Instructions:
1....Print this file.
2....At its end, click on "rules" to see a copy of the trail rules, print it, and then click where indicated at the end of the 3-page rules and patch order form to get back to the list of Florida trails.
3....If you want a hand-drawn map showing the locations of all of the sites, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Steve Rajtar, 1614 Bimini Dr., Orlando, FL 32806.
4....Hike the trail and order whatever patches you like (optional).
WARNING - This trail may pass through one or more neighborhoods which, although full of history, may now be unsafe for individuals on foot, or which may make you feel unsafe there. Hikers have been approached by individuals who have asked for handouts or who have inquired (not always in a friendly manner) why the hikers are in their neighborhood. Drugs and other inappropriate items have been found by hikers in some neighborhoods. It is suggested that you drive the hike routes first to see if you will feel comfortable walking them and, if you don't think it's a good place for you walk, you might want to consider (1) traveling with a large group, (2) doing the route on bicycles, or (3) choosing another hike route. The degree of comfort will vary with the individual and with the time and season of the hike, so you need to make the determination using your best judgment. If you hike the trail, you accept all risks involved.
The land around the springs was taken from the Indians in 1570 by the Spanish, who established a colony here. They cleared 100 acreas on which they planted sugar cane and built a sugar mill. The colony was later abandoned.
The English under Gen. Oglethorpe established a colony here in 1763, clearing additional land and planting indigo. It was named Garden Springs when there were two springs, and later was renamed Spring Garden. Florida went back to Spain 20 years later, and most of the inhabitants of the colony were massacred by Indians.
The Uchee Indians were still living here in 1822. Six years later, Maj. Joseph Woodruff bought 2,020 acres for $3,000 and started a plantation which became prosperous by 1835. It became owned by Col. Orlando S. Rees. The Seminoles burned it down in 1836. The Indians left in 1838 when Gen. Zachary Taylor arrived and camped northeast of the springs.
Thomas Starke purchased the plantation from Wilson W. Rees in about 1840 for the price of 50 negro women. Starke aided the Confederacy and kept a blacksmith shop, superintendent's house and slave quarters near Seven Oaks on Spring Garden Rd. In 1864, Union troops under Col. Nobel demolished everything except for the frame of the old mill, the water wheel, chimney and arches.
The land was acquired in 1872 by Maj. George Norris of Batavia, New York, who planted orange groves and laid out streets by 1880. On Spring Garden Lake, a packing house and landing pier were built. In 1882, George W. and Sarah Lee Fish moved here from Indiana to grow oranges.
Formerly, the railroad depot was located near the entrance to the springs.
Parts of the original mill built by the Spanish in the 1570s have been incorporated into the present structure, making these the oldest sugar mill ruins in the state. It was rebuilt and expanded by Thomas Starke in about 1840. It was severely damaged by Union troops during the Civil War and was rebuilt in 1878 by George Norris.
The springs were visited by John James Audubon in 1822, and later in that century were promoted as a winter resort and fountain of youth.
The springs were dammed to serve as a power source in about 1920, but the weight of the water prevented some of the flow and the water level began to drop. In Spring Garden Run, bubbles began showing where there was less resistance, forming a new spring.
Concrete, metal and other items were thrown into the new area of bubbles, and in about six months the original springs were restored to their former flow.
In the 1920s, the pavilion was replaced by a large hotel, the Spring Garden House run by E.M. Turner. The property was surrounded by a wall and walkways were constructed around the springs. A series of majestic columns was built around the spillway.
During the 1930s, nearby Burt's Park was a popular attraction, featuring swimming, shuffleboard, picnics, and boat rentals for Spring Garden Run and Spring Garden Lake. Admission cost 10 cents.
Across the lake to the southwest is Jones Island, and beyond that at the end of the Garden Run is Lake Woodruff. The lake is named after the Woodruff family, who operated a sugar plantation and trading post near here from 1824 to 1836, the year it was burned by the Indians. That attack was the first West Volusia event of the Second Seminole War (1835-42).
A little to the west of the lake is Tick island, which was inhabited by Indians for centuries. During the Third Seminole War in 1857-58, soldier Joseph Underhill arrived in Volusia County and decided to remain. He and wife Lucretia bought or received as compensation land, including the island. Mr. Underhill managed many acres of groves and farms on the island in the 1870s.
In about 1879, Mac Timmons and his family moved to Tick Island from Jacksonville, building a wooden house with glass windows, unusual for the period. Later, the island was sold to another Jacksonville man who never lived on it. During his ownership, the island was a haven for moonshiners and hunters, and later by lumberers.
County Route 3 is the route of the old Black Bear Trail, which ran from Canada to Florida. It was generally followed by the Dixie Highway, which opened during the 1920s.
A lodging house with three front doors accommodated packing house workers who came here in the early 1900s from the north about December 1 and returned to their own farms about May 15. This is the Chandler House, built in about 1890, and likely served as that inn.
The hotel here was built by U.M. Bennett. He completed the three-story frame building with porches on two of its sides on December 5, 1885. It served fishermen and travelers, most of whom used the steamboats on the St. Johns River. The hotel was purchased by Mr. Rudd, who installed washbasins and a roller towel outside for the use of soiled and weary travelers. This was later the site of the Vista Bank.
In the early days of the town, Commerce Ave. was the main thoroughfare. The main business section was located between Reynolds Rd. and Spring St. It included an octagonal tea room where homemade ice cream could be bought on Sundays.
This street is named for Benjamin and Jesse Upson, who moved here from Rockford, Illinois. Benjamin built his home here in December of 1884, and son Jesse completed his next door a month later.
This institution in 1914 served the black community as both a church and a school, while it was located on US 17 next to the St. Joseph Lodge Hall. It was torn down in 1924 and the lumber was used to construct a church here, with classes conducted during construction in St. Joseph's.
A large one-room wood frame school was built here in 1886. A south wing was added in 1915, and an east wing in 1925. The building was moved to another site in about 1935 and was replaced by a new schoolhouse. It also served as a community center. In 1975, it was torn down to make room for the fire house.
Prior to the construction of the Union church, services were held in the schoolhouse. A church building was completed in December of 1915, and a retired Presbyterian minister living in Glenwood served as its first pastor.
The land on which the church sat was donated by the The Order of the King's Daughters, and the lumber was bought from Bond's Mill in Glenwood. Two windows on the south side and a large one on the east, plus the bell, pulpit and choir seats were donated by Abbie Douglass. John Walker donated three large pulpit chairs.
The property was bought by the Methodist Church, which organized on November 21, 1921. The 1915 church burned down on December 18, 1998.
This congregation organized as Spring Garden Baptist Church in October of 1886, and met in a small frame building on Johnson Lake Rd. Adjacent to it was the oldest cemetery in DeLeon Springs. The church disbanded on September 26, 1921, and the DeLeon Springs Baptist Church was immediately formed.
Land was donated by John Tatum and a new church was built, using the pews from the old Spring Garden Baptist Chruch.
A wooded area at this corner was a popular place for gypsies to camp.
Until US 17 was rerouted through DeLeon Springs, this was the most heavily traveled route between DeLand and Barberville. Travelers headed down Retta St., slanted over to Ponce DeLeon Blvd., crossed the railroad tracks and headed north.
This road was covered with pine needles to make travel easier for bicycles and two-seated buggies. By 1905, it was covered with oyster and snail shells that came from a mound at Spring Garden Landing.
The double drive through Glenwood was paved in about 1920.
A farm at this location, along with Burwyn Park and the Spring Garden Ranch, were developed by Frederick N. Burt, a paper box manufacturer from Buffalo, New York. He did this on 5,000 acres which had previously belonged to George and A. Hart Norris. In 1910, he built structures on the Spring Garden Ranch which were still in use in the 1980s, including a horse barn, hay barn, cattle barn and two silos.
Bert Russell built a home here in 1877, which was later remodeled as the post office. Russell served as the superintendent of the Sunday school.
The first Sunday school classes were held in March of 1886 in the homes of Samuel Boyd, Robert Strawn, and Henry Wright. The church organized later that year with eight members. The first church building was constructed in 1895 on land donated by Charles, Frances and Etta Waterman. In 1908, they also donated land next door for a manse. The first resident minister, beginning in 1899, was Rev. J.W. West.
A new sanctuary was built in 1960, next door to the old one.
In 1879, A.H. Hamlin propagated an orange named for him at his grove near here.
Charles Booth built this three-story home during the early 1890s out of native lumber. He lived in it with his mother and sister, Nina. Booth was a carpenter and repaired watches and bicycles, dug wells, and planted many of the live oak trees in the area. It was later occupied by Booth's niece, Alice Van Cleef.
A 3,000 acre tract was granted here in 1807 to Spanish nobleman John B. Gaudry. He brought his family and 75 slaves to work this land. In 1869, his heirs deeded it to Stephen H. Dupon, who sold it in 1871 to George H. Norris of Batavia, New York.
In 1872, Norris planned a village of 138 lots, which he called Spring Garden. His plat was recorded in 1877, showing a 100-foot wide Grand Ave. He planted sour orange rootstock, as it was resistant to freezes, and grafted sweet oranges to it.
The name of the settlement was changed to Glenwood between 1877 and 1886.
A. Hart Norris bought a large tract here in 1884 and planted several hundred acres with mulberry trees. Until the trees were destroyed by a freeze, he had a successful silk business.
Norris platted a section at the west end of Spring Garden Ranch Rd., naming it Spring Garden City. It included a post office and the general store of Fish and Lee. He planned an elaborate square and park with a fountain. They were not completed, but the turns in the road indicate where they had been intended.
The property was bought by Warden and McLaughlin of New York, who planted 600 acreas with cassava, intending to produce starch. They were unsuccessful.
Part of the Norris land is included in present-day Glenwood. A post office formerly located in Highland Park was later moved here.
On the north side of the Glenwood Presbyterian Church was built a community school room for students in grades 1-8. When it was completed in 1899 and known as the Glenwood School, the school at Highland Park closed and its students transferred here. One teacher taught all eight grades, sometimes including ninth grade subjects to allow a student to enter DeLand Academy. Black students attended school in a little Methodist church on Carr St., in 1900 moving to a one-room building on Church St.
The Glenwood School was moved in 1915 to a site near this intersection. Another school room was added, requiring a second teacher.
A large building was erected in about 1890 by Issac D. Snead of Toledo, Ohio, and became the Glenwood House in 1920. Later, it was expanded into the Duval Home for Retarded Children which now consists of several buildings.
A Pictorial History of West Volusia County 1870-1970, by William J. Dreggors, Jr. and John Stephen Hess (E.O. Painter Printing Co. 1989)
Centennial History of Volusia County, Florida 1854-1954, by Ianthe Bond Hebel (College Publishing Company 1955)
Florida Back Roads, by Bob Howard (Sentinel Communications Company 1991)
Florida Historic Markers & Sites, by Floyd E. Boone (Gulf Publishing Company 1988)
History of Volusia County, Florida, by Pleasant Daniel Gold (The E.O. Painter Printing Co. 1927)
Hopes, Dreams, & Promise: A History of Volusia County, Florida, by Michael G. Schene (News-Journal Corporation 1976)
Reflections: West Volusia County, by M.E. Ross et al. (1976)
Volusia: The West Side, by Arthur E. Francke, Jr., Alyce Hockaday Gillingham, and Maxine Carey Turner (West Volusia Historical Society 1986)