Sanford
Historical Society
Newsletter for Friends and Supporters of the Sanford Museum
March — April 2009 — Volume 16 — #2
Sanford Historical
Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 168
Sanford, FL 32772-0168
http://
sanfordhistory.tripod.com/
[email protected]
Sanford Museum
520 E. First Street
P. O. Box 1788
Sanford, FL 32772-1788
(407) 688-5198
Leisure Services Department
City of Sanford
Alicia Clarke – Curator
http://www.sanfordfl.gov/
[email protected]
Highlights
Levy Grant
1
Annual Meeting
2
Church Celebrates
3
Going, Going, Gone!
3
Church History
4
Views of Sanford
5
Reference Room
5
“Enter ‘Colored’ Hats”
6
Research Toolbox
7
Oldest Sign
7
Member for TV Special
8
Books of Local Interest
9
How General Finegan Sold Henry Sanford the
“Levy Grant”
The years after the Civil War brought many men to the young state of Florida to seek
their fortune. The late 19th century was the era
of development when men like Henry B. Plant
and Henry Flagler came with money to invest
and had big plans to develop the state.
Henry S. Sanford and General Joseph Finegan are two investors whose paths crossed in
the land deal that would become the City of
Sanford.
Finegan was born in Ireland in 1814. He
came to Florida as a young man and landed in
Fernandina, and had the good fortune to meet
and marry a wealthy widow, Rebecca Travers
and become friends with David Yulee, a United
States Senator and one of Florida’s foremost
promoters and developers who built the Florida
Railroad. Joseph Finegan was on his way to
becoming a name in the state.
Florida seceded from the Union in 1861 and
now as Brigadier General Finegan he was in
General Joseph Finegan
charge of the District of Middle and East Florida. His forces kept the Union Army at bay
mostly by skirmishes to keep the raiders from supplying the North with horses, cattle and
farm products. The highlight of his military career was at the Battle of Olustee in February
1864 when his force of 5000 men met the Union Army of 7000 and defeated them. This was
the largest Civil War battle fought in the state.
Henry S. Sanford from Connecticut, retired after a long career in the Foreign Service,
also looked to Florida for new opportunities. He had many interests in the South, none that
were profitable. Henry Sanford was looking for land moreover; Joseph Finegan had land for
sale.
Finegan had bought this Old Spanish Land Grant known as the “Levy Grant” from his
first wife’s family at a tax sale. It is recorded that he paid $40 for the entire parcel. He offered Henry Sanford 12,547.15 acres in Mellonville on Lake Monroe for the price of $18,200!
“Orange Fever” enticed many to this state and Henry Sanford was convinced this land on
the south side of Lake Monroe was to be his most lucrative investment. Well, lucrative for
Joseph Finegan!
Next Meeting
Meeting
—
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Place
—
Sanford Museum, 520 East First Street, Sanford, FL
Time 4:45 p.m. — Social Time
Time 5:00 p.m. — Program —
SANFORD HI STORICAL S OCI ET Y
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Sanford Historical Society Annual Meeting
Officers
President — Walter Smith
V. Pres. — Valada Flewellyn
Secretary — Pauline Routh
Treasurer — Joe Hunt
Membership Secretary —
Grace M. Stinecipher
Directors (2 yr)
Christine Kinlaw-Best
Stan Rockey
Directors (1 yr)
Paul Hodgins
Connie Williams
Newsletter
Bette Skates — Editor
Jay Jacobs — Copy Editor/
Designer
Charlotte Smith — Proof Reader
Contributing Editors
Christine Kinlaw-Best
Barbara Chapman
Grace M. Stinecipher
Alicia Clarke
Web Page
http://sanfordhistory.tripod.com/
Jay Jacobs - Webmaster
Memberships
Individual — $15.00
Family — $25.00
Patron — $100.00
Corporate — $500.00
About the Society
The Sanford Historical Society,
Inc., a 501(3)c not for profit organization, was founded in 1984.
The Society functions as an auxiliary for the Sanford Museum. It
supports and promotes the objectives of the Museum through
fundraising and by providing
volunteers. The Society holds six
meetings during the year, which
includes programs relating to the
area’s history.
Grace M. Stinecipher
The Sanford Historical Society held its annual meeting January 22, 2009 at
the Sanford Museum. Before the meeting approximately 25 members and guests
enjoyed delicious refreshments provided by Connie Williams.
Fort Mellon Park Renovation was the topic of the program presented by
Robert Beal, Project Engineer with the City of Sanford.
Since many in the audience had been watching the progress of the new construction
in the park, they appreciated the explanation of what was being built.
It was learned from Mr. Beal that there would be eight small pavilions and one large
one, a large water feature, a playground, two basketball courts, and a rubberized exercise
path which would include exercise stations. There will also be a large restroom, a shade
structure and a great wall for seating. Landscaping throughout will enhance the area.
A park ranger will be on duty each day from dawn to dusk. Completion date of the
project is April 30th.
Phase II of the project will be created in the area west of the current construction. It
will include a staging area for concerts and special events and also exhibit space. A sidewalk will run throughout. The shuffleboard and tennis court will be redone and a bocce
ball court will be built.
The members showed a keen interest in the information that a large meeting room is
also in the plans.
This project is not yet fully funded so in the meantime we were encouraged to enjoy
the completed portion.
Jeannine Taylor, president of Creative Sanford, Inc. which is the sponsor of the Celery Soup Project, informed the group of the upcoming Masquerade Celery Ball to be held
March 7th which is a fundraiser for Celery Soup. During the evening, there will be time
for sampling food from area restaurants. During the business meeting, the Society voted
to donate five books, one for each of the of the King and Queen candidates.
Walt Smith, President, conducted the business meeting that included an annual report from Grace Marie Stinecipher, Membership Secretary. She reported
160 members in 2008, which include 74 individual, 63 family, 14 patron, 1 corporate, 4 complimentary and 4 honorary life. There were three new members and
six deaths: Millard Hunt, Stanley Vihlen, Virgie Hyman Cone (age 100), Bob
O'Neal, Luther McWhorter and Chip Chapman.
The budget for 2009 was discussed and adopted.
An appeal was made for a Society historian, no one responded.
Because of so many events occurring during the first weekend of December,
the group voted to have the 2009 Holiday Reception on the second Tuesday, December 8th.
There was a discussion on possibly purchasing a microfilm reader/printer for
researching the Sanford Heralds; this will be investigated.
Alicia Clarke, Museum Curator, told the group that the City Commission had
approved a research fee schedule that will be implemented beginning Feb. 14.
The Museum Staff had helped create this at the request of the City Manager. There
are no plans to charge admission to the Museum.
Valada Flewellyn told the group that the book African Americans in Sanford
would be published in April.
The 2009 officers were then installed by Charlotte Smith: President, Walt
Smith; Vice President, Valada Flewellyn; Secretary, Pauline Routh; Membership
Secretary, Grace Marie Stinecipher; Treasurer, Joe Hunt; Directors, Stan Rocky,
Christine Best. Directors, Connie Williams, Paul Hodgins are continuing directors.
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First Baptist Church Celebrates 125 Years
First Baptist Church of Sanford, a Southern Baptist Church, celebrated its 125th anniversary February 5-8. A large number of former members and friends attended the event.
Throughout the day on Thursday, February 5th, the Worship Center was open for prayer. That
night there was a Praise and Thanksgiving Service which included the observance of the Lord's
Supper.
Saturday night there was a Recognition and Revelation Service in the Brooks Chapel, the former brick sanctuary. At that time, the 50-year members were recognized, old hymns were sung
and many memories shared. Rev. Charles "Blimp" Davis, former Minister of Music/Youth 197379, led the singing. Following this service there was a Birthday Party in the Fellowship Hall of
the Memorial Education Building.
Sunday morning's worship service featured Dr. John Sullivan, Executive Director-Treasurer
of the Southern Baptist Convention. There was a video presentation of 125 years of ministry, special music by the Celebration Choir and a duet by Charles Davis and Richard Wagoner, current
music minister. Among special guests recognized were several descendants of former pastor Rev.
C. H. Nash (1898-1900). In addition, during the service, Mrs. Lawson Jolly presented a framed
certificate recognizing the church's anniversary on behalf of the Florida Baptist Historical Society.
After dinner on the grounds, the Gibbs Family of Titusville presented a concert of Southern
Gospel Music.
Chairman of the event was Grace Marie Stinecipher; members of the committee were Freda
Piercy, Jim Elliot, Paul Hodgins, Nancy Morace, Don Nicholas, Wendell Phillips and Pastor
Wendell Bishop, ex officio.
Going, Going, Gone!
Everyone over a certain age has had some contact with a Polaroid camera in their
life. In addition to being the life of the party, these instant cameras were used for passport
photos, baby’s first ultrasound, test photos in portrait studios, ID cards, and crime scene
photos. Although their quality varied, everyone loved the immediate gratification of the
magically appearing photos. Today the anticipation of watching the image appear has been
replaced by the instantaneous digital image.
On November 28, 1948, the Model 95 Polaroid Land Camera went on sale. An invention of Edwin Land, the founder of the Polaroid Corporation, this was the first camera to
produce instant photos. When introduced it was a luxury item with a price tag of $89.95.
The earliest cameras required the photographer to pull out the photo, peel it apart and
treat it with a fixing solution that was kept in a little vial. In the 1960’s, the roll film was
replaced by pack film and the photo shot out of the camera. This was the age of people
shaking their Polaroid pictures. The cameras went down in price, became easy to use, and
caught on with a young crowd. As digital cameras became widely available in the 1990’s,
Polaroid Corporation began to fail. In 2001, Polaroid filed for Chapter 11. In February
2008, the company announced production of instant film would stop in 2009.
There is a Polaroid Land camera Model 95 with its original box on display in the Chase
Gallery at the Sanford Museum.
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First Baptist Church History
A Regular Baptist Church was organized on February 3, 1884 with
18 charter members. The first meeting place was in the Sanford Town
Hall, which was located north of Commercial Street on Palmetto Avenue.
J.W. Butts, pastor of the Orlando Baptist Church, assisted in the
organization and was called to be the first pastor on a part-time basis.
Services were later moved to a school building on Palmetto Avenue
at Sixth Street. The Florida Land and Colonization Company of London
donated the one lot at Park Avenue and Sixth Street, and a wooden
church building was built there and occupied by 1885.
The church was admitted to the Wekiva Baptist Association on
Sept. 28, 1884 at which time it was also affiliated with the Florida Baptist Convention. In 1914 the church became a charter member of the
current Seminole Baptist Association. On June 20, 1917, the church
was incorporated as First Baptist Church of Sanford.
Ground was broken for the first part of the former brick sanctuary in 1914. Worship services were held in the
second floor Sunday School meeting room until the auditorium part of the building was completed in 1920.
Because of the difficulty the church had in paying the debt on the sanctuary during the Depression, the Memorial Education Building was built on a pay-as-you-go basis. It was completed in 1950 at a cost of $50,000.
Surrounding houses were gradually acquired during the 1950's and 1960's and were used as space for a
growing Sunday School. They were torn down for the new $315,000 education building, which was completed in
1966. It was named the Fred. B. Chance Memorial Education Building following the untimely death of this beloved pastor the previous year. The Youth Activities Building was built
in 1983.
First Baptist has sponsored five missions that have become churches in
the years indicated: Southside (now
Central) in 1938; Elder Springs (now
Victory, an independent Baptist
church) in 1957; Pinecrest in 1957;
and Oaklawn (now Westview) in
1965. Lake Mary Baptist Church
was accepted as a mission in 1976
and was led to reconstitution as a church in 1983. It is now known as Celebration Church.
First Baptist is presently sponsoring the mission Iglesia Bautista Nuevo
Comienzo (IBNC) that meets in the First Baptist facilities.
First Baptist has ordained sixteen ministers and 19 have been licensed.
Many others have gone into full time Christian service from this church.
One of this church's many strengths has been its generosity to Southern Baptist Missions and also local mission efforts.
After many years of purchasing additional property for parking, planning and prayer, ground was broken for
the new Worship Center on Feb. 6, 1994, during the Church's 110th Anniversary Celebration. The first service in
the long dreamed of sanctuary was August 27, 1995. The church had chosen many years ago to remain in historic downtown Sanford because it was felt that this was its place of ministry.
On May 27, 1997 the 1920 sanctuary was dedicated as the W.P. Brooks Jr. Chapel in memory of this beloved
pastor who served the church for 33 years from 1929 to 1962.
First Baptist Church has had 29 pastors. Pictures of these are on display in the Heritage Room located in the
Worship Center, which also displays a part of the historical collection.
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“Views of Sanford” in 1891
By: Christine Kinlaw-Best
Internet Archive has recently placed “Views of Sanford”,
drawn by H.S. Wyllie online. This book consists of sketches of
the town of Sanford as it appeared in 1891. H.S. Wyllie is also
known for his “Bird’s Eye View of Sanford” that was drawn
and published in 1890. This drawing is invaluable as a research
tool of historic buildings downtown and beyond.
Henry Shaw Wyllie was born in 1852 in England. He was a
tea planter in India from 1870 to 1882. According to Wyllie family historians, H. S. Wyllie brought his wife Adeline and their
eight children to Florida in 1887. In May of 1889, Adeline Wyllie
gave birth to a 9th child, Nigel Douglas Wyllie. Nigel only lived
for two days. Adeline died from the effects of childbirth two more
days later. Family histories give Oakland in Orange County as
the place of death and others give Sanford as the place of death.
The year after losing his wife (1890), H. S. Wyllie drew the
“Bird’s Eye View” of the town of Sanford, with the book “Views of Sanford” being published in February 1891. In
August of 1895, the Jacksonville Times-Union wrote under their “Sanford Siftings” column that H.S. Wyllie was preparing a number of special drawings of phosphate mines. These drawings would be exhibited at the Atlanta Exposition as a feature of the “Plant System Exhibit”. In September of 1895, in the Times-Union “Sanford Siftings” column it
was mentioned that: H.S. Wyllie, artist, is engaged in some sketches of Jacksonville for the Atlanta Exposition.
In 1898, H.S. Wyllie served in the St. Augustine Rifles, Company G, 1st Infantry, Florida State Troops. Also in
1898, Wyllie published “St. Augustine Under Three Flags” which is a book of drawings of St. Augustine.
After 1900, Wyllie moved to New Jersey & began completing Bird’s Eye Views of that state. Wyllie passed away in
NJ in 1919. Some of Wyllie’s children married & remained in St. Augustine.
Copies of the 1890 Bird’s Eye View of the town of Sanford are for sale at the Sanford Museum for $1.00. These are
reproduced on 11 x 17 inch heavy paper, suitable for framing.
To see the book, “Views of Sanford” from 1891, go to www.archive.org and search on Wyllie.
New in the Reference Room
A number of books have been added to the museum’s research library. These were purchased with
funds from the Danny Callahan bequest.
My Life with Stanley’s Rear Guard by Herbert Ward. Ward was a member of the Sanford Exploring Expedition in the Congo. The book mentions Henry Sanford’s Congo steamboat “Florida.”
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Recent bestseller about Henry Sanford’s bosses in the
Lincoln administration.
Zora Neale Hurston: A History of Southern Life by Tiffany Ruby Patterson. Dr. Patterson, who
has done research at the Sanford Museum. The book mentions Georgetown and Henry Sanford.
Willie’s Time: Baseball’s Golden Age by Charles Einstein. Willie Mays and the New York Giants.
The Original San Francisco Giants by Steve Bitker. The first years of the Giants after their
move to California.
Baseball in Trenton by Tom McCarthy. The New York Giants had a club in Trenton, New Jersey.
Willie Mays played for the Trenton team before coming to Sanford with the Minneapolis Millers.
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“Enter ‘Colored’ Hats”
A Photographic Exhibit
by Valada Parker Flewellyn
Colored Hats
Colored Hats, bowed Heads
Tattered book, read and read
Opaque fence, divides a town
Shutters open, God looks down
Colored hats, bowed heads
Linking those alive and dead
Zora Neale, Professor Crooms
Teachers always in the room
Carrying on a great tradition
Education and intuition
Gospels, hymns, bellowed blues
Jazz and anthems, blended hues
Voices whispering
I’m here, I’m here
Under colored hats appear
“Enter ‘Colored’ Hats” is a photographic exhibit that supports the publication of “African
Americans in Sanford” an Arcadia PublicaValada Parker Flewellyn
tion, by Valada Parker Flewellyn and the
Sanford Historical Society, and the documentary Goldsboro: An American Story. The exhibit and film are the result of collaboration
between EYESEEIMAGES, The Sanford Historical Society, and the Zora Neale Hurston
Institute for Documentary Studies, housed in the University of Central Florida’s College
of Arts and Humanities, Dean’s office.
The exhibit premiered in the University of Central Florida library during the month of
February as a part of the Black History Month celebration. A reception to view the exhibit and enjoy a screening of the film was held on February 18th. The exhibit will travel
to the Icabod Flewellen wing of the East Cleveland Public Library in July 2009. Icabod
Flewellen has the distinction of being the “Father of the African American History Museum”. He was a mentor of Historical Society Vice President, Valada Flewellyn. Plans are
underway to take the exhibit to St. Paul, Minnesota, the date to be determined.
The photographs in the exhibit “Enter ‘Colored’ Hats” depict the lives of African Americans in the communities of Sanford, Goldsboro, Georgetown, Bookertown and Midway/
Canaan. Some of the photographs were taken by Sanford’s local photographer Willie
“Pocket” Brown, and others by UCF students during the filming of the documentary. Others are from the EYESEEIMAGES archives and the book by Valada Parker Flewellyn
and the Sanford Historical Society, “African Americans of Sanford”, available for purchase in April, 2009.
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Research Toolbox
By Christine Kinlaw-Best
Researching your immigrant ancestors has gotten a little easier with online
lists such as the Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. This is a free database. From the website: From 1892 to 1924, more than 22 million immigrants, passengers, and crew
members came through Ellis Island and the Port of New York. The ship companies
that transported these passengers kept detailed passenger lists, called “ship manifests”. Thanks to the generous efforts of volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, these manifests have been transcribed into a vast electronic archive, which you can easily navigate in search of an individual passenger. http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/
Another free website that is very helpful is the “Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild.” They have
9,000+ free passenger lists. A search box is located on the left of the page. It is located at “http://
www.immigrantships.net/.’
On this same website is a very useful page called “The Compass”. “The Compass” is a guide to assist you
in your search for immigrant related information. “The Compass” includes sites to research emigration, immigration and naturalization, 100+ passenger list sites, ethnic research, libraries and archives, passenger
ship types, descriptions and images, and additional worldwide maritime information available both on-line
and off-line. This can be found at http://immigrantships.net/newcompass/pcindex.html.
It should be remembered when searching these sites to use all possible combinations of spelling of the
surname that you are searching for. These sites do not use Soundex spelling; therefore, it will only search for
the exact spelling that you enter in the search box. It doesn’t know to search for misspellings or wrong interpretations of spelling that may have happened anywhere from when the ship landed in the U.S. to the handwriting being almost impossible to read in modern times as the lists are being transcribed.
A good example is the multiple spellings of “Kinlaw”. When my father’s side of the family first came to
the U.S. from Scotland, the spelling was “McKinlaw”. The “Mc” was soon dropped in the U.S. because it was
too hard to pronounce. This name needs to be searched as: Kinlow, Kenlaw, Kenlow, Kinlough, Kenlaugh,
etc., and any other combination that you can think of. My mother’s side of the family spelled their name as
“O’Rigney”, but after arriving in the U.S. from Ireland, the family soon dropped the “O”, shortening it to
Rigney. So, remember to search using all combinations of spelling.
The Oldest Sign in Town
In January, architect Jerry Mills contacted the Sanford Museum about
an old wall sign that had been discovered inside the old county jail building
on Palmetto Avenue. Mr. Mills was working on a structural survey of the
building for the City of Sanford when the sign was discovered during the
removal of plaster. The sign was on what would have been the south exterior wall of the Hester Shepherd Building and appeared to say “C H Atkins
Wines and Liquors.”
Local historian Christine Kinlaw Best was contacted. She found Charles
Henry Atkins moved to Sanford before 1885, first working as a drayman. A
search of the 1892 Sanford Directory (which was published in the Gate City
Chronicle newspaper) turned up a listing for "C.H. Atkins, saloon" in this
building. The old livery stable next door was built sometime within the next
three years, covering up the old sign for the past 117 years. This building
also went on to become Sanford's fire station for many years. C.H. Atkins
remained in Sanford until his death in 1919 & was buried in Lakeview
Cemetery.
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Florida PBS Television Network Taps Sanford Historical Society
Member for TV Special
By: Christine Kinlaw-Best
You can forget any notions that Sanford Historical Society member Charlie
Carlson has vanished. He’s been on the road filming his own television special
for the Florida PBS Television Network. The show, which is based on his best
seller, Weird Florida, has Charlie as the Master of the Weird, traveling with
his boxer, Miss Scarlet, in search of the state’s most weird places and people.
Produced by Mia Laurenzo, a three time Emmy nominee for television documentaries, the one hour show has been in the planning for a year. “We kicked
off the first round of shooting in early January down in Homestead at the Coral
Castle,” said Charlie, who says the working title is Weird Florida: Roads Less
Traveled. “Mia wants me to add humor, which is right up my alley. They have
me driving a Chevy Trailblazer all over the state, acting silly, with Miss Scarlet sniffing out weird stuff”. The PBS film is Miss Scarlet’s second movie and
she now rates having her own handler. “We are treated well”, said Charlie. “I
have it better than most women. I even have someone to do my hair and
makeup”.
In late January, Charlie took a week’s break from the PBS project and
went to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, to film a one hour show about the
Green Park Inn, an alleged haunted hotel built in 1882, which will air later
this year on Carolina Cable television.
“We will be back on the road with PBS the last part of February, this time on location in Key West”, he said. “We’ll
work our way across the Everglades looking for skunk apes and up the state to places like Solomon’s Castle, Spook
Hill, the town of Christmas and other strange spots. After that, we’ll take a week’s break before heading north and out to
West Florida. We should wrap it up by Mid-March”. He said that while it is fun, it is still work. “We spend five hours
shooting, and with me that means at least a dozen retakes, just to get five minutes on the screen”. Mia Laurenzo plans a
big advance promotion of the show which she expects to air in early summer on all PBS affiliate stations in Florida.
“They’ll be including me and Miss Scarlet in their pledge drives and will be selling a DVD of our bloopers and out-takes
along with the Weird Florida book to raise funds”. We plan to dedicate this show to Dottie, as she was to be a part of the
crew.
In the past year Charlie has turned from books to films. “We released a 46 minute spoof on ghost hunting last summer, titled: Henry Blackhart is Dead. It was put out on DVD by Blue Heron International Pictures and is the first time I
have ever produced a film. It’s been shown on the big screen at several independent film theaters and in about a dozen
film festivals. It recently ran in the finals for the Florida Choice Award at the Treasure Coast International Film Festival
in Port St. Lucie”. Visit www.blueheronpix.com for information about the films that Charlie has been involved with or
trailers of them on YouTube.
When I asked Charlie if he ever thought he would be involved with filmmaking, he laughed and said “You can blame
Alicia Clarke for that, back in 1999 when she landed me a role in the “Curse of the Blair Witch.” I credit Alicia with being
my first agent”.
In addition to the PBS show and appearing on a few radio talk shows each month, Charlie is producing a 24 Hour
Marathon Radio Talk Show event in association with Ripley’s Believe It or Not called, “Shadows In The Dark”, for April
18-19 in St. Augustine and is planning a big Unexplained Expo event with Ripley’s for next October.
For more about Charlie check out www.weirdwriters.com.
Did You Know?
A dolphin was rescued from Lake Monroe on February 7th. That is 125 miles away from the
ocean. Maybe he heard about the great fishing at the Lake Monroe Crappie Masters Tournament in January.
Roof tiles from the old City Hall are on the old Mayfair Inn on First Street? They were rescued by members of the New Tribes Mission during the demolition of city hall in the 1970s.
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Books of Local Interest
Guido C. Levetto was the speaker at one of the Society's meetings; he is an
interesting author, a history buff who writes about Florida during the Civil War.
Levetto writes with great familiarly of towns, settlements, and forts along
the St. John's River in Central Florida. His two books A Return to Yesterday
and the sequel The Mist of Yesterday are great reading for the history of the
area.
The setting for his story in the 1860's begins in Mellonville at the family
plantation. Young Cutler Garnett has just turned eighteen and wants to join
the Florida Brigade of the Confederate Army; the young man is well equipped
to handle the hardships of the Army as he was raised in the wilderness and
hardened by life in this young state. Hunting and shooting meant surviving in
this frontier land.
Although Florida was the third state to secede from the Union in 1861, it was not a
strategic state to the Army of the North except for the resources of cattle, horses and
farm products. The miles of coastline were too vulnerable for either army to try to
protect. By 1862, the willing recruits had left the state for enlistment in the Southern army to the north. Florida was left to fend for herself.
Cutler and his brigade of men met the enemy on Florida soil in large battles like Oulstee and small skirmishes, fighting to keep the Northern army from getting the provisions they needed to feed their men and to supply their army to the
north.
The steamboats, rivers, and lakes all have a part in this story as well as many long ago familiar settlements of this
area.
This is great reading for those interested in Florida history.
The books are located at the Sanford Library for checkout and at the Museum.
SANFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
P. O. Box 168
Sanford, FL 32772-0168
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9
New Members
Marian O'Keefe
29 Mead Farm Rd
Seymour CT 06483
Wilson A Smith
1405 Redbud Lane
Jacksonville FL 32207
In Memoriam
Society member Jim
Schuiteman passed away in
February. Our condolences
to his wife Donna and family.
Angie Stewart Bolin
7700 Haymarket Ln
Raleigh NC 27615-5439
Sanford Snippets
The Sanford Herald has been publishing “Sanford Snippets” by the staff of the Sanford
Museum for the past few weeks. These are short bits of Sanford history written as three sentences on one topic. If you have a suggestion for this, please call the museum at 407-688-5198.
POSTAGE
Sanford Historical Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 168
Sanford, Florida 32772
32772--0168
CLASS
FIRST