Mary KENAN Flagler of East Orange County

History has often overlooked a fascinating detail about Henry Flagler’s East Orange County railroad. William Blackman, a historian, wrote in 1927 that BITHLO was founded in 1915, stating the railroad had begun running that year. 

The year was actually 1914, as Flagler’s railroad had agreed to arrive at WEWAHOOTEE, one station south of Bithlo, by January of 1914. Flagler’s railroad began advertising depots to the south of Bithlo in February of 1914; listing each as: Pacatow and Wewahootee in Orange County; and Salofka, Tohopkee and Kenansville in Osceola County.

Travel time between Bithlo and Kenansville, the town named for the Widow Mary Flagler, began service in 1914 and was estimated to take 2 ½ hours.

The often overlooked detail is the railroad’s founder date of death. Henry M. Flagler died May 20, 1913.

Henry Flagler had been bedridden since March of 1913. On the day Henry Flagler passed, Mary (KENAN) Flagler, his widow, said newspapers, had become “the richest lady in the world.”

Mary KENAN Flagler assumed command of her husband’s businesses, including the expansion of a railroad line from Bithlo, following his death. It was Widow Mary who in fact built the southern extension of the East Orange County railroad. Today, Wewahootee Road terminates at Dallas Boulevard, where in 1914, Widow Mary (Kenan) Flagler had envisioned a railroad depot.

Flagler’s widow assumed control of 4 million acres of land, 11 hotels, and assets which included the Florida Power & Light Company and the Miami Herald. In today’s currency, her worth was estimated at $6 billion. She lived a life of mystery and controversy, and Mary (KENAN) Flagler died in 1917 as mysteriously as she had lived.   

Tomorrow: Orlando’s Catherine of the many ‘R’s

Visit www.CroninBooks.com for more central Florida history

Mary PITTS Randolph of Orange House Hotel

Central Florida’s FIRST ever free-standing hotel south of Lake Monroe was managed by two women. Alaha-Chaco, or ‘Orange House’ Hotel, opened in 1869 at Fort Reid, about 2 miles south of Mellonville’s pier. This historic hotel was surrounded by 40 acres of sweet smelling citrus trees, a historic stand of nearly 20 year old trees, known then as the Woodruff Grove.

Mary PITTS Randolph partnered with Sarah CHURCH Whitner to manage the hotel. Mary’s husband, Attorney William M. Randolph of New Orleans, continued living in Louisiana. Sarah’s husband, Surveyor Benjamin F. Whitner, stayed busy farming both the Woodruff Grove and a sizable grove of his own at Silver Lake.

Orange House Hotel was front and center of post-Civil War development in a 3,000 square mile county having fewer than 2,200 residents. The Orange House even served briefly, in spring 1870, as headquarters for a short-lived railroad, planned to run south from Mellonville to Tampa Bay.

Meals too were served at the hotel. Maitland’s Lake Lily, as mentioned in my book, First Road to Orlando, was known for a time by John’s Hole. The Legend of John’s Hole tells of poor John, leading his ox-team north from Lake Conway, carrying succulent chickens to “Orange House Hotel at Fort Reid.” Stopping to rest at a small round lake, his ox, chickens and wagon all slid down the steep slope into the lake, and poor John barely escaping with his life. Thereafter, the lake was known as ‘John’s Hole’.

Mary’s interest in land ownership spread inland, and by the time of her death in 1886, she owned all of the land surrounding old Fort Gatlin.

Many an early pioneer influenced central Florida development, but few had the impact Mary (PITTS) Randolph had during the early years following America’s Civil War. She donated land at Fort Reid for their Minister’s parsonage, and bought land where Fort Gatlin once stood. Her motherly desire to bring family together following the War brought many of today’s established pioneer families, including: Randolph; Preston; Pitts; Harney; Whitner; Montague; Mott, and others.

Randolph Street in present day old Fort Reid, and Randolph Street crossing Harney’s old Homestead, 25 miles apart and assumed by some to honor William, are in fact memorials to the man’s wife, a frontierswomen who had a major impact on shaping a 19^th century #cflParadise. In fact, her personal touche to early Orange County remain visible today.  

Born 1816 at Essex County, Virginia, Mary (PITTS) Randolph married at Tallahassee, Florida in 1840. She died October 12, 1886 at Orange County, Florida, and was at first buried alongside her husband and daughter on the grounds of old Fort Gatlin. They were later removed to Orlando’s Greenwood Cemetery.  

Tomorrow: The Railroad Lady of East Orange County

Miss Winifred HODGSON of South Orange County

I didn’t know Miss Winifred HODGSON existed, let alone deserving of her very own tribute in this Women’s History Month celebration, until a month or two ago. I literally stumbled upon the brave young lady of 19^th century central Florida while preparing for a presentation at South Creek Library. In 1890, W. A. HODGEON had been identified as owning over a thousand acres west of the present day Ghost Town of #Mackinnon. I determined to locate this #cflParadise pioneer, mainly because today, thousands enjoy riding a sleek monorail daily across a portion of that pioneer’s land.

HODGEON, I found, was meant to be HODGSON, and initials W A stood for Winifred Anne, one remarkable Irish gal who, at age 19, had crossed the Atlantic, traveling only with her mother, arriving at New York on the 23^rd of August, 1886. Within three years, Winifred Anne Hodgson accumulated in excess of 1,300 acres.

Winifred Hodgson’s Orange County story will also be an integral part of a FREE March 18^th presentation at Orange County’s SOUTH CREEK branch library. (This presentation is different from the Orlando Reeves March 25^th downtown library presentation.

Plan to attend this FREE Presentation

BEYOND GATLIN: A History of South Orange County

Orange County Public Library Presentation

Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 2 PM

Visit Facebook Event Page

https://www.facebook.com/events/164581127512728/

Born March 6, 1865 at Clonygowan, Ireland, Winifred’s family relocated to the outskirts of London, England, placing the Hodgson’s in close proximity to the headquarters of Florida Land & Colonization Company, the origin of an English Colony’s fascination with central Florida.

By age 24, Winifred A. Hodgson had sailed the Atlantic, dabbled in Florida landownership, and appeared ready to participate in opening South Orange County to development. She wasn’t alone in her planning, but she was the only female ready to take on the task of town building.

Tomorrow: Mary PITTS of Fort Reid’s Orange House Hotel

Anna Sybelia HILL Marks of Maitland

Nestled away from the hustle and bustle of Maitland, west of the city’s main north-south Maitland Avenue artery, is a quiet residential community built around a serene Lake SYBELIA. Amidst all the tranquility a lovely lake such as this offers, it is difficult to imagine the emotional occurrence of April 6, 1873, the tragedy that led a lakeside landowner to naming this charming body of water.

145 years later, what occurred at the Matthew R. Marks residence on Lake Sybelia in 1873 is best left to the Southern Christian Advocate publication: “She had nursed, with that sleepless diligence and patient watchfulness springing only from a mother’s love, her little daughter Jessie, through a protracted illness, even until the last hour. On the day after the death of her infant, her husband desired her to accompany him to the grave, but she did not have the strength. She looked, however, from the window, and as the dull sound of the earth falling upon the coffin broke upon her ears, her finely strung heart gave way.”

Anna SYBELIA Marks, wife of Major Matthew R. Marks, daughter of Judge Eli Hill of Terrell County, GA, the newspaper added, “died on the 6^th of April, at Lake Maitland, Orange County, Florida, of general exhaustion. Three days and four nights of intense suffering closed her mortal career.”

Founded in January, 1871, the community of Lake Maitland, as the original town had been called, was one of the first Orange County towns to attract snowbirds. But the area was still quite primitive, and doctors were few and far between. A #cflParadise land agent, Matthew R. Marks bought land at Maitland in May of 1874 and August of 1875, one year after of the death of his young bride of only three years.

Women who ventured into Florida’s wilderness deserve a special place in the history of this region. Lake Sybelia, provided we remember how it came to be known by that name, remains a wonderful tribute to one such lady.

A footnote to this post. While researching Matthew R. Marks in partnership with another local historian, it was that partner who, a few years back, came upon the obituary of Anna Sybelia Marks. Central Florida lost that historian last year. Christine Kinlaw-Best deserves special recognition for her special contribution to preserving Sanford history.

Tomorrow: Miss HODGSON from across the Pond

Christina 'Kena' FRIES of Orlando

Author Christina FRIES was 71 years young the year she published her, ‘Orlando of Long, Long Ago’. Known as Kena to those who knew the lady, she penned in 1938 the memoirs of #cflParadise old-timers spanning six decades. Her book remains a vital reference tool for researching Orlando origins even today, although a word of caution, one must remember that Kena’s stories were ‘oral’ histories told her. Present day historians should verify each and every account make corrections where needed. Verification today, thanks to ease in locating documents, is far easier than in 1938.

Kena was a median for the memories as told by others, memories that can be proven to be less than accurate. Still, she provides clues for historians to begin researching central Florida as far back as her father’s 1871 arrival at the Mellonville Pier on Lake Monroe. A daughter of Surveyor John Otto Fries, Christine Fries had access to many descendants of early Orlando area pioneers regarding the town’s origins as they had been told.

Kena was born at Upsala, Sweden, as best as we can determine, October 31, 1867. She and younger her sister Eva sailed to America with their mother, arriving in 1878. The Fries gals arrived in New York aboard the “Orlando,” although by error, or perhaps for affect, Kena credited her father as arriving aboard the ship named Orlando. (Passenger lists establish John Otto Fries as arriving in New York aboard Orlando’s sister ship, “Rollo.”

Earning $5 monthly, Kena worked as a librarian, working her way up the pay scale until reaching $20 monthly. Kena devotes an entire chapter to how the Orlando library system originated as a ‘Circulating Library’.

Of the many historical memoirs Kena reveals, two in particular are worthy of note. First, she described visiting central Florida’s famed ‘Council Oak’, sacred meeting place of the Seminole Indians, and described where that tree was located. Miss Fries even included a photo of tree bark she had collected from Orange County’s historic tree.

Kena also delved into the naming of Orlando, offering a descriptive version as to how the town was named. Her story will also be an integral part of a FREE March 25^th presentation at the downtown Orange County Library.

Plan to attend this FREE Presentation

ORLANDO REEVES: Fact or Fiction?

Orange County Public Library Presentation

Sunday, March 25, 2018 at 2 PM

Visit Facebook Event Page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/164581127512728/

Fascinating memories of Orange County’s Seat at Orlando were preserved in large part by a very special Swedish immigrant, Miss Kena Fries (1867-1945).

Tomorrow: The Lady of Maitland’s Lake SYBELIA

Adelaide FAVOUR Snow, Foremother of Altamonte Springs

Fanny is the first known child born at modern day Altamonte Springs. She was born in February, 1873, one full decade before the Altamonte Hotel opened for business built at what is today the intersection of SR 436 and Maitland Avenue. ALTAMONT, 3 miles distant and spelled without an ‘E’, hadn’t yet been established by Dr. Washington Kilmer. His Altamont Post Office opened ‘over there’ in December of 1874.

Central Florida historians have not officially recognized Fanny as the first born Altamonte child, nor that her parent’s had homesteaded at this place for that matter. Fanny’s father was Edgar J. SNOW. Her mother, a native of Brooklyn, NY who as a teenager relocated to Chicago, our ‘Foremother’ of Altamonte Springs, was Adelaide (FAVOUR) Snow.

Water from “Altamonte Spring” (singular), per the Hotel’s 1880s brochure, The Altamonte in the Paradise of America, was tested in Boston and said to be “exceedingly pure.” The second spring owned by the hotel was a sulphur spring and located three miles from the hotel, whereas the exceedingly pure spring was mere steps from the hotel, accessed via a gentle sloping path leading to ‘Lake ADELAIDE.’

Adelaide Favour married Edgar J. Snow on 25 April, 1871 at Chicago, Ill. As newlyweds the two ventured south to Florida, where Edgar, a veteran of the Civil War, homesteaded 160 acres fronting on the west side of an unnamed lake. A lake he named for his bride! The land owned by Snow encompassed also a portion of the east parking lot of the present day Altamonte Mall.

SNOW’S Station was the original South Florida Railroad depot located 3 miles south of Longwood. SUNRAIL stops at there today, but the name is now Altamonte Springs.

Boston investors began acquiring land for a hotel and resort in 1882, land surrounding acreage the Snow’s had already sold off in small parcels. That same year, “Edgar J. Snow of Snowville, Orange County, Florida, and his wife Adelaide”, sold the last of their central Florida property, and moved west to Oregon.

The lake Edgar named for his wife is all that remains of the first settlement established at the modern day intersection of SR 436 and Maitland Avenue. The spring has long since been plugged, unfortunately, and many today do not know the tranquil body of water here memorializes a brave woman who gave birth in the wilds, bringing into the world the first Altamonte Springs born child.         

Adelaide (Favour) SNOW died August 17, 1914 at Portland, Oregon. Edgar, a lonely widower, died three years later. Their daughter Fannie (SNOW) Ruffner, born 1873 at Snowville, died in Oregon, July 18, 1941.

Tomorrow: Orlando’s Librarian & Historian

Christiania GINN Speer of Mellonville

“Whereas Christiania has simultaneously purchased from the said parties of the second part the STEAMER Sarah Spaulding.” This statement appears in an 1854 document describing a November 27, 1852 mortgage secured by 200 head of cattle owned by Christiania SPEER. Mortgaged by Christiania (GINN) Speer in 1852, the debt was being settled in 1854 by her surviving spouse, Mellonville’s very own, Dr. Algernon S. Speer.

A woman operating a steamboat in 1852 #cflParadise? The image seems so out of place with the times, but no one ever claimed Christiania represented a typical 19^th century woman. Born 1818 in Georgia, she was the daughter of Irish immigrants, Arthur & Mary GINN. Arthur had developed a reputation in Georgia for growing apples, but history recalls the man more for planting central Florida’s first, or arguably second, ‘commercial’ citrus grove. Ginn-Speer Grove, planted in 1842 on the St. Johns River, was planted about the very same time as the Dummett Grove on the Indian River. (See our March 2, 2018 tribute in this series: Jennie A. CORNWALL.)

Christiana was the first wife of Algernon Speer. A mother of five, this couple is believed to have been the first to settle along Lake Monroe’s south shore, arriving in thiat area around 1843. Their homestead was along the lower St. Johns River, between Lakes Monroe and Jesup. In addition to assisting her father and husband in planting 120 acres of trees, Christiana also took time to purchase, at a March 14, 1848 auction, “one Dark Mule, Ox Wagon, two Steers, five cows and their calves”. She paid $32.11 for the entire lot. Four years later, this stock was likely part of the 200 head of cattle Christiania pledged as collateral to buy the Steamer Sarah Spaulding, aka Spalding.

Florida House of Representatives records mention the Steamer Spalding docking at old Fort Mellon on 27 March, 1852, eight months prior to Christiania starting up her own business of transporting people and freight up and down the river. Central Florida history credits Algernon and Arthur Ginn as running this steamboat business, but now, we all know the facts!

Christiania (Ginn) Speer died at age 35, a little over a year after starting her riverboat business, and four months after giving birth to her fifth child, on the 2^nd of June, 1853.

Tomorrow: Foremother of Altamonte Springs