ORMOND BEACH HISTORICAL TRAIL (From Interstate 95, drive east on SR 40 and south a half block on Beach St. (just before the bridge) to park in the Granada Riverfront Park (Cassen Park) at the southeast corner of Beach St. and Granada Blvd. Cross to the west side of the street.) 1 Southwest corner of Beach St. and Granada Blvd. 0.0 City Hall Until 1950, this city consisted of two portions, Ormond on the mainland and Ormond Beach on the barrier island. During that year, they officially resolved to collectively be known as Ormond Beach. The oldest portion of the city hall complex was the Bank of Ormond, which failed in 1929. An annex to enlarge the city hall space was dedicated in January of 1964. (Walk south 125 feet on Beach St.) 2 West side of Beach St., between Granada Blvd. and Tomoka Ave. 0.0 (42 N. Beach St.) Anderson-Price Memorial Library Sixteen citizens organized the Village Improvement Association on January 9, 1891. They rented a cottage in 1893 on Lincoln Ave. as their headquarters and a free public library. In 1905, they bought John Brink's building, formerly used as a furniture store, located on this lot. In about 1912, the club sold the Brink building and a lot on New Britain Ave. donated by Margaret Howe, and with the proceeds built the present structure. In 1957, the association was renamed the Ormond Beach Woman's Club. The library organized and maintained by the club was donated to the new Ormond Public Library in 1969. This one-story masonry building was designed with a Classical Revival style by Ogden Codman, Jr. Built in 1916, it features a four-columned portico. This building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1984. (Continue south 25 feet on Beach St. and look east across the street.) 3 East side of Beach St., south of the Ormond Bridge 0.0 Site of Francis Store 1 Isaac Shartle established the town's first general store near here in 1876 and soon sold it to James E. Francis. Later, he sold it and repurchased it. A long dock extended into the river in front of the store. (Continue south on Beach St. until you cross Tomoka Ave.) 4 Southwest corner of Beach St. and Tomoka Ave. 0.0 Site of Colony House The first house built in the area was known as Colony House, as it was intended to house the colonists until their own homes were built. Pioneer Daniel Wilson constructed it with lumber shipped here from Jacksonville. It also served as the first post office. In 1886, about all that remained of the Colony House was the chimney. Utley J. White was in the area building the railroad, and acquired the property and built a new home around the old chimney. He later sold it to John G. Borden of the canned milk family, who had moved to Ormond for his health. (Continue south 150 feet on Beach St.) 5 Beach St., south of Tomoka Ave. 0.1 Site of Live Oak Camp In the early 1870s, this area was a camp for loggers. The area was being developed for the lumber industry by lumber barons Rodolphus, Elija and Oliver Swift of Massachusetts. (Continue south 150 feet on Beach St.) 6 Beach St., south of Tomoka Ave. 0.1 Site of Swift Cabin Rodolphus Swift who, with his brothers, was in the lumber business, had a cabin approximately here. (Continue south on Beach St. to the intersection with Central Ave.) 7 Northwest corner of Beach St. and Central Ave. (150 S. Beach 0.2 St.) Lippincott Mansion 2 This three-story 9,000 square foot mansion was built in 1895 for Anne Lippincott. She later sold it to her sister, Harriet. Its style is described as Eclectic, combining elements of Queen Anne and Romanesque. It was later used as a residence and office, and after it was purchased by William Scobie in 1899, it was known as Melrose Hall. This was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. (Cross to the southwest corner.) 8 Southwest corner of Beach St. and Central Ave. (176 S. Beach 0.2 St.) The Porches A two-story frame house located here was built of pine and cypress by a ship's carpenter. It was bought by Adelbert Ames, a major general in the Civil War and governor of Mississippi in the 1870s. He and his wife, Blanche Butler Ames, named it The Whim. It was later torn down and replaced by this one. After that first purchase, Mrs. Ames began collecting other houses for winter residences for her children and grandchildren. These included the Stone House, The Cedars, The Ship Cabin, The Porches, Melrose Hall, Cozy Nook, Orange Lodge, The Last Straw and The Shells. (Look to the east.) 9 West bank of the Halifax River 0.2 Live Oak Point This spot got its name from its early use as a storage area, where live oak was stacked awaiting its loading on ships for export. Tomoka Rd. (now called SR 40) was a logging road over which felled trees were brought from the interior. (Continue south on Beach St., then walk west 75 feet on Mound Ave.) 10 North side of Mound Ave., between Beach and Grove Sts. 0.3 Ormond Indian Burial Mound This mound was preserved through the efforts of local citizens in 1982. Estimates place the number of remaining skeletons in the mound at 125, most placed there after 800 A.D. 3 A charnel house was located here to store bodies prior to burial. Such a structure was used by the St. Johns period Indians for removal of the dead's flesh and drying of the bones. Bundles of bones were then buried in the mound during special ceremonies. (Continue west on Mound Ave., then walk north on Ridgewood Ave. to the intersection with Tomoka Ave.) 11 Intersection of Ridgewood and Tomoka Aves. 0.8 Site of Cemetery Chester Penfield donated land to the Episcopal congregation for the construction of a church and the establishment of a cemetery at this intersection. Although there were a few burials here, no building was erected. Later, the city bought the land for unpaid taxes. (Walk west on Tomoka Ave., north on Yonge St. and west on Granada Blvd. to the intersection with the railroad tracks.) 12 West end of Granada Ave. 1.3 Site of First Golf Course Anderson and Price built Ormond's first golf course here, running parallel to the west side of the railroad tracks. (Look to the west.) 13 Near the Tomoka River, west of I-95, east of Timber Creek Rd. 1.3 Road to Site of Tomoka The settlement of Tomoka located about two miles to the west of here, predated Ormond Beach and for a time was the largest in the eastern portion of Volusia County. In 1877, a post office was established there with John Wilen as its first postmaster. The nearby Groover Creek Graveyard, named after the Groover family, contains the graves of members of the Newburn, Harper, and Priest families. (Walk east on Granada Blvd. to the intersection with Washington St.) 14 Northeast corner of Granada Blvd. and Washington St. (165 W. 1.6 Granada Blvd.) 4 Chamber of Commerce The American Legion Building formerly sat on this corner. In November of 1960, the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce moved here from its former home elsewhere on Granada Blvd. (Continue east on Granada Blvd., then walk north on Ridgewood Ave. to the intersection with Lincoln Ave.) 15 Intersection of Lincoln and Ridgewood Aves. 1.9 Site of First School In a house at this intersection in 1879, a school was established with Florence Corpe as the teacher. Previously, Mrs. Chauncey Bacon taught classes in a small cabin on W. Granada Ave. (Continue north on Ridgewood Ave., then walk east on Dix Ave. to the intersection with Beach St.) 16 Northwest corner of Beach St. and Dix Ave. (166 N. Beach St.) 2.3 McNary House William G. McNary, E.M. Penfield and Daniel Wilson visited this area in 1873, and returned the following year to become its first permanent settlers. McNary built this home shortly after, just before the identical Dix House to the north. It had open porches across the front of the upper story, which has been removed, and the lower story, which has been enclosed. The original McNary land extended from Dix Ave. to Hernandez Ave. His orange grove extended west of Yonge St. to Nova Rd. McNary and his son, Charles, were cabinetmakers for the Corbin Lock Company of New Britain, Connecticut, which in 1874-75 purchased the Yonge Grant and named it New Britain. It was to be a health center for its employees threatened with tuberculosis. The first city council meeting was held in the McNary house on May 8, 1880. (Walk north 125 feet on Beach St.) 17 West side of Beach St., between Dix and Hernandez Aves. (178 2.3 N. Beach St.) Dix House This home was built in the early 1870s and had open 5 porches across the front of both stories. It was the residence of Eliza and Ruth Dix. While construction was ongoing, Eliza became ill and lost her savings. Other settlers volunteered their labor to complete the house. The second floor was not divided into bedrooms, and was called Dix Hall. It was used for church services, political meetings, picnics and parties. The town incorporated on April 22, 1880, in a meeting in Dix Hall and was named Ormond.