who passed away in 2008. In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.
Digital reproduction of original yearbook page.
Postcard of Methodist Episcopal Church in Lynn Haven, Florida. The church was organized in 1911 and originally led by Rev. R.W. Burdeshaw. On the back of the postcard is a handwritten note addressed to Mrs. Robinson and Mrs. [Sleeth] at 214 N. B. St. in Arkansas City, Kansas. The message reads, "Not having heard from you since our last writing we are hoping you have decided to come to Lynn H. for the winter. [...] awaits you. Sincerly yours, Mrs. Katelyn &amp
[...]". This postcard is part of a private collection kept by Roger Hipel of St. Cloud, Florida.
M. S. Brown Clothing Store Advertisement
A newspaper advertisement in The South Florida Argus issue for January 3, 1886. This issue includes an advertisement for M. S. Brown, a clothing retailer whose business was located at Gumpert's Block in Sanford, Florida.
Print reproduction of microfilmed newspaper advertisements: The South Florida Argus, January 3, 1886: Microfilm Cabinet, reel BN06021, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.
M. S. Brown Clothing Store, Sanford, Florida
The M. V. Dillard and Company Garage, located on the corner of Plant Street and Main Street, just north of the Shelby Hotel, in Winter Garden, Florida. The garage was owned by James Lafayette Dillard (1858-1943), a local icon in Winter Garden. The garage was managed by Dillard's son, Marvin Dillard, who also worked as a taxi driver, transporting young men between Winter Garden and Orlando on Saturday nights. The second floor was occupied by a Cuban couple from Ybor City, who were hired by Dillard to make cigars. Some time later, the second floor became an armory. Dillard migrated to Central Florida from Virginia with his wife, Mattie Showalter, in 1887. He established himself primarily as a citrus and vegetable grower, but he also operated the M. V. Dillard and Company Garage, which was managed by his son, Marvin Dillard. In addition, he founded the Bank of Winter Garden, served as Wnter garden City Commissioner and a Florida State Legislator, and helped rebuild Downtown Winter Garden after two destructive fires in 1909 and 1912. Some of the buildings that Dillard helped construct include the Dillard and Boyd General Merchandise Store, the Shelby Hotel, and the Mann and Mills Dry Goods Store. He also donated land to the First Baptist Church of Winter Garden.
Original black and white photograph: Up From the Ashes Exhibit, Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Winter Garden, Florida.
Mable Chapman's Kindergarten Class Attendance Sheet at Sanford Grammar School
An attendance Sheet for Mable Chapman's kindergarten class at Sanford Grammar School. Originally established as Sanford High School, the main building was constructed at 301 West Seventh Street in Sanford, Florida, in 1902. The building was designed by W. G. Talley in the Romanesque revival style. Due to an increasing student population, a new school building was constructed on the corner of East Ninth Street and South Palmetto Avenue in 1911. The original building on Seventh Street served as Westside Grammar Elementary School, which was later renamed Sanford Grammar School. After a desperate need for an addition to the school developed, the city granted the school $75,000. The school's lunchroom was opened on October 10, 1921, after months of fundraising efforts hosted by the Woman's Club. In November 23, 1984, the main school building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and converted into the Student Museum. However, despite objections from the community, the lunchroom was demolished on September 25, 2008. The main school building reopened as the University of Central Florida's Public History Center in 2012.
Original attendance sheet, June 1984: Sanford Grammar Collection, Archives Box 4B, UCF Public History Center, Sanford, Florida.
Sanford Grammar School, Sanford, Florida
Mac Wright, Yvonne Ingram, and Other Youths at Restore Orlando
Youth participants, including Mac Wright, at Restore Orlando with volunteer Yvonne Ingram, in the Parramore neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, Florida, in 1992. Wright is pictured on the right with Ingram standing behind him. Created by Jerry Applebee and Polly Applebee in 1994, the Restore Orlando's after-school program organized outings such as horseback riding and helicopter rides. The Applebees were affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene in the Parramore neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, Florida. Dedra Jenkins fought to have a basketball court built for the older children at Kaley Square Park across the street. Originally, owners of the church and park did not want a court because they feared it would be a place where drug dealers would congregate. This photograph, taken by an unknown volunteer at the program, was originally discarded, along with other similar photographs, and then found by a local resident near the Emmanuel Fellowship and Worship Center, which is located at the former site of Restore Orlando. The collection was given to the contributor, Dedra Jenkins.
Original 3 x 5 inch color photograph, 1992: Private Collection of Dedra Jenkins.
Restore Orlando, Holden-Parramore, Downtown Orlando, Florida
A postcard depicting a bronze equestrian statue to José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales, a guerilla leader in 19th-century Cuba. Referred to as "The Bronze Titan," Maceo commanded important battles during the Cuban War of Independence. The monument is located near the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital in Havana, Cuba. This postcard is part of a collection of postcards kept by Lucile Campbell, a schoolteacher in Sanford, Florida, for 30 years. In 1931, she took advantage of a special rate for teachers and sailed to Europe, where she traveled for several months and is thought to have acquired many of these postcards. During the 1940-1941 school year, Campbell taught at Sanford Grammar School. Before her retirement in 1970, she taught at many other area schools, including the Oviedo School, Westside Grammar School, and Pinecrest Elementary School. Campbell used these postcards as aids in her classrooms to teach advanced subjects, such as Shakespearean drama. The collection, along with her other teaching aids, papers, and photographs, was later found at Sanford Grammar School after it became the University of Central Florida's Public History Center. Campbell's postcard collection and photographs provide insight into the life of a respected Florida educator.
Original 5 x 3 inch black and white photographic postcard: ACC# SM-00-243, file folder 1A (non-U.S. blanks), box 10A, Lucile (Mary Lucile) Campbell Collection, UCF Public History Center, Sanford, Florida.
Antonio Maceo Grajales Monument, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
A poster for the Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) concert, "Made in America.” The event was held at the Annie Russell Theater at Rollins College, located at 1000 Holt Avenue in Winter Park, Florida, on December 16 and 17, 2004. Tickets were $20 in advance through Rainbow City, Urban Think and orlandogaychorus.org and $25 at the door. The poster has a white background covered with the names of American composers and musicians in light grey. A star spangled sixteenth note sits next to the title. Featured artwork includes the logos of the OGC and various sponsors across the bottom of the poster. The Orlando Gay Chorus is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization part of GALA Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a whole host of community events like Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World Aids Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
Orlando Gay Chorus
Original color poster: University of Central Florida Special Collections, Orlando, Florida.
Annie Russell Theatre, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida
A program for the Orlando Gay Chorus' concert, "Made in America", on June 26 &amp
27, 2004, at the Annie Russell Theater at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. The program includes short biographies on the Artistic Director Terry Thomas, the Accompanist Genoa Minga, and the ASL interpreters Patricia Clifton and Lee Moody, program notes, an outline of the show's itinerary, a list of chorus members and contributors, and a history of GALA Choruses. The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
Original 28-page program, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Annie Russell Theater, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida
Madge Geraldine Rigney-Kinlaw at Seminole High School
Madge Geraldine Rigney-Kinlaw in front of Seminole High School in the 1940, when it was on located at 1700 French Avenue in Sanford, Florida. The building is now being used by Sanford Middle School. Originally called Sanford High School, the school was first established at 301 West Seventh Street in 1902. The building was designed by W. G. Talley in the Romanesque revival style. Due to an increasing student population, a new school building was constructed on Sanford Avenue in 1911. The original building on Seventh Street served as Westside Grammar Elementary School, which was later renamed Sanford Grammar School. In 1984, the building was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places and converted into the Student Museum. The building reopened as the University of Central Florida's Public History Center in 2012. In 1927, a high school campus was designed by Elton J. Moughton in the Mediterranean revival style and constructed at 1700 French Avenue. The school reopened on January 10 and was renamed Seminole High School. In 1960, the high school moved to a new campus at 2701 Ridgewood Avenue and the former building on French Avenue was converted to Sanford Junior High School, which was later renamed Sanford Middle School. The old building was demolished in the summer of 1991 and replaced by a $5.77 million school complex. As of 2013, Seminole High School offers various Advanced Placement courses, the Academy for Health Careers, and the International Baccalaureate Programme for students.
Original black and white photograph: Private Collection of Christine Kinlaw-Best.
Madison Street and Stuart's Hotel Postcard
A postcard depicting Madison Street and Stuart's Hotel in Thomasville, Georgia, which opened in 1888 when Thomasville was at its peak as a winter resort town. It was run by Charles Thompson Stuart, and later by his son, Ardie Stuart, until it burned down in 1917. This postcard is part of a collection of postcards kept by Lucile Campbell, a schoolteacher in Sanford, Florida, for 30 years. In 1931, she took advantage of a special rate for teachers and sailed to Europe, where she traveled for several months and is thought to have acquired many of these postcards. During the 1940-1941 school year, Campbell taught at Sanford Grammar School. Before her retirement in 1970, she taught at many other area schools, including the Oviedo School, Westside Grammar School, and Pinecrest Elementary School. Campbell used these postcards as aids in her classrooms to teach advanced subjects, such as Shakespearean drama. The collection, along with her other teaching aids, papers, and photographs, was later found at Sanford Grammar School after it became the University of Central Florida's Public History Center. Campbell's postcard collection and photographs provide insight into the life of a respected Florida educator.
Original 3 x 5 inch color postcard: ACC# SM-00-243, file folder 1 (U.S. blanks), box 10A, Lucile (Mary Lucile) Campbell Collection, UCF Public History Center, Sanford, Florida.
A program for the Orlando Gay Chorus' concert, "Magical Journeys", on June 24 &amp
25, 2000, at the Annie Russell Theater at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. The program includes short biographies on the Director Terry Thomas and the Accompanist Kathy Slage, program notes, an outline of the show's itinerary, a list of chorus members and contributors, and a history of GALA Choruses. It also includes two ticket stubs, a support flyer, a bookmark, and a donation envelope. The Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization, and part of the Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Founded on Valentines Day 1990, OGC is not only one of the largest mixed gay choirs in the United States at over 100 members, but they also boast four smaller ensembles that perform annual concerts, cabarets, and a host of community events, such as Come Out With Pride, Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees, and World AIDS Day memorial services. In 2017, the group performed at over 105 events, including 15 performances for the first anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. Members come from all walks of life and all sexual and gender orientations, including straight allies. OGC lives by the motto “Singing the World to a Better Place” and strives to use music to change attitudes and build a stronger community.
Original 16-page program, a postcard, 2 ticket stubs, a support flyer, a bookmark, and a donation envelope, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Magnolias (State Flower of Louisiana) Postcard
A postcard depicting a painted picture of magnolias, the state flower of Louisiana since its dedication in 1900. This postcard is part of a collection of postcards kept by Lucile Campbell, a schoolteacher in Sanford, Florida, for 30 years. In 1931, she took advantage of a special rate for teachers and sailed to Europe, where she traveled for several months and is thought to have acquired many of these postcards. During the 1940-1941 school year, Campbell taught at Sanford Grammar School. Before her retirement in 1970, she taught at many other area schools, including the Oviedo School, Westside Grammar School, and Pinecrest Elementary School. Campbell used these postcards as aids in her classrooms to teach advanced subjects, such as Shakespearean drama. The collection, along with her other teaching aids, papers, and photographs, was later found at Sanford Grammar School after it became the University of Central Florida's Public History Center. Campbell's postcard collection and photographs provide insight into the life of a respected Florida educator.
A ticket stub for a concert featuring Mahogany Rush at the Lakeland Civic Center in Lakeland, Florida. The concert took place on April 20, 1980, at 7 p.m. and was presented by Cellar Door Concerts. The ticket price was $6.50, including tax. The Lakeland Civic Center is a multi-purpose arena that opened in 1974, and is located at 701 West Lime Street in Lakeland.
Original ticket stub: Private Collection of Julie Wahl.
Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida
A traditional mail satchel worn by mail carriers to deliver their packages. The one shown in the picture was one of the series of leather satchels that were manufactured and used from 1868 until 1974, when they were phased out by the canvas satchels which are currently still in use. The leather satchels are quite durable, lasting up to six years compared to the paltry 18-month lifespan of the canvas satchels. In terms of weight, these leather satchels could hold 35 pounds, with mailmen often carrying two at a time if their route contained a large number of clients. However, many mailmen refrained from carrying two satchels at once in order to swiftly flee from any aggressive dogs whose favorite pastime was to harass the mailmen.
Original color digital image, September 2015: Orlando Remembered Exhibit, Downtown Orlando Post Office, Downtown Orlando, Florida.
Downtown Orlando Post Office, Downtown Orlando, Florida
This is a replica of a mail satchel cart used to transport multiple satchels of mail to ease the burden upon the mail carrier. The use of satchel carts is very situational and used in instances where the postal vehicle would be unable to reach a location with multiple post boxes. However, the use of the satchel cart must be approved by a Postmaster with its use being reserved by physically-impaired postmen first. The carts are fairly resilient and can transport up to 70 pounds of mail, which is equivalent to two mail satchels. Today, the use of satchel carts is on the decline, as segues have become more widespread and exponentially decrease the physical toll of wheeling a heavy mail trolley.
This is a neighborhood mailbox padlock from the post-World War II period. Its case and shackle are made of brass, opened by key, and uses a five-lever lock. It was a type of lock distributed by the U.S. Post Office Department to residents of Orlando for street letter boxes. The lock was assigned to letter box code number 49. By the 1950s, the following codes were withdrawn from service: 24, 37-43, 45-47, and 52-54.
A postcard depicting the main entrance of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now known as Texas A&M University, in College Station, Texas. The college was established as the first public higher education institution in Texas in 1871. This postcard is part of a collection of postcards kept by Lucile Campbell, a schoolteacher in Sanford, Florida, for 30 years. In 1931, she took advantage of a special rate for teachers and sailed to Europe, where she traveled for several months and is thought to have acquired many of these postcards. During the 1940-1941 school year, Campbell taught at Sanford Grammar School. Before her retirement in 1970, she taught at many other area schools, including the Oviedo School, Westside Grammar School, and Pinecrest Elementary School. Campbell used these postcards as aids in her classrooms to teach advanced subjects, such as Shakespearean drama. The collection, along with her other teaching aids, papers, and photographs, was later found at Sanford Grammar School after it became the University of Central Florida's Public History Center. Campbell's postcard collection and photographs provide insight into the life of a respected Florida educator.
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, College Station, Texas
Main Gate at Naval Auxiliary Air Station Sanford
Original main gate at Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Sanford. Two guard posts were constructed at the main gate. The last post was removed when the City of Sanford acquired the air station from the Navy in 1968. The main gate was located at what is now Airport Boulevard. The Naval Air Station (NAS) Sanford was commissioned on November 3, 1942 as a naval aviation training facility during World War II. The Navy continued to train pilots at NAS Sanford throughout the Korean and Vietnam Wars. NAS Sanford was temporarily decommissioned after World War II in 1946 and then recommissioned as the Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Sanford in 1950 due to the outbreak of the Korean War and the ongoing Cold War. Soon afterward, the station was renamed NAS Sanford and redesignated as a full naval air station. On February 6, 1959, NAS Sanford was dedicated as Ramey Field in honor of Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Ramey. In 1968, due to lack of funding caused by the Vietnam War, Congress directed the closure of NAS Sanford. The City of Sanford assumed authority over the former NAS Sanford facility the year after it closed and renamed it the Sanford Airport, which was managed by Commander J. S. "Red" Cleveland. The airport underwent various name changes over the next several decades: Sanford Regional Airport, Central Florida Regional Airport, Orlando-Sanford Regional Airport, and its current name, Orlando-Sanford International Airport. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, several Naval buildings were demolished and new buildings were constructed.
Original black and white photograph by United States Navy Photo Lab Sanford, May 1942: NAS Collection, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.
Sanford Museum
Main Street in Winter Garden After Fire of 1912
A revitalized Main Street after being rebuilt from two devasting fires devastating fires in 1909 and 1912 in Winter Garden, Florida. Taken around 1912, this photograph shows the new Bank of Winter Garden (1908-1929) and, on the right, the Dillard & Boyd Building can be easily seen. The Dillard and Boyd Building was constructed in 1912 and is where Arthur B. Newton's dry goods store one stood before the 1909 fire. In 1908, James Lafayette Dillard (1858-1943) founded the Bank of Winter Garden. He would later become the Director and Vice President of the bank. During the 1912 fire, the bank survived, but later closed in the 1929 crash and the building, enlarged with the addition of a second floor and expanded the west wall, became a department store, and later, a drug store and professional offices. In 1960, the bank was destroyed by a fire.
Bank of Winter Garden, Winter Garden, Florida
The Main Street Market, located at 137 Main Street (present-day North Magnolia Avenue) in Downtown Orlando, Florida.
Original black and white photograph: Orlando Remembered Exhibit, Regions Bank, Orlando, Florida.
Main Street Market, Downtown Orlando, Florida
Main Street, Fitzgerald, Georgia, Postcard
Postcard of Main Street, looking South, in Fitzgerald, Georgia. The dirt road has houses on each side, with power lines on either side in front of the houses. On the back of the postcard is the name Mrs. N. B. Smith, handwritten in blue ink. This postcard is part of a private collection kept by Roger Hipel of St. Cloud, Florida.
Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom, 1974
Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom in 1974. Magic Kingdom, located at 1180 Seven Seas Drive, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Construction for the resort began in 1967, after the death of Walt Disney (1901-1966). Magic Kingdom was the first park of the Walt Disney Resort to open on October 1, 1971. The park included 33 attractions in six themed areas: Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Liberty Square. Main Street features architectural and decorative influences from various regions in the country.
Original color photograph, 1974: Private Collection of Nancy Lynn Cepero.
Main Street, U.S.A., Magic Kingdom, Orlando, Florida
The main tower at Naval Air Station Sanford during the Vietnam War. The flight tower at Naval Air Station Sanford was the primary tower used by flight controllers. An original structure from the original base, the main tower was refitted several times during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The tower serviced both military and civilian air traffic and was finally replaced in 1994 by the current flight tower. The Naval Air Station (NAS) Sanford was commissioned on November 3, 1942 as a naval aviation training facility during World War II. The Navy continued to train pilots at NAS Sanford throughout the Korean and Vietnam Wars. NAS Sanford was temporarily decommissioned after World War II in 1946 and then recommissioned as the Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Sanford in 1950 due to the outbreak of the Korean War and the ongoing Cold War. Soon afterward, the station was renamed NAS Sanford and redesignated as a full naval air station. On February 6, 1959, NAS Sanford was dedicated as Ramey Field in honor of Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Ramey. In 1968, due to lack of funding caused by the Vietnam War, Congress directed the closure of NAS Sanford. The City of Sanford assumed authority over the former NAS Sanford facility the year after it closed and renamed it the Sanford Airport, which was managed by Commander J. S. "Red" Cleveland. The airport underwent various name changes over the next several decades: Sanford Regional Airport, Central Florida Regional Airport, Orlando-Sanford Regional Airport, and its current name, Orlando-Sanford International Airport. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, several Naval buildings were demolished and new buildings were constructed.
Original color photograph by United States Navy Photo Lab Sanford: NAS Collection, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.
Maintenance Crew on Skylab 1 at Launch Pad 39A
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
The maintenance crew on Skylab 1 at Launch Pad 39A of John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Merritt Island, Florida. As Project Apollo was winding down and the final three missions (Apollo 18, Apollo 19, and Apollo 20) were canceled, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) looked for ways to repurpose launch vehicles and other equipment. Out of this, Skylab and three space science missions were born. Skylab was conceived by famed rocket designer, Wernher von Braun (1912-1977), to use an unused upper-stage fuel tank and convert it to an orbital laboratory. This was necessitated by NASA's budget being slashed. With the tank becoming the basis of the space station, NASA added solar arrays, a docking adapter, and a space observatory. The Skylab missions were constituted of one mission to put the station in space (Skylab 1), using a modified and last Saturn V to launch, and three crewed missions (Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4) to occupy the lab and perform science, using the smaller Saturn IB booster to launch the three astronaut crews. When launched on May 14, 1973, the station encountered problems immediately. A micrometeoroid shield prematurely deployed and tore off one of the two main solar arrays. NASA engineers went to work and were able to save Skylab and the three crewed missions. Each of the subsequent missions set what were then endurance records for living in space and conducted substantial space science experiments. NASA tried to keep Skylab in orbit after Skylab 4 (SL-4) and until the Space Shuttle could boast its orbit, but with a decaying orbit, it crashed on July 11, 1979.
Original black and white photographic print, May 10, 1973: Larry Summers Collection.
Chronopoints
John F. Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida
This one-page, fold-out aerial map of Maitland, Florida, contains no dates or publication information, but was most likely published in 1925 or 1926. In addition to the aerial photograph, this item also contains several regular photographs that feature houses, residents, and lakes, as well as three paragraphs of text which note the town's lakes, citrus groves, railways, highways, and business section.
Original map: Newspaper Collection, accession number 2014.002.020V, room 2, case 2, shelf 10, box GV, Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
This one-page, fold-out informational sheet contains facts about Maitland, Florida, and includes such topics as the town's history, location, descriptive features, education, industry, recreation, and the town's future. Also featured are two photographs
one showing a citrus grove next to a road, and the other a road along a lakefront. While this item does not contain any official publication information, there is handwritten in ink, "FLA. 1926."
Original pamphlet: Newspaper Collection, accession number 2014.002.020V, room 2, case 2, shelf 10, box GV, Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
Maitland Section of The Winter Park Herald, Vol. 04, No. 28, June 10, 1926
The "Maitland Section" of The Winter Park Herald issue published on June 10, 1926. The Winter Park Herald was a weekly publication that was published between 1922 and 1959. This special section highlights the history and interesting features of Maitland, Florida. Some topics discussed in this issue include the opening of the Bank of Maitland, the Maitland Electric Shop, civil engineer L. L. Condert, the Maitland Plumbing Company, Brown's Store, the history of Maitland, the Inter-City Realty Company's sponsorship of a new subdivision on Lake Catherine, the history of Greenwood Gardens, the Maitland Lumber Company, the planned construction of a new arcade, the White Way Motor Company, and the Maitland Realty Company.
Original 8-page newspaper issue: Maitland Section, The Winter Park Herald, Vol. 4, No. 28, June 10, 1926: Maitland Public Library, Maitland, Florida.
Maitland, Orange County, Florida Promotional Booklet
This promotional booklet was issued by the Maitland Chamber of Commerce in January of 1925 and published by Rollins Press, located in Winter Park, Florida. The booklet promotes the town of Maitland for prospective settlers and visitors, and focuses on aspects of the town, such as lake front homes, schools, the leisurely lifestyle, proximity to Winter Park and Orlando, social life, and the expansion of industry and infrastructure. This particular copy likely belonged to J. H. Hill of 134 Magnolia Road in Maitland, Florida.
Maitland Chamber of Commerce
Original 16-page booklet: Maitland Chamber of Commerce. Maitland, Orange County, Florida. Winter Park, Florida: Rollins Press, 1925: Newspaper Collection, accession number 2014.002.020V, room 2, case 2, shelf 10, box GV, Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
Rollins Press
Major General Ben Ivan Funk Presents Award Citations to T. J. Joseph O'Malley and Dr. Calvin D. Fowler
Major General Ben Ivan Funk (1913-2012), of the U.S. Air Force, presents citations noting service to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space program to aerospace engineer T. J. Joseph O'Malley and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) Manager Dr. Calvin D. Fowler. Photographed, from left to right, is O'Malley, Maj. Gen. Funk, and Dr. Fowler.
Original black and white photographic print: Private Collection of Dr. Calvin D. Fowler.
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Space Systems Division Headquarters, Air Force Systems Command, United States Air Force, El Segundo, California
Male Students at Sanford High School 1920s
Male students at Sanford High School's second campus, located at the corner of East Ninth Street and South Palmetto Avenue in Sanford, Florida, in the 1920s. The students are from the class of 1911. The fourth boy on the left wearing the white shirt, sleeves rolled up, and a dark tie, is Vail Lovell. Sanford High School was originally established at 301 West Seventh Street in Sanford, Florida, in 1902. The building was designed by W. G. Talley in the Romanesque revival style. Due to an increasing student population, a new school building was constructed on Sanford Avenue in 1911. The original building on Seventh Street served as Westside Grammar Elementary School, which was later renamed Sanford Grammar School. In 1984, the building was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places and converted into the Student Museum. The building reopened as the University of Central Florida's Public History Center in 2012. In 1927, a high school campus was designed by Elton J. Moughton in the Mediterranean revival style and constructed at 1700 French Avenue. The school reopened on January 10 and was renamed Seminole High School. In 1960, the high school moved to a new campus at 2701 Ridgewood Avenue and the former building on French Avenue was converted to Sanford Junior High School, which was later renamed Sanford Middle School. The old building was demolished in the summer of 1991 and replaced by a $5.77 million school complex. As of 2013, Seminole High School offers various Advanced Placement courses, the Academy for Health Careers, and the International Baccalaureate Programme for students.
Original 2.75 x 5 inch black and white photographic print: Sanford High School Collection, box 3A, folder Sanford High School Students, item SCPS00489, UCF Public History Center, Sanford, Florida.
Malverne Boys Acclaimed As New Swing-Sing Trio
Music--New York (State)--New York--20th century
A newspaper article entitled, "Malverne Boys Acclaimed As new Swing-Sing Trio". Included in the article is a promotional image of the band. Written by Anthony Panzarella, the article describes a recent performance at an overseas press club reception for Sammy Davis Jr. It also lists a number of shows that they had played, along with the career aspirations for each of the three members. Initially called the Executives, the band was formed in 1963 by Jesse Cutler (then known as Lou London), Ricky Shutter and Steve Wagner. The band signed to Mercury Records in 1964, where they recorded a hit single called "Everybody Do the Duck". That same year, the band appeared as guests on the Joe Franklin Show, Wonderama, The Clay Cole Show, American Bandstand, Hullaballoo and Shindig. Over the next two years they performed at charity events and private celebrity parties all over Long Island and New York City. They played in the company of the Rolling Stones, Sammy Davis Jr., Barbra Streisand, Anthony Newley, Joan Collins and the Beatles. The group broke up in 1966. Jesse Cutler has spent an illustrious career, beginning at age 12, as a musician, composer, actor, producer, and entrepreneur. Starting in New York City in the 1960s and then in Los Angeles from the early ‘70s through the late ‘90s, Jesse performed with his bands and in the original cast of Godspell on Broadway, made records that saw Billboard’s Top 100, formed his own companies and appeared on TV and radio and in national print.
Original newspaper article: "Malverne Boys Acclaimed As new Swing-Sing Trio." ca. 1963 to 1966: Private Collection of Jesse Cutler.
RICHES
Photograph of a man wearing diving goggles and fins handing an air hose to a Weeki Wachee Mermaid in a swimsuit and fins who is posing underwater around 1950. Newton "Newt" Perry was born in Valdosta, Georgia in 1908, and moved with his family to Ocala, Florida in 1922. He was a member of the swimming and diving teams at the University of Florida. Perry earned the nickname "The Human Fish" for his performances of underwater stunts in advertising clips and film shorts, and acted as a swim double for actors in movies and TV shows, including Johnny Weissmuller as "Tarzan." Perry also advised filmmakers filming underwater scenes at Silver Springs, Wakulla Springs, and Weeki Wachee Springs, and developed a system for breathing underwater using an air compressor and hose, which was used in the 1948 film "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid" and during Weeki Wachee Springs' mermaid shows. Perry worked as a lifeguard, public school principal, coach, swimming and scuba diving instructor, and Ocala city pool manager. He opened Perry's Swim School in 1955, and taught more than 120,000 individuals to swim during his career. Perry was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1981. Perry's daughter Delee Perry took over Perry's Swim School following her father's death in 1987, and it was still in operation as of 2020. Along with a group of investors, Newton Perry opened Weeki Wachee Springs to the public in October of 1947, and used his experiences working at Silver Springs and Wakulla Springs to develop the original concepts for its underwater theater and mermaid shows. Perry sold his stake in Weeki Wachee Springs in 1950. After peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, attendance began to decline as theme parks and highways changed the dynamics of Florida's tourism. The State of Florida took over the attraction as a state park in 2008. Since then, the park has focused on appealing to a modern audience while preserving its history.
Original photograph of mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, ca. 1950: Personal Collection of Delee Perry.
Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Weeki Wachee, Florida
Sanford, Henry S. (Henry Shelton), 1823-1891
Belair Grove after the Great Freeze of 1885-1886. Henry Sanford made his last trip to Belair Grove during the winter of 1890-1891. Most of Sanford's visit was spent in Charles Armory's vacation home because of his poor health. This photograph and several others were taken of Sanford and his family to commemorate his last visit to Belair Grove. Sanford along with his wife and daughter left Florida in mid-May. Just days later Sanford died on May 21, 1891, in Healing Springs, Virginia. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 12,547.15 square acres of land, known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair Grove, located just three miles southwest of the city named after Sanford. By 1889, Sanford extended his land purchase to 145 acres and contained mainly orange and lemon trees. In Belair alone, Sanford introduced over 140 varieties of citrus plants. All were tested to determine if Florida citrus growers could introduce new varieties into the growing citrus market. Sanford also grew exotic plants acquired from Central and South America, many of which survived the 1886 freeze. Sanford mainly used Belair as his own experiment station, but ultimately the findings and reports would be used by other citrus growers throughout Florida. Eventually, following Sanford's death in 1891, his wife, Gertrude Sanford, handed over the operations of Belair to Sydney and Joshua Chase.
Original black and white photograph by Ensminger Bros., January 10, 1886: Chase Collection (MS 14), box 211, folder 3.3A, item CC84, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Man Carving His Own Destiny by Albin Polasek
Man Carving His Own Destiny, a sculpture chiseled from limestone by Albin Polasek in 1961. Polasek sculpted his first version of Man Carving His Own Destiny while studying under Charles Grafly at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1907. Reminisicent of Michaelangelo's Slaves, the sculpture depicts a man chiseling himself out of stone. Polasek has sculpted 53 different variations of Man Carving His Own Destiny throughout his lifetime. His various recreations depict differences in arm positions, the look of the hair, and how much of the man's body is emerged from the rock. Polasek was born in 1879 in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic). He apprenticed as a woodcarver in Vienna, Austria, and immigrated to the United States in 1901. After working in the Midwest for nearly four years, Polasek finally began his formal training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1910, Polasek won the Prix de Rome competition, spending three years at the American Academy of Art in Rome, Italy. Once he completed his studies in Rome, Polasek moved to New York City, New York, and set up a studio there. In 1916, the Art Institute of Chicago invited him to head its sculpture department, where he remained for nearly 30 years. In 1949, Polasek retired to Winter Park, Florida, building a home on Lake Osceola. In spite of suffering a stroke in 1950 that left him confined to a wheelchair and his left side paralyzed, Polasek continued to paint, draw, sculpt clay, and carve wood, creating a total of 18 major works before his death in 1965. In 1961, Polasek established the Polasek Foundation, designating his personal galleries, chapel, and gardens as a museum. Each year, thousands of local and international guests come to Winter Park to visit Polasek’s historic home and studio at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. Polasek’s works can be found in Europe, all over the United States, and locally in Winter Park and Orlando.
Original sculpture: Polasek, Albin. Man Carving His Own Destiny: Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, Winter Park, Florida.
Photograph of a man standing in front of advertising posters on the exterior of a building some time between 1920 and 1930. One poster is for the film "Captain Fly By Night," which was released in 1922. Newton "Newt" Perry was born in Valdosta, Georgia in 1908, and moved with his family to Ocala, Florida in 1922. He was a member of the swimming and diving teams at the University of Florida. Perry earned the nickname "The Human Fish" for his performances of underwater stunts in advertising clips and film shorts, and acted as a swim double for actors in movies and TV shows, including Johnny Weissmuller as "Tarzan." Perry also advised filmmakers filming underwater scenes at Silver Springs, Wakulla Springs, and Weeki Wachee Springs, and developed a system for breathing underwater using an air compressor and hose, which was used in the 1948 film "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid" and during Weeki Wachee Springs' mermaid shows. Perry worked as a lifeguard, public school principal, coach, swimming and scuba diving instructor, and Ocala city pool manager. He opened Perry's Swim School in 1955, and taught more than 120,000 individuals to swim during his career. Perry was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1981. Perry's daughter Delee Perry took over Perry's Swim School following her father's death in 1987, and it was still in operation as of 2020. Along with a group of investors, Newton Perry opened Weeki Wachee Springs to the public in October of 1947, and used his experiences working at Silver Springs and Wakulla Springs to develop the original concepts for its underwater theater and mermaid shows. Perry sold his stake in Weeki Wachee Springs in 1950. After peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, attendance began to decline as theme parks and highways changed the dynamics of Florida's tourism. The State of Florida took over the attraction as a state park in 2008. Since then, the park has focused on appealing to a modern audience while preserving its history.
Original photograph of man with advertising posters, ca. 1920-1930: Personal Collection of Delee Perry.
A newspaper article describing the opening of Bert Davison’s new tire store in St. Petersburg, Florida. The article pinpoints the location of the store on the corner of Ninth Street North and Ninth Avenue. It was published in the St. Petersburg Times on August 31, 1929. Bert Collier Davison (1892-1945) was born on July 28, 1890, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Anna Davison and Robert Davison. At the age of nineteen, Davison started a career in pharmaceutical sales. He registered for the draft on June 5, 1917, and was inducted into the United States Army on June 26, 1918. He left from France aboard the USS Zeelandia on September 8, 1917, and was assigned to the Administrative Labor Army Service Corps of the Quartermaster Corps. Near the end of the war, he earned a promotion to Corporal on October 1, 1918. Davison was tasked to stay with the Third Army during the occupation of the Rhineland after the war officially ended and did not depart from Europe until October 19, 1919. The work he did during the occupation earned Davison a promotion to Sergeant on May 20, 1919. He was honorably discharged on November 5, 1919. After returning home, Davison continued his work in pharmaceutical sales at Budd’s Pharmacy in St. Petersburg, Florida. He opened his own pharmacy in 1926. In April of the same year, Davison married Johanna Horstmann, a German woman. In August 1929, Davison shifted trades from pharmaceuticals to tires when he became the manager of a Firestone tire store and filling station. In 1930, Davison moved from Firestone to Goodrich tires. He had major surgery at the Mound Park Hospital in St. Petersburg in July 1930, followed by six weeks of recovery. Ultimately, his health issues would cause him to retire early at the age of forty-seven in early 1940. Davison died in 1945 from what his wife called “a long illness.” In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for K-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.
St. Petersburg Times
Digital reproduction of original newspaper article: "Manager." St. Petersburg Times, August 31, 1929.
The manifest of the in-bound passenger list for the ship General Maurice Rose. The ship sailed from Southampton, England, to New York, New York, in May 1955. Joan V. Harris, wife of Homer Duke Harris, and their daughter are listed as passengers. A notable individual listed is Homer Duke Davis. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, on January 30, 1928, David enlisted in the United States Army in April 1946 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and was assigned to the Panama Canal Department. He was released in October 1947. He reenlisted in August 1950, and served until 1955, when he returned to Nashville and worked as a salesman. He married Joan V. Fairhall in 1953, in Surrey, England. They had at least two children. Harris died on December 18, 1996, and is buried in Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.
United States Immigration and Naturalization Service
Digital reproduction of original manifest of in-bound passengers.
Mann and Mills Dry Goods Store and Lafayette Apartments
The Mann and Mills Dry Goods store at 31 South Main Street in Winter Garden, Florida. The building was constructed by James Lafayette Dillard (1858-1943) in 1922. Thomas Franklin Mann and Willie Mills migrated to Winter Garden in 1912, where they opened their original store in the Dillard and Boyd Building. They later relocated to the location in the photograph. The second floor featured the Lafayette Apartments was named in honor of Dillard. The building went through various owners over the years and during World War II, a man named Collie Biggers opened the Gem Theatre there to compensate for the popularity of the Garden Theatre. An array of businesses use the building now.
Lafayette Apartments, Winter Garden, Florida
Mann and Mills Dry Goods, Winter Garden, Florida
A newspaper article published by The Central Florida Press on June 20, 1930. The article reflects on the different kinds of religions by discussing rites and rituals, worldviews, faith, and morality.
Original newspaper article: "Many Kinds of Religion." The Central Florida Press, Vol. 1, No. 9, June 20, 1930, page 2: Oviedo Historical Society, Oviedo, Florida.
A map of the Boston Hill Cemetery, an African-American cemetery located at 199 Boston Cemetery Road in Oviedo, Florida. The dedication deed was signed by Prince Butler Boston and E. Garvin, who were representing the Board of Trustees of the Boston Cemetery, on October 12, 1926. The document was approved by N. E. Douglass, the Seminole County Clerk, on November 3, and was then approved by A. M. Weeks, the Clerk of the Circuit Court, the following day, The deed was then notarized on June 6, 1927, and approved by surveyor Allen H. Stone on November 4, 1928, Prince Butler Boston was the son of a Georgia slave owner, Dr. Alexander Atkinson, who moved to Central Florida in 1885, when he was 14 years old. After the citrus freeze during the 1890s, Atkinson abandoned citrus growing and migrated to Miami, leaving most his land to his son. Boston was a member of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church for nearly 61 years, beginning in 1886 until his death in 1947. He was ordained as a deacon in the church and also became the superintendent of the Sunday school. Once membership in the church began to grow, he designed a second choir stand and two additional classrooms.
Non-certified copy of original map: Private Collection of Ida Boston.
Map of City of Sanford and Environs, 1926
Created in October of 1926 by Sanford’s city engineer, Fred T. Williams, this surveyor's map depicts the City of Sanford, Florida, and its environs. During his tenure as city engineer from the 1920s through the early 1940s, Williams created multiple maps that show how Sanford has changed as the city limits grew and the city become more populated. Unlike some of the previous maps created by Williams, there seems to be no legend detailing the map. This particular map is difficult to read due to fading. The City of Sanford was founded by a lawyer and diplomat from Connecticut by the name of Henry Shelton Sanford (1832-1891), who purchased 12,548 acres of open land west of Mellonville. His vision was to make this new land a major port city. Situated on Lake Monroe at 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 leader in the citrus industry globally. The Great Fire of 1887 devastated the city, which also suffered from a statewide epidemic of yellow fever the following year. The citrus industry flourished until the Great Freezes of 1894 and 1895, causing planters to begin growing celery in 1896 as an alternative. Celery replaced citrus as the city's cash crop and Sanford was nicknamed "Celery City." In 1913, Sanford became the county seat of Seminole County, once part of Orange County. Agriculture dominated the region until Walt Disney World opened in October 1971, effectively shifting the Central Florida economy towards tourism and residential development.
Original 43.5 x 28.5 inch map by Fred T. Williams, 1926: Museum of Sanford History, Sanford, Florida.
Map of Florida Showing the Land Grant of the Florida South Railway
A map of Florida showing the Florida South Railway's land grant, published in 1888. The map includes information about towns along the railway, facts about Florida, and hints for potential immigrants. The Florida Southern Railway was established in 1891 when it took over the Gainesville, Ocala and Charlotte Harbor Railroad. Facing foreclosure, the line was acquired by Henry B. Plant (1819-1899) as part of his Plant System in 1892 and reorganized as the Florida Southern Railroad, which stretched from Gainesville to Ocala and then to Punta Gorda. In 1903, the Florida Southern was acquired by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL). The ACL merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) in 1967 to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). Much of the original ACL lines are now part of the CSX Transportation line, which operates the SCL.
Original 24-page map, 1888: Matthews, Northrup and Company. Map of Florida Showing the Land Grant of the Florida South Railway. Map. Buffalo, NY: Art-Printing Works, 1888: Maitland Public Library, Maitland, Florida.
A map of Florida in French from 1780, when the territory was under British rule. In 1763, Spain traded Florida in exchange for Havana, Cuba, which had been captured by the British during the Seven Years' War. Many Spanish settlers and indigenous people left Florida for Cuba. The British divided the territory into East Florida and West Florida, which consisted of most of the Florida Panhandle and parts of present-day Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. During this period, a large number of British settlers migrated to Florida, particularly present-day Duval County, Baker County, St. Johns County, and Nassau County. One key settler was a Scotchman named Dr. Andrew Turnbull (1718–1792), who established a settlement at New Smyrna. During the American Revolution, the majority of Floridians expressed loyalty to the British Crown and the colony declined to send delegates to the Continental Congress. When the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, the Florida territory was returned to Spanish control.
Original map, 1780: Leonard Pugh Collection.
A map of Florida created by J. Lee Williams when the area was a U.S. territory in 1837. Florida came under American control on March 30, 1822, with Tallahassee as its capital. Much of Florida's territorial history is marked by conflict with Seminole tribes. When the United States first gained the territory, many Seminoles and free blacks migrated to Central Florida, South Florida, Cuba, or the Bahamas. In 1832, the federal government and a number of Seminole chiefs signed the Treaty of Payne's Landing. The terms of the agreement promised the Seminoles land west of the Mississippi River if they agreed to leave the Florida Territory voluntarily. The U.S. Army began enforcing the treaty in 1835, leading to the Dade Massacre and the Second Seminole War, led primarily by Osceola (born Billy Powell). The war ended in 1842 with the forced exile of most Seminoles. Florida became a state three years later in 1845.
Original map by J. Lee Williams, 1837: Leonard Pugh Collection.
Map of Goldsboro, Orange County, Florida
A plat of a handdrawn lot given to Orange County, Florida when Goldsboro was established. The map shows plots along Goldsboro Avenue (present-day West Thirteenth Street and Historic Goldsboro Avenue), Lincoln Street (present-day West Thirteenth Place), Blaine Street (present-day West Fourteenth Street), and Harrison Street (present-day West Sixteenth Street). The majority of the plots were owned by Florida Land and Colonization Company or Thorpe & Chappell. Goldsboro is one of the historic African-American communities in Sanford, Florida. On December 1, 1891, William Clark, a storeowner and businessman, organized 19 other black registered voters to incorporate the town of Goldsboro, which was the second African-American city to be incorporated in Florida. Goldsboro's early economy was driven by rail yards, fields, groves, ice houses, and produce houses. A year after its incorporation, Goldsboro opened a school led by Katie Stubbins. Goldsboro's proximity to Sanford prevented it from expanding further west. Instead, the City of Sanford passed a resolution to absorb Goldsboro, despite opposition from the latter town's officials. Nonetheless, the Florida Legislature revoked Goldsboro's incorporation, in order to allow its absorption into Sanford on April 6, 1911. The identity of Goldsboro began to erode as the City of Sanford renamed several of its historical streets. In 2007, Goldsboro was included in plans for Sanford's revitalization efforts. In 2011, the Goldsboro Historical Museum was opened in the town at the site of its original post office.
Copy of original map, 1891: Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.
A map of Lake Charm, a 19-acre lake located in the Lake Jesup Watershed of Oviedo, Florida, sometime between 1865 and 1870. The map shows mostly orange groves and farmland owned by a handful of individuals: Walter Gwynn, Dr. Henry Foster, Mary E. Foster, and Catherine M. Remington. Walter Gwynn (1828-1897), comptroller for the State of Florida, bought the land south of Lake Jesup in 1859 and built his home on Lake Charm in 1868. His daughter, Martha Gwynn, is credited with naming the lake. In 1870, Dr. Henry Foster migrated to Lake Charm from New York and began growing oranges. He later developed the area as a resort in the 1880s.
Original map: Oviedo Historical Society, Oviedo, Florida.
Envelope and hand-drawn maps of Michael Gladden, Jr.'s property, Lots 21 and 27 of Block J in Apopka, mailed to Ella Wall. Michael Gladden, Jr. (1899-1982) was the executor of the estate of George W. Oden (1862-1939), a successful businessman and citrus grower in Apopka, Florida. Gladden was born in South Carolina in 1899. He married Elizabeth Gladden and together they had a son, William, who was born around 1904. According to census records, the Gladden family had moved to Jacksonville as early as 1910 and then moved to Apopka. After Oden's death in 1939, Gladden continued to manage the legal documents of Oden's estate. Ella Wall (1874-1938) was an entrepreneur and businesswoman of Apopka who served as the inspiration for a character in Zora Neale Hurston's novel Mules and Men. Wall was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1874 and moved to Apopka as a widow. Throughout her lifetime, Wall purchased four parcels, of land. She operated an orange grove and also constructed small wooden buildings that she rented out to migrant workers. Wall was also a friend of Michael Gladden, Jr., the executor of the George W. Oden estates, until her death in 1938.
Original map by Michael Gladden, Jr.: series I, box 1, folder 12, African American Legacy: The Carol Mundy Collection, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
Surveyor and cadastral map of Orange County, Florida, which included present-day Seminole County. This map was created by a Swedish immigrant, J. Otto. Fries, in 1890. Coming to America in 1874, Fries was a respected civil engineer that later attended the University of Florida. He was hired by Orange County to create this surveyor’s map with all of its distinct features. This map is very special because of two unique characteristics. Firstly, it is a topographical and a cadastral map, showing the physical features and real estate of the area. Secondly, this map includes local family names on the location of their residence, something that is quite rare for public maps. Also, this map shows Orange County before it was split into two different counties: Seminole County and Orange County. This map was kept in the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford until 1913. In 1954, the map was given as a gift from Jack Fox to Arthur Beckwith. From there, it was donated to the Museum of Seminole County History by Arthur Beckwith, where it has undergone extensive restoration to fix the discoloration, peeling edges, and ripped pieces.
Original 56.75 x 42.5 inch color map by J. Otto Fries, 1890: E. W. Smith & Company: Philadelphia, 1890: Museum of Seminole County History, Sanford, Florida.
A map of Oviedo drawn by Dane Kolb as part of the Oviedo History Harvest in 2015. The map shows various locations in Oviedo, including Red Bug Lake Road, the Oviedo Mall, a cemetery, a school, and Kolb's home. Kolb was 25 at the time that the map was drawn.
Original hand-drawn map by Dane Kolb, April 18, 2015: Oviedo Historical Society, Oviedo, Florida.
A map of Oviedo drawn by Elizabeth T. as part of the Oviedo History Harvest in 2015 The map shows various locations in Oviedo, including Oviedo High School, the First Baptist Church of Oviedo
Lawton Elementary School, Oviedo Bowling Center, and the Most Precious Blood Catholic Church. Elizabeth was 22 at the time that the map was drawn.
Original hand-drawn map by Elizabeth T., April 18, 2015: Oviedo Historical Society, Oviedo, Florida.
First Baptist Church of Oviedo, Oviedo, Florida
Lawton Elementary School, Oviedo, Florida
Most Precious Blood Catholic Church, Oviedo, Florida
A map of Oviedo drawn by Sarah Thorncroft as part of the Oviedo History Harvest in 2015. The map shows various locations along Aloma Avenue, which is part of Florida State Road 426, and Central Avenue, which is part of SR 419. These sites include Oviedo High School, the dentist's office of Dr. Gregory J. Jann, the First Baptist Church, the Lawton House, Lawton Elementary School, the post office, and Black Hammock. Thorncroft was 24 at the time that the map was drawn.
Original hand-drawn map by Sarah Thorncroft, April 18, 2015: Oviedo Historical Society, Oviedo, Florida.
Office of Dr. Gregory J. Jann, Oviedo, Florida
Created in 1928 by Sanford’s city engineer, Fred T. Williams, this surveyor's map depicts Seminole County, Florida. During his tenure as city engineer from the 1920s through the early 1940s, Williams created multiple maps that show how Sanford has changed as the city limits grew and the city become more populated. Unlike some of the previous maps created by Williams, there seems to be no legend detailing the map. This particular map is difficult to read due to fading. The City of Sanford was founded by a lawyer and diplomat from Connecticut by the name of Henry Shelton Sanford (1832-1891), who purchased 12,548 acres of open land west of Mellonville. His vision was to make this new land a major port city. Situated on Lake Monroe at 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 leader in the citrus industry globally. The Great Fire of 1887 devastated the city, which also suffered from a statewide epidemic of yellow fever the following year. The citrus industry flourished until the Great Freezes of 1894 and 1895, causing planters to begin growing celery in 1896 as an alternative. Celery replaced citrus as the city's cash crop and Sanford was nicknamed "Celery City." In 1913, Sanford became the county seat of Seminole County, once part of Orange County. Agriculture dominated the region until Walt Disney World opened in October 1971, effectively shifting the Central Florida economy towards tourism and residential development.
Original 30.5 x 22.5 inch map by Fred T. Williams, 1928: Museum of Seminole County History, Sanford, Florida.
Created in 1936 by Sanford’s city engineer, Fred T. Williams, this surveyor's map depicts Seminole County, Florida. During his tenure as city engineer from the 1920s through the early 1940s, Williams created multiple maps that show how Sanford has changed as the city limits grew and the city become more populated. Unlike some of the previous maps created by Williams, there seems to be no legend detailing the map. Seminole County separated from Orange County on April 25, 1913, and was named for the Seminole tribes that originally inhabited the area. In the early-1900s, Seminole County was known for its agricultural development and close proximity to shipping lanes. By the 1920s, citizens in Seminole County, particularly in Sanford, soon shifted their interests in making the area a tourist destination.
Original 12 x 9 inch black and white map by Fred T. Williams, 1936: Museum of Seminole County History, Sanford, Florida.
Created in 1954 by Sanford’s city engineer, Fred H. Williams, this surveyor's map depicts Seminole County, Florida. During his tenure as city engineer from the 1920s through the early 1940s, Williams created multiple maps that show how Sanford has changed as the city limits grew and the city become more populated. Unlike some of the previous maps created by Williams, there seems to be no legend detailing the map. This particular map is difficult to read due to fading. The City of Sanford was founded by a lawyer and diplomat from Connecticut by the name of Henry Shelton Sanford (1832-1891), who purchased 12,548 acres of open land west of Mellonville. His vision was to make this new land a major port city. Situated on Lake Monroe at 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 leader in the citrus industry globally. The Great Fire of 1887 devastated the city, which also suffered from a statewide epidemic of yellow fever the following year. The citrus industry flourished until the Great Freezes of 1894 and 1895, causing planters to begin growing celery in 1896 as an alternative. Celery replaced citrus as the city's cash crop and Sanford was nicknamed "Celery City." In 1913, Sanford became the county seat of Seminole County, once part of Orange County. Agriculture dominated the region until Walt Disney World opened in October 1971, effectively shifting the Central Florida economy towards tourism and residential development.
Original 30 x 22 inch map by Fred H. Williams, 1954: Museum of Seminole County History, Sanford, Florida.
A map of St. Lucie County, Florida, in 1907. Present-day St. Lucie County was originally inhabited by the Ais tribe. During the early 19th century, Spain issued a 2,000 land grant to James Hutchinson, but the area remained largely uninhabited. During the mid-19th century, Seminoles and runaway slaves took refuge in the area. The county seat, Fort Pierce, was established in 1837 during the Second Seminole War and named after Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin K. Pierce. Under the Armed Occupation Act, the U.S. government began issuing land grants to American settlers. Fort Capron was established in present-day St. Lucie Village during the Third Seminole War in 1851. Henry Flagler's (1830-1913) railroad system expanded to the present-day St. Lucie County area in the 1890s, allowing the area's pineapple, fishing, seafood canning, and cattle industries to expand. Citrus became another prosperous industry in the area during the early 20th century. St. Lucie County was officially created from the southern portion of Brevard County in 1905. Indian River County separated to form its own county in 1925 and Martin County was established from the southeastern portion of St. Lucie County and the northern portion of Palm Beach County that same year. The western part of the county was used to form Okeechobee County in 1917. St. Lucie County benefited from Florida's land boom in the 1920s, but was also affected by Florida's bust in 1929 and the Great Depression in the 1930s. During World War II, the U.S. Naval Amphibious Training Base was established in Fort Pierce, marking the beginning of the county's population boom that would last throughout the 1950s. St. Lucie County saw a population boom in the late 20th century. In the 21st century, the county was devastated by two major hurricanes in 2004 and from the financial collapse beginning in 2008.
Digital reproduction of original color map: New Encyclopedia and Gazetteer: Chicago: Dodd, Mead, & Company, 1907: Exploring Florida Maps, Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.
A map of St. Lucie County, Florida, in 1911. Present-day St. Lucie County was originally inhabited by the Ais tribe. During the early 19th century, Spain issued a 2,000 land grant to James Hutchinson, but the area remained largely uninhabited. During the mid-19th century, Seminoles and runaway slaves took refuge in the area. The county seat, Fort Pierce, was established in 1837 during the Second Seminole War and named after Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin K. Pierce. Under the Armed Occupation Act, the U.S. government began issuing land grants to American settlers. Fort Capron was established in present-day St. Lucie Village during the Third Seminole War in 1851. Henry Flagler's (1830-1913) railroad system expanded to the present-day St. Lucie County area in the 1890s, allowing the area's pineapple, fishing, seafood canning, and cattle industries to expand. Citrus became another prosperous industry in the area during the early 20th century. St. Lucie County was officially created from the southern portion of Brevard County in 1905. Indian River County separated to form its own county in 1925 and Martin County was established from the southeastern portion of St. Lucie County and the northern portion of Palm Beach County that same year. The western part of the county was used to form Okeechobee County in 1917. St. Lucie County benefited from Florida's land boom in the 1920s, but was also affected by Florida's bust in 1929 and the Great Depression in the 1930s. During World War II, the U.S. Naval Amphibious Training Base was established in Fort Pierce, marking the beginning of the county's population boom that would last throughout the 1950s. St. Lucie County saw a population boom in the late 20th century. In the 21st century, the county was devastated by two major hurricanes in 2004 and from the financial collapse beginning in 2008.
Digital reproduction of original color map: Rand McNally, 1911: Exploring Florida Maps, Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.
Rand McNally
Map of the Air Service Production Center #2 at the Romorantin Aerodrome
A schematic map of the Air Service Production Center #2 at the Romorantin Aerodrome. The Aerodrome is located about sixty miles south of the city of Orleans in France’s Loire River valley. John Conaway (1892-1955) and his unit, the 803rd Aero Squadron (Repair), were stationed here during World War I, where they assembled, maintained, and supported aircraft operations. This facility is still in operation today as the Romorantin-Pruniers Air Detachment (DA 273) and supports the French Air Force. A notable crewmember was John Martin Conaway (1892-1955). Conaway was born on September 30, 1892, in Wellsburg, West Virginia. He was the middle of three children born to Glenn and Eliza Conaway. When John was four years old, his mother Eliza passed away. Glenn then married Lenora Cusick. John gained two half-siblings from this marriage. At eight years old, John lost his father and the family split up. By the time he was eighteen, John lived in Michigan. When the United States entered World War I, John enlisted in the Army Air Service. Before deploying, he married Catherine Jeffrey. He served in France with the 803rd Aero Squadron (Repair). John received an honorable discharge in January of 1919. In January of 1920, John re-enlisted into the Army Air Service and rejoined his old unit. He received a second honorable discharge in December of 1921. By 1924, John and Catherine had divorced. John then married Rhoda Spicket. Their son, William, was born in 1925. When the United States entered World War II, John registered for the Old Man’s Draft. In February of 1950, John and Rhoda divorced. John then married Gloria Shields later that year. In 1952, the couple moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. John passed away in 1955 and is interred in the Bay Pine National Cemetery. In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for K-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.
Digital reproduction of original schematic map of Air Service Production Center #2 at the Romorantin Aerodrome.
National Archives and Records Service, Washington D. C.
Orlando street map printed in 1914 by the State Bank of Orlando. The cover of the map lists the officers and directors of the State Bank of Orlando, as well as a listing of churches. The map was made for the Carl Dann Real Estate Company of Orlando and was compiled by G. R. Ramsey, and platted and drawn by J. A. McLeod. It lists West Street, renamed Rosalind Avenue around 1916; Main Street, renamed Magnolia Avenue; Magnolia Street, renamed Palmetto Avenue; and East Street, renamed Summerlin Avenue.
Original map by J. A. McLeod and G. R. Ramsey, 1914: Private Collection of Thomas Cook.
A map of the Ossie Quarters, an area in the Parramore neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, Florida. The map was drawn in 2016 by Althea Hill, based on her memory of historic businesses and homes located in the neighborhood from 1951 through 1970. Ossie Quarters is located just north of Ossie Street, named in honor of Ossie Davis (1917-2005), a stage actor and civil rights activist.
Original 8.5 x 11 inch hand-drawn color map by Althea Hill: Private Collection of Althea Hill.
Ossie Quarters, Holden-Parramore, Downtown Orlando, Florida
Map of Weeki Wachee after ABC Bought the Attraction
Mermaids--Florida--Weeki Wachee--History
This map is a part of a booklet about Weeki Wachee Springs. The booklet was made sometime after the corporation American Broadcasting Company (ABC) purchased the park. The map also shows the underwater theater, labeled D, as having a flat roof. This remodel covered up the original clam shell roof the theater had. In the mid-1970s, the park was rethemed and many of the attractions took on a South Pacific look. In 2014, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection began an endeavor to uncover the original roof. Along with a group of investors, Newton Perry opened Weeki Wachee Springs to the public in October of 1947. At the time, roadside attractions were becoming popular stops along Florida roadways. The attraction consisted of an amalgamation of vendors, an orchid garden, a river boat tour, as well as the star attraction: a mermaid show that took place in an underwater theater. Eventually, the May Museum of the Tropics, an "abandoned Seminole village", a show called “Birds of Prey”, and a petting zoo were added. After peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, attendance began to decline as theme parks and highways changed the dynamics of Florida's tourism. The State of Florida took over the attraction as a state park in 2008. Since then, the park has focused on appealing to a modern audience while preserving its history.
Original color Weeki Wachee brochure, fourteen pages, c. 1970s: Private Collection of Rebecca Young.
Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Spring Hill, Florida
Map of Zellwood Drainage and Water Control District Unit No. 1 and Unit No. 2
A map that identifies pump stations, canals, and allotments within Unit No. 1 and Unit No. 2 of the Zellwood Drainage and Water Control District (ZDWCD), which was created by the Florida Legislature in 1941 for taxation and land management of farming areas on the north shore of Lake Apopka. The district was granted powers of self-taxation and permitted to construct canals, bridges, and dikes in the area. The north shore farms were constructed on "muck land" created by the drainage of wetlands bordering Lake Apopka. The soil in these areas, often called "muck soil," is highly fertile and vulnerable to oxidation. The ZDWCD was permitted to routinely flood farmlands, when not in use, in order to keep the soil wet and preventing its loss to oxidation. These lands would then be drained before each growing season and this water was discharged back into Lake Apopka. Practices like these were considered to contribute to the pollution of Lake Apopka, with the discharge of fertilizer-rich water creating conditions of “eutrophication” in the lake and promoting the growth of harmful algae. The Friends of Lake Apopka (FOLA), a citizen advocacy group organized for the environmental restoration of Lake Apopka in the early 1990s, lobbied for increased restrictions on the district’s ability to utilize water from Lake Apopka. These efforts culminated in a buyout of the Zellwood Drainage and Water Control District farmlands by the State of Florida in 1998, and farming operations ceased in June of that year. The ZDWCD was dissolved by the Florida Legislature in September of 2000.
Photocopy of original map, 1979: binder 1979, Friends of Lake Apopka Archives, Ginn Museum, Oakland Nature Preserve, Oakland, Florida.
Mapping the Florida Terrain by Dr. Walter Gaudnek
Mapping the Florida Terrain, a painting created by Dr. Walter Gaudnek in 1989. Born in Fleyh, Czechoslovakia, in 1931, pop artist Dr. Gaudnek is known for his blend of his bold colors, philosophy, religious symbolism, labyrinth installations, and mixtures of performance and art. He also draws heavy inspiration from Bohemia, Caravaggio, Kazimir Malevich, and Pablo Picasso. A 1957 Fulbright Scholar who received his doctorate from New York University, he joined the art faculty of the Florida Technological University (present-day University of Central Florida) in Orlando, Florida, in 1970. Dr. Gaudnek previously taught at universities in Los Angeles, New York, and Ohio. He founded the Long Island University's Hillwood Art Museum in Greenvale, New York. His honors from UCF include Distinguished Researcher of the Year (1990), the Teaching Incentive Program Award (1995 and 2005), the Professional Excellence Program Award (1997), the President’s Award (1999), and the Research Incentive Award (2002). In 1994, the Sudetendeutecher Landsmannschaft, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of the Czech-German diaspora, awarded him the Kulturpreis for Fine Art and Architecture. Dr. Gaudnek’s work can be seen at the Gaudnek Europe Museum (GEM) in Altomünster, Germany, as well as the UCF Library, which contains a retrospective of his work from 1945 to 2007. He has participated in more than 200 solo and group exhibitions, installations, and performances in Germany, Italy, Spain, England, Colombia, the Czech Republic, and the United States. His works have also been exhibited in museums in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Europe, and Brazil, as well as schools, banks, office buildings, libraries, theaters, museums, and private homes in Europe and the United States. He has been featured in documentaries in San Francisco, New York, Munich, São Paolo, and Paris.
Original 106 x 240 inch painting: Gaudnek, Walter. Mapping the Florida Terrain, 1989: University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
Margaret Ann Gallagher is Bride of Lieut. Jack Cameron Heist
An article published in The Wilkes-Barre Record announcing the wedding of Margaret Ann Gallagher to Major Jack Cameron Heist (1919-1944). The ceremony was performed by Reverend Edward Gallagher at the Holy Savior Church in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The bride was a graduated from Coughlin High School and an employee of the U.S. Department of War. The bridegroom, then-Lieutenant Heist, was born to Henry S. Heist and Christina Heist on November 6, 1919, in Eustis, Florida. He received his commission on May 29, 1941, to serve in World War II. Maj. Heist was an Ammunition Officer for the XIX Corps. He died during his service in an ambush on September 2, 1944, near Thiant, France. He is currently buried at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France. Maj. Heist is one of 85 Florida residents interned at Epinal.
Digital reproduction of original newspaper article: "Margaret Ann Gallagher is Bride of Lieut. Jack Cameron Heist." The Wilkes-Barre Record, July 15, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4441154/wilkesbarre_times_leader_the_evening/.
The Wilkes-Barre Record
Holy Saviour Church, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
A portrait of Margaret Bethune, which is housed at the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation, located at 640 Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune was the daughter-in-law of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955). She married Dr. Bethune's son, Albert McLeod Bethune, Sr. Bethune also enrolled in mortuary school sometime between 1934 and 1941.
Original 8 x 10 inch black and white photographic print: Sun room, image 172, Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation, Daytona Beach, Florida.
Marguerite Moore, Pat Ciprian, Marie Jones Francis, and Linda Croft at the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall
Marguerite Moore, Pat Ciprian, Marie Jones Francis, and Linda Croft in the front yard of the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall, located at 621 East Sixth Street in Georgetown, an historic black neighborhood in Sanford, Florida. The house was originally the home of Reverend John R. Hurston, the father of Zora Neale Hurston. This photograph was taken on April 4, 1975. Marie Jones Francis, the "midwife of Sanford." Francis left behind a successful hotel and restaurant she owned in Sarasota in 1942 to return to Sanford and become a midwife. World War II caused a shortage in doctors and nurses, so Florida's Children's Bureau sent Francis to Florida A & M to acquire her practical nursing license in 1945. She specialized in premature babies and returned to Sanford to aid her mother, Carrie Jones, at Fernald-Laughton Memorial Hospital before they opened the ward in their home. "When her health starting failing," she recollects in a newspaper article, "I took over." Francis converted her house at 621 East Sixth Street to also serve as a maternity ward, where she delivered over 40,000 babies over her 32 year career. She became a midwife in the same vein as her mother, Carrie Jones, and together they ran the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall in Georgetown. Francis served her community in several ways. She delivered babies for both white and black families from Seminole County, primarily patrons who either preferred natural births or could not afford deliveries at a hospital. In the 1950s, it cost $70 to stay nine days where soon-to-be mothers were taken care of, including three home-cooked meals; mothers were also taught basics in infant care. Francis was assisted by her sister, Annie Walker, who did the cooking. If a mother could not afford the costs, Marie Francis would not turn her away. "There's a lot of charity here but I wouldn't feel good taking money and knowing the mother can't eat when she leaves here," Francis mentions in a newspaper article. The house and ward also served as a school, where Marie Francis taught nurses the art of midwives. Nurses would come from across the state to learn how to delivery infants naturally. A heavy burden on a single working mother, Marie Francis had three daughters, Cassandra Clayton, Daphne Humphrey, and Barbara Torre, Clayton and Humphrey became school teachers and Torre became a purchaser at Seminole Memorial Hospital. The "Midwife of Sanford" Marie Francis and her family contributed to Sanford's development and well-being for the better half of the twentieth century.
Original color photograph, April 4, 1975: Private Collection of Daphne F. Humphrey.
Coverage Jones-Francis Maternity Hall, Georgetown, Sanford, Florida
Marie Jones Francis, the "midwife of Sanford," receiving an award. Francis ran the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall, located at 621 East Sixth Street in Georgetown, an historic black neighborhood in Sanford, Florida. The house was originally the home of Reverend John R. Hurston, the father of Zora Neale Hurston. Marie Jones Francis, the "midwife of Sanford." Francis left behind a successful hotel and restaurant she owned in Sarasota in 1942 to return to Sanford and become a midwife. World War II caused a shortage in doctors and nurses, so Florida's Children's Bureau sent Francis to Florida A & M to acquire her practical nursing license in 1945. She specialized in premature babies and returned to Sanford to aid her mother, Carrie Jones, at Fernald-Laughton Memorial Hospital before they opened the ward in their home. "When her health starting failing," she recollects in a newspaper article, "I took over." Francis converted her house at 621 East Sixth Street to also serve as a maternity ward, where she delivered over 40,000 babies over her 32 year career. She became a midwife in the same vein as her mother, Carrie Jones, and together they ran the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall in Georgetown. Francis served her community in several ways. She delivered babies for both white and black families from Seminole County, primarily patrons who either preferred natural births or could not afford deliveries at a hospital. In the 1950s, it cost $70 to stay nine days where soon-to-be mothers were taken care of. Francis was assisted by her sister, Annie Walker, who did the cooking. The house and ward also served as a school, where Marie Francis taught nurses the art of midwifery. Nurses would come from across the state to learn how to delivery infants naturally. A heavy burden on a single working mother, Marie Francis had three daughters, Cassandra Clayton, Daphne Humphrey, and Barbara Torre. Clayton and Humphrey became school teachers and Torre became a purchaser at Seminole Memorial Hospital.
Original color photograph: Private Collection of Daphne F. Humphrey.
Jones-Francis Maternity Hall, Georgetown, Sanford, Florida
Marie Jones Francis with Nurses at the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall
Marie Jones Francis with several nurses in front of the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall, located at 621 East Sixth Street in Georgetown, an historic black neighborhood in Sanford, Florida. The house was originally the home of Reverend John R. Hurston, the father of Zora Neale Hurston. Marie Jones Francis, the "midwife of Sanford," left behind a successful hotel and restaurant she owned in Sarasota in 1942 to return to Sanford and become a midwife. World War II caused a shortage in doctors and nurses, so Florida's Children's Bureau sent Francis to Florida A & M to acquire her practical nursing license in 1945. She specialized in premature babies and returned to Sanford to aid her mother, Carrie Jones, at Fernald-Laughton Memorial Hospital before they opened the ward in their home. "When her health starting failing," she recollects in a newspaper article, "I took over." Francis converted her house at 621 East Sixth Street to also serve as a maternity ward, where she delivered over 40,000 babies over her 32 year career. She became a midwife in the same vein as her mother, Carrie Jones, and together they ran the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall in Georgetown. Francis served her community in several ways. She delivered babies for both white and black families from Seminole County, primarily patrons who either preferred natural births or could not afford deliveries at a hospital. In the 1950s, it cost $70 to stay nine days where soon-to-be mothers were taken care of. Francis was assisted by her sister, Annie Walker, who did the cooking. The house and ward also served as a school, where Marie Francis taught nurses the art of midwifery. Nurses would come from across the state to learn how to delivery infants naturally. A heavy burden on a single working mother, Marie Francis had three daughters, Cassandra Clayton, Daphne Humphrey, and Barbara Torre. Clayton and Humphrey became school teachers and Torre became a purchaser at Seminole Memorial Hospital.
Original color photograph, September 1974: Private Collection of Daphne F. Humphrey.
A postcard depicting a British tank from the Mark series used during World War I. The insignia indicates that the tank was captured by German forces. This postcard is part of a collection of postcards kept by Lucile Campbell, a schoolteacher in Sanford, Florida, for 30 years. In 1931, she took advantage of a special rate for teachers and sailed to Europe, where she traveled for several months and is thought to have acquired many of these postcards. During the 1940-1941 school year, Campbell taught at Sanford Grammar School. Before her retirement in 1970, she taught at many other area schools, including the Oviedo School, Westside Grammar School, and Pinecrest Elementary School. Campbell used these postcards as aids in her classrooms to teach advanced subjects, such as Shakespearean drama. The collection, along with her other teaching aids, papers, and photographs, was later found at Sanford Grammar School after it became the University of Central Florida's Public History Center. Campbell's postcard collection and photographs provide insight into the life of a respected Florida educator.
Original 3 x 5 inch black and white photographic postcard: ACC# SM-00-243, file folder 1A (non-U.S. blanks), box 10A, Lucile (Mary Lucile) Campbell Collection, UCF Public History Center, Sanford, Florida.
Mark Samansky, a popular radio personality, a pioneering DJ, and one of the earliest "shock jocks" in Orlando, Florida. He was half of the iconic “Baxter and Mark Show," which aired from 5:30 am to 10:00 am weekdays on 100.3 WDIZ-FM, from 1983 to 1992. Known for his twisted and irreverent sense of humor, extensive knowledge of rock music, and musical parodies, Samansky performed on-air and at various small Orlando venues, Samansky was a staple of rock radio in the region for 20 years. Samansky's radio career began in 1976 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, before he moved to Denver, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; and finally, Houston, Texas, where he began a hit show with fellow disc jockey Alan Baxter, "The Baxter and Mark Show," which they brought to Orlando in 1983. The show was the #1 rated radio show among adults 18 to 34 years old in Orlando for a period. Samansky left the show in 1992 and moved to 740 WWNZ-AM in Orlando, where he remained until he was fired in 1993 for an off-color comment he made on-air. He next moved to the Orlando classic-rock station 96.5 WHTQ-FM, experiencing a ratings-topping summer in 1996 among 25- to 54-year-olds. Samansky later served a one-year stint at 101.1 WJRR-FM in 2000 alongside Larry the Cable Guy, and helped produce the future-famous comedian's first album. Samansky passed away in 2011.
Original black and white photograph: Private Collection of Mick Dolan.
Market to Be Ready for Use This Fall: Better Facility to Be Built
Newspaper article in the The Sanford Herald on plans to rebuild the Sanford State Farmers' Market after it was burned down in a fire in 1957. The Sanford State Farmers' Market, located at 1300 South French Avenue, was founded in 1934 in order to provide a central location in which farmers would sell their produce directly to consumers. The idea for the Sanford State Farmers' Market was devised by Fred Dorner and Gus Schmach, both members of the Seminole Agricultural Club. Sanford Chamber of Commerce president Harry Papworth also contributed to the development of the market. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) authorized construction plans on June 11, 1934. On June 20, 1934, the City of Sanford donated a portion of the Alex V. French properties to the State Marketing Board, which selected the northwest corner of French Avenue and Thirteenth Street. The board approved the installation of telegraph and telephone equipment, as well as a three-pump filling station. The Sanford State Farmer's Market opened on December 18, 1934. By 1939, the Farmers' Market was bringing a total volume of business of $627,065.81. In 1941, business volume reached over $700,000. On April 4, 1957, a fire destroyed the building and caused damages estimated at $2.5 million. Reconstruction began almost immediately and the Farmers' Market was expected to re-open by the fall of 1957. In 1991, plans were created to restore, preserve, and convert the citrus packing house into a museum.
Microfilm of original newspaper article: "Market to Be Ready For Use This Fall: Better Facility to Be Built." The Sanford Herald, April 17, 1957: State Farmers' Market Collection, Museum of Seminole County History, Sanford, Florida.
The Sanford Herald
Sanford State Farmers' Market, Sanford, Florida
Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage for John W. Donaldson and Archie K. Hughes
The marriage license and certificate of marriage for John W. Donaldson and Archie K. Hughes, who were married in Winter Haven, Florida, on March 26, 1924. Because Archie was under 21 at the time of marriage, her mother had to sign a consent form. John W. Donaldson (1897-1946) was born on September 8, 1897, to John F. and Hattie Donaldson in Waldo, Florida. He enlisted in the United States Army in March of 1918, at the age of 20, and was assigned to the Motor Transport Corps of the 5th Division. John trained at Camp Johnston in Jacksonville, Florida, before leaving for New Jersey, where he set sail aboard the USS America on June 10, 1918, and arrived at Brest, France, on June 19, 1918. He spent some time at Camp Pontanezen, a crowded rest camp, where soldiers performed construction work. In France, John served as a chauffeur in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. During the intense six-week battle, John sustained shrapnel wounds on his left knee and burns on his neck. Before being honorably discharged on May 3, 1920, he rose to the rank of Sergeant Major, the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer. Donaldson returned to Florida after discharge, where he married Archie K. Hughes in 1924, in Winter Haven. In 1929, they had a son named Delbert. The couple divorced in 1931. He visited VA hospitals in North Carolina and Bay Pines, Florida, for tuberculosis treatment. On April 10, 1937, John married again to Lillie May Holloway, but they divorced some time after. John was admitted to the VA hospital in Kerrville, Texas, on February 9, 1946, and died two days later due to cerebral thrombosis. He rests in Bay Pines National Cemetery at Section 11, Row 2, Site 13. In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for K-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.
Bureau of Vital Statistics, Florida Department of Health
Digital reproduction of original marriage license and certificate of marriage, March 26, 1924: Polk County Clerk of Court.
Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage for Lester Magrath and Hazel Snyder
The marriage license and certificate of marriage for Lester Magrath and Hazel Snyder, who were married on July 3, 1943. Magrath was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 6, 1921, to Louise and Clifton Magrath. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corp. Magrath married his wife, Hazel, in Hillsborough County, Florida, in 1943. Magrath served in the Air Corp until 1972, achieving the rank of Master Sargent. After his service, Magrath retired to Valrico, Florida, where he died on July 18, 1996. Lester Magrath is memorialized in Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.
Digital reproduction of original marriage license and certificate of marriage, July 3, 1943.
Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage for Van Buren Porcher and Hattie Smith
The marriage license and certificate of marriage for Van Buren Porcher (d. 1944) and Hattie Smith, who were married in Gainesville, Florida, on October 24, 1939. Porcher had previously married Taresa May Aldridge in Gainesville in 1933. Porcher was born in and enlisted from Alachua County, Private Porcher was assigned to the U.S. Army's 448th Quartermaster Troop Transport Company on May 28, 1943. While serving in World War II, Pvt. Porcher was Killed in Action (KIA) on September, 2, 1944. He is currently buried at Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France.
Digital reproduction of original marriage license and certificate of marriage, March 26, 1933: Image Number 01982, Digital Folder Number 004707028, GS Film Number 2115735, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville, Florida.
Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage for Van Buren Porcher and Taresa May Alridge
The marriage license and certificate of marriage for Van Buren Porcher (d. 1944) and Taresa May Alridge, who were married in Gainesville, Florida, on March 26, 1933. In 1939, presumably after the end of the couple's marriage, Porcher remarried Hattie Smith in Gainesville. Porcher was born in and enlisted from Alachua County, Private Porcher was assigned to the U.S. Army's 448th Quartermaster Troop Transport Company on May 28, 1943. While serving in World War II, Pvt. Porcher was Killed in Action (KIA) on September, 2, 1944. He is currently buried at Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France.
Digital reproduction of original marriage license and certificate of marriage, March 26, 1933: Image Number 01490, Digital Folder Number 004706994, GS Film Number 2115701, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville, Florida.
Martha Fox's Graduating Class of 1911 at Sanford High School
Martha Fox's graduating class of 1911 at Sanford High School's original campus, located at 301 West Seventh Street in Sanford, Florida. This photograph appeared in the 1910 Salmagundi. Sanford High School was originally established at 301 West Seventh Street in Sanford, Florida, in 1902. The building was designed by W. G. Talley in the Romanesque revival style. Due to an increasing student population, a new school building was constructed on Sanford Avenue in 1911. The original building on Seventh Street served as Westside Grammar Elementary School, which was later renamed Sanford Grammar School. In 1984, the building was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places and converted into the Student Museum. The building reopened as the University of Central Florida's Public History Center in 2012. In 1927, a high school campus was designed by Elton J. Moughton in the Mediterranean revival style and constructed at 1700 French Avenue. The school reopened on January 10 and was renamed Seminole High School. In 1960, the high school moved to a new campus at 2701 Ridgewood Avenue and the former building on French Avenue was converted to Sanford Junior High School, which was later renamed Sanford Middle School. The old building was demolished in the summer of 1991 and replaced by a $5.77 million school complex. As of 2013, Seminole High School offers various Advanced Placement courses, the Academy for Health Careers, and the International Baccalaureate Programme for students.
Original 8 x 10 inch black and white photographic print: Sanford High School Collection, box 3A, folder Sanford High School Students, item SM-017-017, UCF Public History Center, Sanford, Florida.
A newspaper obituary published in The Oviedo Voice for Mary Alice Powell Aulin (1904-1993). Aulin was born in Sanford, Florida, to parents Charles Powell and Mary Maude Rabun Powell. Aulin arrived in Oviedo in 1921 to work as a switchboard operator and a seamstress. She married Andrew Aulin, Jr. (1893-1964), the son of Oviedo's first postmaster, Andrew Aulin, Sr. (1843-1918). Together, the couple had five children: Mary Lenora Aulin (b. 1924), Alice Kathryn Aulin (b. 1926), Charles Warren Aulin (1927-1964), Bettye Jean Aulin (b. 1934), and Andrew Aulin, Jr. (b. 1936).
Original newspaper article: "Mary Alice Aulin Dies at Age 88." The Oviedo Voice, January 1993: Private Collection of Bettye Reagan.
Mary Alice Powell Aulin, Alice Irene Bartlett, Patricia Eileen Bartlett, Mary Leonora Aulin Bartlett, Andrew Aulin, and Llewellyn Roberts Bartlett, Jr.
Mary Alice Powell Aulin (1904-1993), who goes by Alice, and Andrew Aulin, Jr. (1893-1964) with their daughter, their son-in-law, and their grandchildren. Photographed from left to right are Alice Aulin, Alice Irene Bartlett (b. 1949), Patricia "Trish" Eileen Bartlett (b. 1948), Mary "Lona" Leonora Aulin Bartlett (b. 1924), Andrew, and Llewellyn "Lew" Roberts Bartlett, Jr. (b. 1921). Andrew was the son of Emma Leonora Lawton Aulin (1853-1907) and Andrew Aulin, Sr. (1843-1918), the Swedish immigrant credited with naming the town of Oviedo, Florida. The Bartletts had two more daughters: Margaret Ellyn Bartlett (b.1954) and Nancy Ann Bartlett (b.1959).
Original black and white photograph: Private Collection of Bettye Reagan.
Mary Clare Allen, Valada Flewellyn, Connor Allen, Ida Law, Joy Wallace Dickinson and Harry Coverston
Soil collection at the West Orange Girls Club in Ocoee, Florida, on September 8, 2018. Featured in the photograph are Mary Clare Allen, Valada Flewellyn, Connor Allen, Ida Law, Joy Wallace Dickinson and Harry Coverston. The site of the soil collection is in the general area of where a shootout occurred between Julius "July" Perry and a white mob. The Alliance for Truth and Justice (ATJ) is a volunteer-based organization that engages with the community to promote education concerning the truth of local history and to advocate justice for those who have been harmed by inequities born of prejudice. ATJ builds on the work of Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative as well as the local efforts of Democracy Forum, the West Orange Reconciliation Task Force, and the Ocoee Human Relations Diversity Board. This project is rooted in acknowledging the 1920 Election Day Massacre in Orange County and all of the violence committed in the name of white supremacy. Their mission statement says that they are "working to create a more hopeful, collaborative, and just society for every person in Orange County, Florida."
Original color photograph by Willie J. Allen Jr.: Alliance for Truth and Justice, Orange County, Florida.
Mary Hannah Aulin Grogan and Martha Lenora Aulin Wheeler
Mary Hannah Aulin Grogan (1887-1964) and Martha "Mattie" Lenora Aulin Wheeler (1884-1963), the daughters of Emma Lenora "Lona" Lawton Aulin (1853-1907) and Andrew Aulin, Sr. (1843-1918), the Swedish immigrant credited with naming the town of Oviedo, Florida. Mary married James Wilburn Grogan (1872-1953) and had four children: an unnamed baby boy who died in infancy in 1918, Margaret Elizabeth Grogan (b. 1919), Velma Leonora Grogan (1923-1924), and Wilburn Aulin Grogan (1925-1962). Mattie married Robert Lee Wheeler, Sr. (1881-1955) and had four children: Florence Wheeler (b. 1906), Evelyn Wheeler, Robert Lee Wheeler, Jr., and Thelma Louise Wheeler.
Mary Leonora Aulin and Alice Kathryn Aulin
Mary "Lona" Lenora Aulin (b. 1924) and Alice Kathryn Aulin (b. 1926), who are the daughters of Andrew Aulin, Jr. (1893-1964) and Mary Alice Powell Aulin (1904-1993) and granddaughters of Emma Leonora Lawton Aulin (1853-1907) and Andrew Aulin, Sr. (1843-1918), the Swedish immigrant credited with naming the town of Oviedo, Florida. Lona married Llewellyn "Lew" Roberts Bartlett, Jr. (b. 1921) and had four children: Patricia Eileen Bartlett (b.1948), Alice Irene Bartlett (b.1949), Margaret Ellyn Bartlett (b.1954), and Nancy Ann Bartlett (b.1959). Kathryn married Richard Burdette Bunch (b.1924) and had two children: Mary Kathryn Bunch (b.1947) and Billie Beatrice Bunch (b.1948).
Original color photograph: Private Collection of Bettye Reagan.
Mary "Lona" Lenora Aulin (b. 1924) and Alice Kathryn Aulin (b. 1926), daughters of Andrew Aulin, Jr. (1893-1964) and Mary Alice Powell Aulin (1904-1993) and granddaughters of Emma Leonora Lawton Aulin (1853-1907) and Andrew Aulin, Sr. (1843-1918), the Swedish immigrant credited with naming the town of Oviedo, Florida. Lona married Llewellyn "Lew" Roberts Bartlett, Jr. (b. 1921) and had four children: Patricia Eileen Bartlett (b.1948), Alice Irene Bartlett (b.1949), Margaret Ellyn Bartlett (b.1954), and Nancy Ann Bartlett (b.1959). Kathryn married Richard Burdette Bunch (b.1924) and had two children: Mary Kathryn Bunch (b.1947) and Billie Beatrice Bunch (b.1948).
Mary "Lona" Lenora Aulin (b. 1924) as May Queen in honor of the 1942 May Day holiday, celebrating the coming of spring. Aulin was the daughter of Emma Leonora Lawton Aulin (1853-1907) and Andrew Aulin, Sr. (1843-1918), the Swedish immigrant credited with naming the town of Oviedo, Florida. She married Llewellyn "Lew" Roberts Bartlett, Jr. (b. 1921) and had four children: Patricia Eileen Bartlett (b.1948), Alice Irene Bartlett (b.1949), Margaret Ellyn Bartlett (b.1954), and Nancy Ann Bartlett (b.1959).
Original black and white photograph: Private Collection of Bettye Reagan, 1942.
Mary "Lona" Lenora Aulin (b. 1924) with a child. Aulin was the daughter of Emma Leonora Lawton Aulin (1853-1907) and Andrew Aulin, Sr. (1843-1918), the Swedish immigrant credited with naming the town of Oviedo, Florida. She married Llewellyn "Lew" Roberts Bartlett, Jr. (b. 1921) and had four children: Patricia Eileen Bartlett (b.1948), Alice Irene Bartlett (b.1949), Margaret Ellyn Bartlett (b.1954), and Nancy Ann Bartlett (b.1959).
Mary Leonora Aulin, Charles Warren Aulin, Sr., Alice Kathryn Aulin, Bettye Jean Aulin, and Andrew Aulin, Jr.
The children of Andrew Aulin, Jr. (1893-1964) and Mary Alice Powell Aulin (1904-1993). In the back row are, from left to right, Mary "Lona" Lenora Aulin (b. 1924), Charles Warren Aulin, Sr. (1927-1964), and Alice Kathryn Aulin (b. 1926). Bettye Jean Aulin (b. 1934), and Andrew Aulin, Jr. (b. 1936) are standing in front. These five children are also the grandchildren of Emma Leonora Lawton Aulin (1853-1907) and Andrew Aulin, Sr. (1843-1918), the Swedish immigrant credited with naming the town of Oviedo, Florida.
Mary Louise Curtis Bok and Jules André Smith
Zimbalist, Mary Louise Curtis Bok, 1876-1970
Mary Louise Curtis Bok (1874-1970) with Jules André Smith (1880–1959) in the main garden of the Research Studio (now the Maitland Art Center) in Maitland, Florida, in the 1940s or 1950s. Born in 1874, Bok was the only child of wealthy Philadelphia-based businessman Cyrus H. K. Curtis and Louisa Knapp Curtis, whose Curtis Publishing Company produced two of the most popular magazines in America: The Saturday Evening Post and The Ladies' Home Journal. Bok's early interests included music and writing for the magazine her father founded under the pen name of Mary L. Knapp. Recognized for countless philanthropic pursuits, Mary Louise Curtis Bok provided J. André Smith with sufficient patronage to establish The Research Studio in the early 1930s. As heiress to the Curtis Publishing Company, she is noted for establishing the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, funding the Annie Russell Theatre at Rollins College in Winter Park, and the construction of Bok Tower Gardens near Lake Wales, along with her husband Edward W. Bok. After Edward Bok’s death in 1930, Mary Louise married Efrem Zimbalist and was thereafter known as Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist. Born in 1880 to American parents in Hong Kong, raised in New York and Connecticut, and educated at Cornell University, Smith worked for several years as an architect, never giving up on his first love of art. His early passion was printmaking, specifically etching. In 1915, he was awarded a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, California. During World War I, Smith continued to work in both drawing and printmaking, selected as one of eight artists by the U.S. government to go to France in 1918 to record military activities. He would later publish those works in a book titled In France with the American Expeditionary Forces. While travelling to Miami in the 1930s, Smith made an unplanned stop in Maitland, Florida. Having experienced a stunning sunset on nearby Lake Sybelia, he decided to travel no further and would go on to build his winter home and studio here, which is now the Maitland Art Center. Frustrated and disappointed with the area’s lack of support for contemporary art, Smith began plans for a residential "Lab-Gallery" that would encourage artistic exploration and experimentation in a sheltered studio environment. The studio compound, later known as The Research Studio, was the winter residence of prominent American artists such as Ralston Crawford, David Burlick, Ernest Roth, Milton Avery, Arnold Blanch, Doris Lee, and Hal McIntosh. André Smith’s vision continued to thrive for over two decades under the generous financial support from his patron, philanthropist Mary Curtis Bok. Smith’s legacy is alive and well today at the Art & History Museum’s Maitland Art Center through its residency programs and exhibitions.
Original color photograph: Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.
Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Annie Russell Theatre, Winter Park, Florida
View of the Sanford Masonic Lodge #62, located at 212 North Park Avenue in Sanford, Florida. Sanford established its own Masonic Lodge in 1872 and is one of the oldest in Florida. The building was designed by renowned local architect Elton J. Moughton. The total cost of construction was $45,000. The Lodge opened in 1924. At the time that this photograph was taken, the building was serving as the office for two attorneys of law: A. A. McCalahan, Jr. and Charles Hart II.
Original color digital image by Austin Smith, December 19, 2010.
A newspaper article published by The Central Florida Press on June 20, 1930. According to the article, Edson Goit, a resident from Geneva, had volunteered to repaint Oviedo Masonic Lodge No. 243. In 1884, Andrew Aulin, the postmaster of Oviedo, applied for dispensation for the lodge, which was granted by Deputy Grand Master George S. Hallmark, who was acting as the Most Worshipfull Grand Master. The Ionic Lodge No. 68 was chartered by Robert J. Perry, the Most Worshipfull Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Florida, on January 22, 1885. Lodge members met in a building owned by Aulin for the next 10 years. However, the lodge lost its charter in 1895, due to lack of members, which was likely caused by a number of freezes driving members out of Oviedo By 1914, Oviedo's economy had recovered. Seminole County separated from Orange County, allowing Oviedo to come out of the shadow of Orlando. Additionally, the Big Oviedo Fire of 1914 forced the town to rebuild several important building. As a result, Oviedo grew rapidly. On October 31, 1916, the Grand Lodge of Florida authorized the charter for Oviedo Masonic Lodge No. 243. Brethren met in the Hunt Building, which is located at 534 King Street.
Original newspaper article: "Masonic Lodge Hall is Being Repainted." The Central Florida Press, Vol. 1, No. 9, June 20, 1930, page 1: Oviedo Historical Society, Oviedo, Florida.
Oviedo Masonic Lodge No. 243, Oviedo, Florida
Postcard showing the Masonic Temple, located on 205 East Central Boulevard in Orlando, Florida. The building was constructed in the 20th Century Commercial style in 1925 and was dedicated on January 13, 1926. The original owner was the Free and Associated Masons of Orlando from 1926 until 1982. The building was purchased in 1982 for $660,000 and underwent extensive modifications, including an additional two stories. The building now serves as professional offices.
Original 5.5 x 3.5 inch color postcard by C. T. American Art: Asheville Post Card Company, Asheville, North Carolina: Private Collection of Thomas Cook.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Directory of Students, 1939
A page from the 1939 edition of Technique, the yearbook for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This page shows the directory of students. A notable student listed is Major Jack Cameron Heist (1919-1944). Maj. Heist was born to Henry S. Heist and Christina Heist on November 6, 1919, in Eustis, Florida. He received his commission on May 29, 1939, to serve in World War II. Maj. Heist was an Ammunition Officer for the XIX Corps. He died during his service in an ambush on September 2, 1944, near Thiant, France. He is currently buried at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France. Maj. Heist is one of 85 Florida residents interned at Epinal.
Digital reproduction of original yearbook page: Technique (Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1939), page 284. http://interactive.ancestry.com/1265/41349_630630_0121-00313/295056304?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/38722788/person/20409592223/facts/citation/157573325883/edit/record .
Technique
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Quadrangle Club, 1939
A page from the 1939 edition of Technique, the yearbook for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This page shows the Quadrangle Club, an honorary society for sophomores. A notable student listed is Major Jack Cameron Heist (1919-1944). Maj. Heist was born to Henry S. Heist and Christina Heist on November 6, 1919, in Eustis, Florida. He received his commission on May 29, 1939, to serve in World War II. Maj. Heist was an Ammunition Officer for the XIX Corps. He died during his service in an ambush on September 2, 1944, near Thiant, France. He is currently buried at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France. Maj. Heist is one of 85 Florida residents interned at Epinal.
Digital reproduction of original yearbook page: Technique (Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1939), page 162. http://interactive.ancestry.com/1265/40392_B075330-00162/240313001?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/38722788/person/20409592223/facts.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Tech Swim Club, 1939
A page from the 1939 edition of Technique, the yearbook for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This page shows the Tech Swim Club, an honorary society for swimmers. A notable student listed is Major Jack Cameron Heist (1919-1944). Maj. Heist was born to Henry S. Heist and Christina Heist on November 6, 1919, in Eustis, Florida. He received his commission on May 29, 1939, to serve in World War II. Maj. Heist was an Ammunition Officer for the XIX Corps. He died during his service in an ambush on September 2, 1944, near Thiant, France. He is currently buried at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France. Maj. Heist is one of 85 Florida residents interned at Epinal.
Digital reproduction of original yearbook page: Technique (Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1939), page 166. http://interactive.ancestry.com/1265/40392_B075330-00166/240314565?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/38722788/person/20409592223/facts.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Theta Delta Chi, 1939
A page from the 1939 edition of Technique, the yearbook for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This page shows the Theta Delta Chi, a social fraternity. A notable student listed is Major Jack Cameron Heist (1919-1944), who is pictured fourth from the left in the second row. Maj. Heist was born to Henry S. Heist and Christina Heist on November 6, 1919, in Eustis, Florida. He received his commission on May 29, 1939, to serve in World War II. Maj. Heist was an Ammunition Officer for the XIX Corps. He died during his service in an ambush on September 2, 1944, near Thiant, France. He is currently buried at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Dinozé, France. Maj. Heist is one of 85 Florida residents interned at Epinal.
Digital reproduction of original yearbook page: Technique (Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1939), page 265. http://interactive.ancestry.com/1265/40392_B075330-00265/240315196?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/38722788/person/20409592223/facts.
Massachusetts Turnpike 4 Miles East of Stockbridge Interchange Postcard
A postcard depicting a view of the Massachusetts Turnpike 4 miles east of the Stockbridge Interchange in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Construction began on the Massachusetts Turnpike in 1955, but plans for the east-west highway had been in the works for many years. As early as 1805, private companies had built failed turnpikes to facilitate shipping across the state. However, the rise of railroads in the 1830s halted progress on the road system until after World War II, when the highway plan was revitalized in an attempt to cure a stagnant economy. This postcard is part of a collection of postcards kept by Lucile Campbell, a schoolteacher in Sanford, Florida, for 30 years. In 1931, she took advantage of a special rate for teachers and sailed to Europe, where she traveled for several months and is thought to have acquired many of these postcards. During the 1940-1941 school year, Campbell taught at Sanford Grammar School. Before her retirement in 1970, she taught at many other area schools, including the Oviedo School, Westside Grammar School, and Pinecrest Elementary School. Campbell used these postcards as aids in her classrooms to teach advanced subjects, such as Shakespearean drama. The collection, along with her other teaching aids, papers, and photographs, was later found at Sanford Grammar School after it became the University of Central Florida's Public History Center. Campbell's postcard collection and photographs provide insight into the life of a respected Florida educator.
Original 3 x 5 inch color postcard by Colourpicture Publishers, Inc.: ACC# SM-00-243, file folder 1 (U.S. blanks), box 10A, Lucile (Mary Lucile) Campbell Collection, UCF Public History Center, Sanford, Florida.
Massachusetts Turnpike, Millbury, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Turnpike East of Millbury Interchange Postcard
A postcard depicting a view of the Massachusetts Turnpike looking east, eight miles east of the Millbury Interchange in Millbury, Massachusetts. Construction began on the Massachusetts Turnpike in 1955, but plans for the east-west highway had been in the works for many years. As early as 1805, private companies had built failed turnpikes to facilitate shipping across the state. However, the rise of railroads in the 1830s halted progress on the road system until after World War II, when the highway plan was revitalized in an attempt to cure a stagnant economy. This postcard is part of a collection of postcards kept by Lucile Campbell, a schoolteacher in Sanford, Florida, for 30 years. In 1931, she took advantage of a special rate for teachers and sailed to Europe, where she traveled for several months and is thought to have acquired many of these postcards. During the 1940-1941 school year, Campbell taught at Sanford Grammar School. Before her retirement in 1970, she taught at many other area schools, including the Oviedo School, Westside Grammar School, and Pinecrest Elementary School. Campbell used these postcards as aids in her classrooms to teach advanced subjects, such as Shakespearean drama. The collection, along with her other teaching aids, papers, and photographs, was later found at Sanford Grammar School after it became the University of Central Florida's Public History Center. Campbell's postcard collection and photographs provide insight into the life of a respected Florida educator.