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    Zellwood
    Zellwood
    Zellwood
    Ebook202 pages1 hour

    Zellwood

    By Zellwood Historical Society, Museum, and Library, Inc.

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    About this ebook

    Zellwood was named for Thomas Ellwood Zell, who arrived in the area in 1876. Zell sent scrapbooks displaying newspaper clippings to entice Northern friends former Civil War officers to settle near Lakes Maggiore and Minore. Word spread that Zellwood was a desirable place to winter and do business. Construction of millionaire steel magnate James Laughlin Jr. s mansion began in 1885. Zellwood attracted people who built estates and new homes. Boardinghouses popped up. The Holly Arms Hotel and Zellwood Inn housed farmers, teachers, and entrepreneurs. In 1911, a train brought more settlers planning to earn their livelihood from Zellwood s rich earth. Agriculture dominated from the 1940s through the late 1990s. Zellwood was known for sweet corn. By 1999, all but one farm had been purchased for Lake Apopka restoration. Only Long and Scott Farms carries on the tradition of growing Zellwood sweet corn by farming the sandy soil bordering the muck lands of Lake Apopka.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateNov 10, 2014
    ISBN9781439648407
    Zellwood
    Author

    Zellwood Historical Society, Museum, and Library, Inc.

    The Zellwood Historical Society, chartered in 1997, presents photographs and information from their archives, which are housed in the museum at Zellwood Community Center. Preparation for Images of America: Zellwood included interviews of residents, scanning of additional photographs, and, most importantly, living in Zellwood.

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      Book preview

      Zellwood - Zellwood Historical Society, Museum, and Library, Inc.

      (CVT).

      INTRODUCTION

      No soul remembered is ever really gone or forgotten.

      Via these pages, the Zellwood Historical Society, Museum, and Library remembers Zellwood’s beginnings, its people, and its events.

      A traveler, lulled by the monotonous clip-clip-clip of the highway as he zips along Orange Blossom Trail from Orlando to Mount Dora, might not realize he has passed the Conquest Cemetery or the Laughlin historic district, or driven within two miles of Sydonie, one of Orange County’s historic buildings. Who would guess that one mile south, there were once muck farms that helped feed the nation? Or that Native Americans left dugouts and arrowheads on the north shore of Lake Apopka? Do the motorcyclists who park by the two-story wooden building realize that it was once a trading post—that it is one of the oldest commercial establishments in Orange County?

      Travel with us down memory lane.

      William Carter Goolsby migrated to the Zellwood area around 1850. With the help of slaves, he cleared land, planted citrus groves, and constructed buildings along the edge of Lake Apopka in Grassmere, which is now the area known as McDonald. In nearby Conquest Cemetery are the Goolsby family’s headstones, among others, and unmarked burial sites of slaves. The Goolsby and Wilkins families built Conquest Methodist Church near the cemetery.

      With the development of the railroad in the late 1880s, more people arrived in Zellwood. The Vincent, Vine, and Morton families, along with a cattle car hired by the group of families, arrived from Texas via train in 1911. Supplies came in; citrus and vegetables were shipped out. Telegraph service was available, and trains brought word of weather from the north.

      The early settlers found this area to be beautiful with its lush growths of oak and pine trees and palmetto and sable palms—all covered with vines and moss. Wild blackberries and huckleberries were plentiful, providing pioneer women with ingredients for jellies, jams, and pies. Adjusting to their new lives may have been hard for these refined ladies, who relocated to Zellwood from the north to live in somewhat primitive conditions while waiting for their homes to be built. The earliest pioneers did their cooking outside on an open fire.

      Settlers around Lakes Maggiore and Minore included publishers, doctors, lawyers, judges, real-estate salesmen, and retired military officers. These were intellectual, cultured, well-read, and successful people. Housing was needed, so families accepted boarders and built inns. Homesteaders constructed houses from trees found on their land. Over time, Zellwoodians built homes from available resources, including disassembled buildings. Inexpensive shelter—including Army barracks and Wilson Cypress Lumber Company camp houses—was relocated to Zellwood. Socioeconomic groups ranging from extremely wealthy folks to farm laborers made their homes in Zellwood.

      Some early citizens were attracted to Zellwood because the climate was ideal for growing citrus, peaches, and pineapples. These endeavors were successful until the big freezes of 1884 and 1885. During one of the freezes, Richard Robinson attempted to save his citrus trees by burning the fence surrounding his grove.

      An influx of people during the 1940s caused a growth spurt in Zellwood’s population. During this time, the Sewells, Barretts, Smiths, Bryants, Millers, Humphreys, Browns, Willifords, Grinnells, and Shivers came to Zellwood to start businesses or find work. Many migrated from Georgia and found employment in the citrus and farming industries. Some over those who arrived in the 1940s may remember waking up to the hum of crop-dusting airplanes flying over the farmland, smelling the fragrance of orange blossoms in the air, and picking fresh oranges to eat.

      On summer afternoons, families went for a swim in nearby Lake Ola or Rock Springs. A trip to the Sanford Zoo was a huge event in a child’s life. Daytona Beach beckoned people to drive over and enjoy the sun and surf. Teenagers traveled to Daytona early on Saturday mornings and parked in front of the boardwalk to hear the hit songs of the day coming from the loudspeaker.

      Businesses provided work opportunities and improved the local economy. The Jones & Lovelady grocery store, Stewart’s Sundries, various produce packinghouses, and plant nurseries offered jobs. Adults and teenagers appreciated the opportunities to earn; it was a privilege to be hired, because jobs were scarce in Zellwood.

      In the 1950s, the residents of Zellwood began to advocate for better living conditions. Frame houses were erected on little dirt and clay roads. Some families living close to each other would trust an aunt or matriarch to watch the children; while parents were away at work, this responsible person would visit each home to help the children do laundry or cook the evening meal.

      Children called the roads either dirt roads, clay roads, blacktop roads, or hard roads. In the late 1940s, the city elected a Corn Queen—a penny counted as one vote, and all of the contestants wore wrist corsages from Vincent’s Florist. Barbara McCall was crowned at Rock Springs after her employer put a sizable bill in the penny jar, which put her over the top. The Youth Center on Union Street served as a meeting place for the town, as it still does today. Many citizens donated labor and/or money to provide a place for the youth. Many events, like plays and graduations, have been held on the stage. The Youth Center is now known as the Zellwood Community Center. It has long been the scene for quinceañeras, birthday celebrations, anniversary parties, and community reunions.

      Zellwood residents’ fond memories include the huge oak tree beside Lenny’s drugstore, which he lit with 60-watt colored lightbulbs each December; the Christmas lighting in the community was simple but beautiful to a child’s eyes. Children played outside and were quite creative when entertaining themselves. Some would pretend they were in the Army, especially if their fathers had been in the war. Many men were shade-tree mechanics on the side, and if dad was not looking, the kids would play in the cars, pretending to go on trips their parents had talked about. Youngsters officiated many animal funerals in those days, gathering under the oak trees for the services and singing the songs they had heard in church. They loved to go to W.D. Lovelady’s store to get penny candy and all-day suckers. The best beef around was sold at Lovelady’s, and there was nothing like a piece of cheese cut off the big,

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