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Sanford House Hotel Park
The Sanford Hotel House Park in Sanford, Florida in 1880. The Sanford House Hotel was built by Henry Sanford (1823-1891) with the intent of attracting tourists and providing housing for would-be wealthy settlers to the city of Sanford. The Sanford…
First Street Between Palmetto Avenue and Magnolia Avenue
First Street between Palmetto Avenue and Magnolia Avenue in Sanford, Florida in 1882. When General Henry S. Sanford (1823-1891) first established the City of Sanford, he laid out the streets on a grid plan. Streets running toward Lake Monroe were…
Palmetto Avenue and First Street
When General Henry S. Sanford (1823-1891) first established the City of Sanford, Florida, he laid out the streets on a grid plan. Streets running toward Lake Monroe were given names of native Florida trees, while streets running parallel to the lake…
Holy Cross Episcopal Church
Postcard of the Holy Cross Episcopal Church, located at 410 South Magnolia Avenue in Sanford, Florida around 1915. Gertrude Dupuy Sanford, the wife of General Henry S. Sanford (1823-1891), established the Holy Cross Episcopal Church in 1873. The…
Live Oaks Along Mellonville Avenue
Live oak trees along Mellonville Avenue in the early 1900s. In 1836, the United States Army built a road (present-day Mellonville Avenue) to a location called Camp Monroe during the Second Seminole War. One year later, a group of Seminoles attacked…
Back of Steamship Osceola
Backside of Steamship Osceola, which was built in 1913 at Jacksonville's Merill Stevens Shipyard for the Clyde Line Steamboat Company. The ship was captained by T.W. Lund and ran between Jacksonville and Sanford (a 140 mile trip) and could carry 60…
Steamship Osceola
Steamship Osceola along the St. Johns River near Sanford, Florida in the early 1900s. Osceola was built in 1913 at Jacksonville's Merill Stevens Shipyard for the Clyde Line Steamboat Company. The ship was captained by T.W. Lund and ran between…
Water Hyacinths Near Sanford
Water hyacinths on the St. Johns River near Sanford, Florida in the early 1900s. By the mid-1880s, Sanford, Florida had become a major distribution center due to the city's strategic location along Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River. Even before…
Boat Dock Near Sanford
Boat dock near Sanford, Florida. By the mid-1880s, Sanford had become a major distribution center due to the city's strategic location along Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River. Even before Florida obtained statehood, steamboats frequented the St.…
Cypress 2800 Years Old
The giant bald cypress tree known as The Senator during the first quarter of the 20th century. As early as the late 1800s, this centuries-old tree was considered a tourist destination, but it wasn't until 1927 that a park was established around the…
Former Southern Utilities Company Building
The former building of the Southern Utilities Company, located at 112 South Park Avenue in Sanford, Florida, in 2011. When the building first opened in 1924, it operated as an ice house. Ice houses provided blocks of ice for home ice boxes and…
Former Sanford Public Service Company Building
The former building of the Sanford Public Service Company, located at 1501 West First Street in Sanford, Florida, in 2011. When the building first opened in 1922, it operated as an ice house. Ice houses provided blocks of ice for home ice boxes and…
Sanford Parents Complain Ice House is Hazard to Children
Newspaper article highlighting complaints from Sanford parents about the potential safety hazards of an old ice house operated and leased by Thomas Ice Company. Ice manufacturing became a prominent industry in the United States by the beginning of…
Sanford Light and Fuel Company, Sanford Ice and Water Company, Crystal Ice Company
Newspaper article on the Sanford's three major utility companies: Sanford Light and Fuel Company, Sanford Ice and Water Company, and Crystal Ice Company. The latter two were ice plants, which manufactured ice that was used for shipping produce in…
Former Sanford Ice, Light, and Power Building
The former building of Sanford Ice, Light, and Power built in 1924. Ice manufacturing became a prominent industry in the United States by the beginning of the twentieth century. Most ice houses consisted of two stories with the first floor used as…
Former Sanford Ice Company Building
The former building of Sanford Ice Company, which was located at 320 South Park Avenue in Sanford, Florida in 1887. Ice houses provided blocks of ice for home ice boxes prior to the invention and widespread use of modern refrigeration. At the time…
Former Sanford Ice and Cold Storage Building
Sanford Ice and Cold Storage, founded in 1887, was located at 401 South Sanford Avenue in Sanford, Florida. This four-unit building, located on the corner of South Sanford Avenue and East First Street in the historic African-American neighborhood…
Big Ice Plant
Excerpt from When Celery Was King by Charlie C. Carlson. The excerpt includes an image of the Rand Yard Ice House with accompanying text. The Rand Yard Ice House was located on Rand Yard Road in Sanford, Florida. The ice plant was built in 1926 by…
Vacated Rand Yard Ice House
Rand Yard Ice House, located on Rand Yard Road in Sanford, Florida in 2003. The ice plant was built in 1926 by the Mountain Ice Company of Chicago, had a 700 ton storage capacity, operated 24 hours a day, ranked second in the U.S. for ice production,…
Ice Plants and Houses in Sanford
Chart representing the various ice plants and houses located in Sanford, Florida. These ice houses include: Crystal Ice Company, 110 South Park Avenue; Hunter Ice & Fuel Company, 700 West Thirteenth Street; New Ice Company; Rand Yard Ice House, Rand…
Ice House Controversy Melts Into Compliance
Newspaper article on City of Sanford's failed efforts to condemn the dilapidated Hunter Ice and Fuel Company building located at 700 West Thirteenth Street in 2007. According the the article, the building's owner, John McFarland, could avoid having…
Laborers at Hunter Ice & Fuel Company
The Hunter Ice & Fuel Company, formerly located at 700 West Thirteenth Street in Sanford, Florida, sometime between 1952 and 1959. Prior to starting an ice manufacturing business in Sanford, owner Duval W. Hunter, Sr., operated an ice house in North…
Hunter Ice & Fuel Company
Former Hunter Ice & Fuel Company building, located at 700 West Thirteenth Street in Sanford, Florida, in 2011. Prior to starting an ice manufacturing business in Sanford, owner Duval W. Hunter, Sr., operated an ice house in North Carolina which…
Honorable Forrest Lake
Newspaper article about and portrait of businessman and politician, Forrest Lake around 1910. Forrest Lake first arrived in Sanford, Florida in the 1880s. Lake was known as a local politician and later a member of state government. One of his most…
New Ice Plants and Improvements
Journal article about developments of the ice industry in the Florida cities of Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Miami, and Sanford in 1904. In Fort Piece, Joseph Jefferson, C. C. Chillingworth, and A. R. Beaujean organized a company that planned on…
Vegetable Shipments in Refrigerated Boxcars
Vegetables being crated for shipment by rail during the first quarter of the twentieth century. Each boxcar was refrigerated by blocks of ice provided by local ice houses in Sanford. With the introduction of ice houses and refrigeration, farmers were…
Former Crystal Ice Company and Sanford Public Service Building
The former Crystal Ice Company building, which was located at 110 South Park Avenue in Sanford, Florida. The Crystal Ice Company was located here in 1915, and the Sanford Public Service ice house moved in by 1917. By 1922, the building became an ice…
Aerial Views of Isleworth Grove
Aerial views of Isleworth Grove in Windermere, Florida in 1936. Chase & Company was established by Joshua Chase and his brother Sydney in 1884. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales. Chase & Company…
A. J. Peterson
A newspaper article about A. J. Peterson, a local agent for the Seaboard Oil Company and a partner in the Seminole Tire Shop in Sanford, Florida. The store was originally located at 201 North Park Avenue until it moved to the corner of West First…
Black Family Property Deed
A deed for the property owned by Pilgrim Black (1905-2002) and his wife, Lula Mae Haynes Black (1917-2007). The property is one of the homes built and owned by Maggie Benjamin Black (ca. 1870-ca. 1934) in the 1800s. Maggie and her husband Harry Black…
FACTS: Seminole Florida: The Celery County
A pamphlet produced by the Seminole Agricultural Club and the Oviedo Agricultural Club about the Better Farming Show, which was planned to "promote greater agricultural efficiency in Seminole County." The pamphlet outlines the challenges facing…
Production of Celery in Seminole County
A newspaper article on the celery industry in Sanford and Seminole County, Florida, as well as the county's its major representative, the Seminole Agriculture Club. At the time that the article was written, Seminole County was the second smallest…
Farmers' Club Lauded for its Recent Success: Trade Body Directors Unanimous in Vote of Congratulation
A newspaper article about the congratulations afforded to the Seminole Agricultural Club from the Board of Directors of the Seminole County Chamber of Commerce for successfully lobbying to bring the Florida State Farmers' Wholesale Distributing…
One Year Buds in Nursery
One year old citrus buds at Isleworth Grove in Windermere, Florida in 1904. Chase & Company was established by Joshua Chase and his brother Sydney in 1884. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales.…
Three Citrus Workers
Three citrus workers at Isleworth Grove in Windermere, Florida in 1904. Chase & Company was established by Joshua Chase and his brother Sydney in 1884. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales. Chase &…
Fumigating Citrus Trees
Agricultural laborers fumigating citrus trees at Isleworth Grove in Windermere, Florida in 1904. Chase & Company was established by Joshua Chase and his brother Sydney in 1884. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and…
#9 Looking Towards Tee
Construction of the golf course at the Sanford Country Club and Golf Course in Sanford, Florida sometime between 1919 and 1924. The land was originally purchased as a portion of a 20,000-acre tract by General Joseph Finegan for $40. In 1870, Henry…
Burning $1,572,650 Worth of Cancelled Bonds
The burning of canceled bonds from Mayor Forrest Lake's (1869-1939) on January 5, 1932. Before this scandal surfaced, Lake was considered an accomplished politician, who was elected eleven times, and helped create Seminole County. However, the pace…
First Street Looking West from Sanford Avenue on the 4th of July
In 1870, a lawyer from Connecticut by the name of Henry Sanford purchased 12,548 acres of open land west of Mellonville. His vision was to make this new land a major port city, both railway and by water. Sitting on Lake Monroe, and the head of the…
Oral History of Patricia Ann Black and Billy Hardy
An oral history of both Patricia Ann Black (b. 1956) and Billy Hardy (b. 1956). Hardy was born on August 17, 1956, and Black was born 14 days later on August 31. Both grew up at the end of Tenth Street in Sanford, Florida. This oral history interview…
Looking Southwest from First Street and Palmetto Avenue
Looking southwest from the intersection of East First Street and North Palmetto Avenue in Sanford, Florida in 1882. When Henry Shelton Sanford purchased land in central Florida, he developed citrus groves known as the Belair Groves and Experimental…
Flagpole and Green at Sanford Country Club
Flagpole and green at the Sanford Country Club and Golf Course during construction in 1922. The land for the club and course was originally purchased as a portion of a 20,000-acre tract by General Joseph Finegan for $40. In 1870, Henry Sanford…
Workmen Clear Hole #4 Green
Workmen clearing Hole #4 green at the Sanford Country Club using teams of horses and shovels. Sanford Country Club and Golf Course was originally purchased as a portion of a 20,000-acre tract by General Joseph Finegan for $40. In 1870, Henry Sanford…
The Hole #5 Fairway at the Sanford Country Club
Construction of Hole #5 at the Sanford Country Club and Golf Course sometime during 1922 and 1924. The land for the course was originally purchased as a portion of a 20,000-acre tract by General Joseph Finegan for $40. In 1870, Henry Sanford…
Steamer Osceola at Dock in Sanford
Steamship Osceola at a dock in Sanford sometime between 1913 and 1928. The steamer was built in 1913 at Jacksonville's Merill Stevens Shipyard for the Clyde Line Steamboat Company. The ship was captained by T.W. Lund and ran between Jacksonville and…
Fourth of July Celebration Along Commercial Street in Sanford
Fourth of July celebrations along Commercial Street in 1886. The large building on the right is the Sanford House Hotel, which was built by Henry Sanford (1823-1891) with the intent of attracting tourists and providing housing for would-be wealthy…
Hole 7 at Bend Looking Towards Tee
The bend facing the direction of the tee at the Sanford Country Club and Golf Course in 1922. The land for the club and course was originally purchased as a portion of a 20,000-acre tract by General Joseph Finegan for $40. In 1870, Henry Sanford…
Hole 9 Looking Towards Green From Center of Fairway
Center of the fairway facing the direction of the green at the Sanford Country Club and Golf Course in 1922. The land for the club and course was originally purchased as a portion of a 20,000-acre tract by General Joseph Finegan for $40. In 1870,…
Men Clearing Land at Hole 3 Fairway
Workers are seen clearing land from the position of the tee at the Sanford Country Club and Golf Course in 1922. The land for the club and course was originally purchased as a portion of a 20,000-acre tract by General Joseph Finegan for $40. In 1870,…
Henry Sanford's Daughter at Belair Grove
Gertrude Sanford, the daughter of Henry Shelton Sanford, at Belair Grove in 1891. 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…
Belair Lodge
The Belair home of Henry Sanford and family sometime before 1925. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair located just three miles southwest…
Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (October 18, 1928)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. Topics discussed in the letter include information on the family's annual move back to Sanford, Florida, from Asheville, North…
David Harry Black
Six-month old David Harry Black (1929-2012), who was the son of Pilgrim Black (1905-2002) and his first wife Mae Henry Gilmore. Gilmore also had a second child named Bessie Mae Black that passed away around six months old. David Harry Black played…
Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (October 19, 1928)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. The letter discusses a variety of topics, including Sydney's response to an article in The Tampa Tribune about the relationship…
Daughter of Black Family
One of the daughters of Pilgrim Black (1905-2002) and Lula Mae Haynes Black (1917-2007), who got married in 1937. The daughter pictured is most likely Vivian Louise Black (1940- ). Vivian is also the oldest sister of Lula Yvonne Black (1942-);…
Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (March 31, 1928)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. Topics discussed in the letter include Sydney's reaction to a Florida Times-Union article about agricultural businesses in…
Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (March 27, 1928)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. Topics discussed in the letter include Eli Walker (the "Granddaddy of the citrus business" in the Vero and Wabasso area of…
Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (March 17, 1928)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. The letter contains information about W. J. Lee, an agent in the Florida Citrus Clearinghouse, and his motive for other Florida…
Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (February 18, 1928)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. Topics discussed in the letter include information about an annual banquet held at Penney Farms, and other information about…
Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (September 2, 1927)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. Topics discussed in the letter include information about Chase & Company operations, the company's status on growing celery,…
Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (August 29, 1927)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. The letter contains information about an interview Sydney and other members of the Florida Citrus Exchange had with a Mr.…
Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (August 26, 1927)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. Topics discussed in the letter include the proposed creation of a Clearing House organization led by Chase & Company, and the…
Letter from Sydney Octavius Chase to Joshua Coffin Chase (March 2, 1927)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. Topics discussed in the letter include accounts of a wreck involving a train pulling refrigerator cars carrying Seald-Sweet…
Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (January 11, 1927)
An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. The letter contains information about the Federated Fruit & Vegetable Association of America and how growers from the West…
Belair Grove After Freeze
Belair Grove after the Freeze of 1894-1895.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…
Man at Belair Grove After Freeze
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…
Randall Chase at Belair Grove
Randall Chase, son of Sydney Chase, examining a camellia bush at Belair Grove. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair located just three…
Original Orange Seedling at Belair Grove
Original orange seedling planted by Henry Sanford at Belair Grove. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair located just three miles…
Southeast Corner of Belair Grove Looking Northwest
Belair Grove in 1897. 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…
Southeast Corner of Belair Grove Looking North
Young trees at Belair Grove in 1897. 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…
Sanford Family at Belair Grove
Henry S. Sanford with and his wife, Gertrude Dupuy Sanford, and daughter, Gertrude Sanford, at Belfair Grove in 1891. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment…
Gertrude Sanford Picking Oranges at Belair Grove
Henry Shelton Sanford's daughter, Gertrude Sanford, at Belair Grove in 1891. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair located just three…
Letter from Joshua Chase to Sydney Chase (October 19, 1934)
An original letter of correspondence written by Joshua Chase to his father and Chase & Company business partner Sydney Chase. The letter discusses a meeting Joshua attended in Lakeland about the specifics on the proposed Federal Marketing Agreement…
Letter from Sydney Chase, Jr., to Sydney Chase, Sr. and Joshua Chase (June 13, 1933)
An original letter of correspondence written by Sydney Chase, Jr. to other Chase & Company business partners and family members. The letter summarizes a meeting Sydney, Jr. attended relating to the marketing and selling of citrus products throughout…
Memorandum by Chase & Company (April 8, 1924)
An original memorandum written by representatives from Chase & Company. The memo highlights issues that the Florida Citrus Exchange experienced during the 1923-1924 season, including competition between the citrus industries in California and…
Letter from Randall Chase to Sydney Chase, Joshua Chase, and Sydney Chase, Jr. (December 28, 1936)
An original letter of correspondence written by Randall Chase to his father and Chase & Company business partner Sydney Chase. The letter discusses the troubles the Florida citrus industry faced in 1936 in selling grapefruit to its fullest potential.…
Letter from Randall Chase to Sydney Chase (October 29, 1936)
An original letter of correspondence written by Randall Chase to his father and Chase & Company business partner Sydney Chase. A portion of the letter includes information about Chase & Company's involvement at Wabasso Grove, Vero Beach, and Fort…
Letter from Randall Chase to Sydney Chase, Joshua Chase, Sydney Chase, Jr., and William A. Leffler (November 9, 1935)
An original letter of correspondence between Randall Chase and a group of business partners from Chase & Company. A portion of the letter discusses the issue surrounding Florida citrus growers and coloring adding. The color-added process involved…
Letter from Randall Chase to Joshua Coffin Chase, Sydney Octavius Chase, Sr., William A. Leffler, and Sydney Octavius Chase, Jr. (January 9, 1934)
An original letter of correspondence from Randall Chase to Joshua Coffin Chase, Sydney Octavius Chase, Sr., William A. Leffler, and Sydney Octavius Chase, Jr. A portion of the letter discusses Harold Mowry and Arthur Forrest Camp's experiments using…
Letter from Randall Chase to Sydney Chase (May 12, 1925)
An original letter of correspondence written by Randall Chase to his father and Chase & Company business partner Sydney Chase. Topics discussed in the letter include the marketing of the Sunniland brand, selling celery, and company…
Orlando-Winter Park Railroad
List of latitude and longitude coordinates for the Dinky Line. The track started in Orlando-Winter Park area and entered Seminole County near Oviedo. The Orlando-Winter Park Railroad officially opened on January 2, 1889. Shortly after the inaugural…
Florida East Coast Railway
List of latitude and longitude coordinates for the portion of the Florida East Coast Railway running through Central Florida. Henry Flagler, prominent entrepreneur known throughout the state of Florida, founded the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) in…
Florida Midland Railroad
List of latitude and longitude coordinates for the Florida Midland Railroad. Tracks were constructed and completed in the 1880s and ran along the current day State Road 434 near Ocoee, Florida. The Florida Midland did not last long , but did have a…
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
List of latitude and longitude coordinates for the portion of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad running through Central Florida. The Atlantic Coast Line was formally established in 1889 and became a major interstate railway system in the southeastern…
Jacksonville, Tampa, and Key West Railroad
List of latitude and longitude coordinates for the portion of the Jacksonville, Tampa, and Key West Railroad running through Central Florida. The railroad opened in 1884 and reached Sanford by 1886. William Van Fleet was the railroad's first…
Sanford and St. Petersburg Railway
List of latitude and longitude coordinates for the portion of the Sanford and St. Petersburg Railway running through Central Florida.Originally called the Orange Belt Railroad, the Sanford and St. Petersburg Railway started in 1885-1889. The tracks…
Sanford and Everglades Railroad
List of latitude and longitude coordinates for the Sanford and Everglades Railroad.The creation of a railroad through Sanford began when a group of celery growers expressed interest in extending railroad tracks to their farmlands. When the Atlantic…
Sanford and Indian River Railroad
List of latitude and longitude coordinates for the Sanford and Indian River Railroad.The Sanford and Indian River Railroad was built in 1886 by the South Florida Railroad. The line covered nineteen miles between Sanford and Oviedo and was used by…
Sanford and Lake Eustis Railway
List of latitude and longitude coordinates for the Sanford and Lake Eustis Railway.The Sanford and Lake Eustis Railway. The Jacksonville, Tampa, and Key West Railroad built the road in 1886 and opened it in 1887. The track spanned 29.5 miles and…
St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church
View of St. James AME Church from the intersection of Cypress Avenue and East 9th Street. The church itself was founded in 1867 at another location off of Mellonville Avenue. In 1880, the church purchased land at the current location from the Florida…