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.
Near here was the home of C.T. Smith, who cleared the land between Bay St. and the railroad and opened it as a park for public use in 1882. In 1906, Kent Pendleton sold the land to the city for $1,000, and it was named Pendleton Park. The area was a gathering place for celebrations, fish fries, political gatherings, picnics, barbecues, school outings, and band concerts. In 1913, a band stand was built here for $100.
This lake, and eventually the town, was named in about 1825 for Brig. Gen. Abraham Eustis, who was prominent in the Seminole Wars. He skirmished with the Indians on the south shore of the lake, near present-day Tavares.
In earlier years, this body of water was known as Lake Ellen Hawkins.
This home is built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, which includes textured stucco walls, a barrel tile roof and an arcaded entry porch. This was built in 1924.
This church was founded in 1884 as Mt. Pleasant Primitive Baptist church, and held services in a small frame building on Bates Ave. In 1924, a square gray concrete block building was built here and the name was changed to Mt. Zion. Their first pastor was Rev. George Jackson, who served from 1884 until 1894. The present building was dedicated in 1951.
This Frame Vernacular style home was built in1920, and includes a full-width screen enclosed front porch covered by a low sloping shed roof. It is more than one room deep, allowing for variations within the interior floor plan.
This building was erected in 1920 with a Commercial style, and is typical of the small grocery or sundry stores located on corners in residential neighborhoods. They were built similarly to the homes, but with a stepped parapet wall in front, making the building appear taller to give the illusion of prominence and stability. It also provided more room for a sign.
A Commercial style building was erected on this corner in 1920. In the late 1930s, it was the location of J.W. Brinson's meat market. Brinson also sold Shell gasoline products there.
This church was organized in 1921 and held its first services in an old church building on N. Prescott St., then moved into its own sanctuary later that same year. Its first pastor was Rev. Harry Burney. In about 1985, it changed its name to Full Deliverance Church, and at the same time changed from being a Colored Methodist Episcopal church to a United Methodist one.
St. James was organized in 1891, and early services were held in a brush arbor four blocks to the north of here. The first pastor was Rev. B. Wiley, who served until 1893. Later, they used a frame building, and in 1915 rebuilt it using concrete blocks. It was destroyed by a fire on May 23, 1927, and replaced by a square gray concrete building with a belfry, bell and memorial windows later that year.
This Dutch Colonial style home was built in 1939 by George Grant, who operated his brick masonry business from it.
In the 1920s, Johnson Worth's grocery store was located on this corner.
On this corner in the 1910s and 1920s was the S M B Grocery Store of E.D. Brown and E.M. Boyd, with a hall upstairs. It was used by the St. James A.M.E. church while their wooden church was being rebuilt with concrete blocks in the early 1910s.
This area of Eustis was once owned by John A. MacDonald, who arranged for the settlement of blacks here. It was called Egypt.
In the mid-1920s, Chester Bright operated a restaurant here.
This Neo-Classical building was erected in 1931, and features a full-height entry porch supported by Ionic columns. There are panels inset with low relief and a balustrade continuous along the parapet roof. This building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This was the home of G.D. Clifford, built in 1885 by the owner of a local plant that cast concrete blocks. It still has its original siding and windows.
At this intersection was the Palms Hotel, owned by Frank Waterman. After he suffered a stroke and agreed to deed the Fountain Inn to Dr. C.M. Tyre for a hospital, he also donated the hotel. It had been used as a dormitory for employees of the Fountain Inn. It was later turned into an apartment house.
Here was the home of Helen M. Hazelton, built in 1924. It was until recent time the only house near downtown which had elements of the Shingle style, which was popular from 1880 to 1920. It had tall narrow windows, wood shingles, and highly decorated gable ends. The roof featured cross gables and the screen enclosed porch wrapped around the corner.
In 1876, the post office for this area was a box nailed to a big pine tree at the intersection of Grove St. and Old Mount Dora Rd. It was set out of the reach of cows on a tree about opposite the home of E.M. Savage and received mail addressed to the community of Highlands. Before that, settlers received their mail at Lake Woodward, and then at Fort Mason.
In 1876, a post office was established at Pendry's place, then in 1881 postmaster Henry E. Johnson moved the post office to the southeast corner of Citrus Ave. and Grove St. After a few months, Dr. Guy Hutchings became the postmaster.
The present post office was formally dedicated on September 24, 1960.
After the Oklawaha Hotel burned in 1923, Frank D. Waterman, nephew of L.E. Waterman (the inventor of the Waterman fountain pen) formed a company to build the Fountain Inn. Waterman hired architect R.J. Spence of New York City and contractor C.M. Emerson of Brooksville to design and build the 158-room hotel. Costing about $400,000, it flourished unti the Depression.
There were stores and businesses on the first floor, including, on the Magnolia Ave. side, Cooper, Pinkerton and Schrieder Real Estate; Fred Cantrell Real Estate; Pat Laury's Haberdashery; Ray Thurmond's Drug and Sandwich Shop; and Miss Etheride's Hat and Dress Shop. On the Eustis St. side were Morse, Merserau Insurance; Fountain Inn Barber Shop; and Florida Power & Light Company (where the Emergency Room was later located). From 1923 until 1957, First State Bank & Trust Co. was on the corner of Magnolia Ave. and Eustis St., at the later site of the Pink Elephant Thrift Shop.
In 1936, it was turned over to a sindicate of local doctors for use as a community hospital. During this time, Richard Edgerton continued to operate the first three floors as the Fountain Inn, with the doctors using the fourth. After two years of this arrangement, the entire building was transformed into the hospital. Waterman had suffered a stroke and was cared for by Dr. C.M. Tyre, and Waterman gave the building to be used for a hospital.
For a time, the dining room of the Fountain Inn remained open, as did the stores facing onto Magnolia Ave. and Eustis St.
In 1885, the Eustis House opened here with 35 sleeping rooms, plus offices, baggage and sitting rooms. Outside, there were wide verandas on two sides of the building. it was built and owned by Moses J. Taylor, G.D. Clifford, and John A. MacDonald. Later, it was operated by Mrs. Henry W. Bishop.
This is a two-story Commercial style building, constructed of masonry in 1924. Flat arched windows are grouped, there is a central entry door, and there is an elliptical arch with fixed glass windows in the central bay.
This building was erected in 1925 and is typical of the Masonry Vernacular style. Such brick or stone structures are characterized by a low pitched roof or a flat one with a parapet wall, single light windows, a cornice, and awnings or canopies.
In the 1920s, this was the site of a barber shop run by James Johnson.
This structure was built in 1920 in the Masonry Vernacular style, with stepped parapet walls, divided bays, recessed storefronts, and ornamental brickwork in horizontal bands.
This Masonry Vernacular building dates from 1910. It features detailed brickwork and a double cornice.
A large 50-room hotel built on Lake Dorr in Kismet near Pittman was disassembled piece by piece and moved to a site near Lake Eustis and was renamed The Grand View Hotel. Its 59 rooms competed with the new Oklawaha Hotel. Its dining room was known for excellent French and American cuisine.
On Thanksgiving day in 1930, it suffered a fire but continued in operation. The building was sold in 1956 to the First State Bank and Trust Co., which moved here from the Waterman Hospital building.
A two-story Stick style residence, this was built for Clara D. Waterman Palmer, who lived in it until 1935. It has a wood frame, siding and shingles. Later, it was converted to commercial use.
This 1920 two-story Frame Vernacular home also shows elements of the Post Medieval-English style. The wood frame is covered with vinyl siding.
This began as the home of George Foust, built in 1924. It has two stories built in a Masonry Vernacular style. Later, it became the home of the B.P.O.E. 1578 Eustis Lodge.
This congregation organized in 1919 and held its first services in a wood frame school building which had been built at this site in 1885. In 1920, it built this two-story brick Greek Revival style church with two-story Tuscan columns. The pediment is decorated with modillions, and the gabled roof is topped with a spire. The first pastor was Rev. W.T. Dart, who served in 1919 and 1920.
This began as a single family residence built in the Georgian Revival style. It was built in 1910 with a wood frame and sides.
This hotel opened in 1885 with 20 rooms and a dining room known for good food.
This began as the home of Mrs. A.E. Shields when it was built in 1924. The two-story Georgian Revival building features unusual hexagonal shingles and an open entry porch. Later, it became the Jones Apartments.
Built in 1884, this two-story wood frame house is built in the Italianate style with a flattened hip roof, paired wood brackets at the eave, and an elliptical arch over the front door. It was the home of Susie Eyer, whose parents, William and Emma V. Eyer, lived next door.
This was built in 1881 and was the home of Eustis' first town clerk, Moses Taylor.
This Victorian style home has some elements of the Queen Anne style, including spindlework in the gabled ends, accented with decorative wood brackets. The long narrow windows have wood shutters and there are ornate capitals on the columns supporting the one-story front porch. Originally, the kitchen and servants' quarters were separated from the main house, but now are connected by a breezeway. Later, it became "Dreamspinner", a bed and breakfast establishment.
In 1885, G.D. Clifford bought 20 acres here on the east side of town. On December 8 of that year, he platted five acres as the "Glenwood Cemetery" and moved the remains of about thirty bodies which had previously been buried in a small cemetery begun in the center of town. Other bodies were moved from family plots located near private homes.
For nearly 18 years, he sold five-lot plots to families for $10. In 1902, Clifford sold Glenwood to the Cemetery Association, and the name was changed to Greenwood. The city took it over after many years of neglect.
Col. Norton from Vermont had this Colonial Revival home built in 1880. It has a flattened hip roof and the original windows and screens. The lot also has several outbuildings. It was converted to a bed and breakfast known as The Oaks.
William Kimbrough Pendleton, a pioneer citrus grower from West Virginia, designed this 2 1/2 story Queen Anne style house for himself. The first portion of the home was built by P.A. Ross in 1876 as a Frame Vernacular two-story structure. Ten years later, the hexagonal observatory tower and other features were added. This home was considered a showplace of Central Florida and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
This house was built in 1880 in the Colonial Revival style.
This is a Colonial Revival style home, built in 1881.
W.R. Workman and Ruth Hinsman lived here from 1926 to 1935. This house was built in 1926 in the Colonial Revival style, which was popular in Florida from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s. Windows are paired and grouped, and are placed symmetrically to the sides of the front door. There are exposed rafter ends under the overhanging eaves of the low hipped roof.
This house was formerly a cottage utilized by the New Oklawaha Hotel. It was built in 1920 with a Frame Vernacular style. Just to the north of it was located the hotel's tennis court.
This Colonial Revival home was built in 1901.
This was one of the cottages comprising the New Oklawaha Hotel. This Craftsman style home was built in 1924.
This building began as a bowling alley for the New Oklawaha Hotel, added in 1906 along with a casino with billiard tables.
Eustis was originally called Highlands until A.S. Pendry of Rochester, New York, built his home on this site, and changed the settlement's name to Pendryville. In 1880, it was renamed Lake Eustis, and in 1881 became Eustis.
Pendry acquired the property in 1875, and built the house the following year with over 40 guest rooms. The Pendry House hotel was opened for business in 1876. The structure was not ornate, but it was the largest and best erected to date in the new settlement. The park adjacent to the hotel extended east to Lake Gracie and Pendry's grove stretched south about to present Ambassador Ave.
The post office for Pendryville was located in the hotel in 1877. It was also the location of the first school with Olivia Pendry as the teacher. It was sold to John Sherman Lane of Meridian, Connecticut, in 1895. He tore down most of the buildings, erected a new hotel which opened for the winter of 1904-05, which he named the New Ocklawaha Hotel.
The new Oklawaha was heated by steam, had a sun parlor on the roof, was lit by acetylene gas, and featured broad verandas. The main building, cottages and various outbuildings formed an attractive resort facing the shore of Lake Gracie. It became one of the most popular tourist hotels in the state by 1911.
In 1920, the hotel had a new owner, Lewis N. Wiggins. On November 15, 1922, it burned to the ground. The land was later bought and sold off in lots by brothers William Wallace and Fred A. Colbrunn, Henry Barthelman, and some other investors. Fernshaw Ave. was added to provide better access to Lake Gracie.
These buildings were once the kitchens for the New Oklawaha Hotel. Both were constructed in 1920 in the Mission style.
This was one of the cottages of the New Oklawaha Hotel, and was built in 1916 with a Colonial Revival style. For many years, it was the home of H.N. and Virginia Urquhart.
This 1916 Frame Vernacular house includes the stable which served the New Oklawaha Hotel.
This Frame Vernacular house dates from 1880.
This house with a massive chimney tapering in the exterior wall belonged to realtors J. Rufus and Sallie Ashmore. They lived here during the 1920s.
This home is typical of the Colonial Revival style houses built in Eustis, with two stories, a symmetrical elevation, louvered shutters, horizontal wood siding, a classical entry portico, and multiple light windows. This home was built in 1920, and the one-story addition in back came later.
This three-story masonry and stucco Italianate style house was built in 1924 for Rudolf D. and Mary G. Keene. It has two chimneys, multi-light windows, and balconies at the second-floor windows.
B. Martin Kinser built this Dutch Colonial Revival style home in 1930. Typical of this style, the side-gabled roof is steeply pitched and had flared eaves, which are supported by decorative wood brackets. The front screen enclosed porch was added later. Kinser owned a plant that produced cast concrete blocks.
This home was built in 1935 for William F. and Ethel F. Mantey. It shows a Colonial Revival style, and the enclosed porch was apparently added at a later date.
This three-story home built in 1935 is constructed of wood and later covered with vinyl siding. It is built in the Gothic Revival style and features a five-bay porch and central pedimented entry.
This is a Gothic Revival home, built in 1904. It is three stories and has wood lattice skirting, plus a front porch which was later screened in. It was the home of Mrs. M.L. Baltz.
About one out of every 20 buidings within this part of Eustis were built in the Craftsman style, popular from 1905 to 1930 and inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in this country. This style emphasizes careful craftsmanship of natural materials, such as brick, stone or wood. This home built in 1924 is typical of this style, with tapered wood columns on piers supporting the main entry porch.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in 1881.
The second school in the community was built here and replaced the former Crooked Lake School built on an acre donated by Mr. Savage. This lot was donated for school use by John A. MacDonald. Guilford David Clifford became a trustee of the school in 1876, and kept that office for more than 30 years.
This congregation organized in March of 1878, and held its early services in a schoolhouse on Grove St. and Mount Dora-Tavares Rd. Its first pastor was Rev. Lyman Phelps, from 1878 to 1882.
Built in 1882, this Gothic structure was the first church building erected in Eustis. It was enlarged in 1921 by sawing the building into two parts and adding six feet to the chancel, allowing for the installation of the organ. It has been extensively modified over the years.
This house, built in 1900, is considered to be in the Craftsman style.
This home was built in 1924 and generally follows an "extended hall-and-parlor" plan, with some variations including a screen enclosed front porch and a central chimney.
This congregation formed the Christian Science Society from 1917 to 1926. Services starting in 1911 were held in members' homes for the first six years, and then were held in the pavilion at the foot of MacDonald Ave. From 1920 to 1921, they were in the McClelland Building on Bay St., then were moved to the Abrorio Building until 1922.
In 1922, a modern rectangular Grecian style building was erected here and dedicated in 1933. The church's first settled reader was Rosalie C. Burton, who filled that position in 1917 and 1918.
This house, built in 1910, is in the Folk Victorian style.
This church was organized in November of 1882, and held its early services in a one-room frame building with a tower, bell, pipe organ and stained glass windows, built in 1883 at the corner of Citrus Ave. and Prescott St. The first pastor of this church was Rev. I.E. Edwards, who served from 1883 to 1885.
This Roman Catholic church began in 1909 as a mission, with services held until 1911 in Clifford's Hall at the corner of MacDonald Ave. and Bay St. During that year, a tan-colored building was erected on this site. It is T-shaped, built of stucco imitation coquina block. After 1937 additions were made, the church was rededicated. Its first pastor once it moved up to parish status was Father J.P. Humphries, who served from 1929 to 1932.
In the 1920s, J.W. Knowles was the proprietor of the Hillside Cafe, located on this corner. On the same corner was the grocery store of H.H. McGowan.
The first black church in Eustis was built on donated land on Ward Ave., west of the railroad. They built a brush arbor in which to worship and had Rev. Charles H. Holly as their pastor from 1884 until 1896. Later, they built a frame church seven blocks from this site.
In 1914, they dedicated a gray stone church here, built in the shape of a "T" with a bell. It was replaced by the present sanctuary.
In the 1920s, this was the site of a grocery store owned by Gettis E. Edington. He had another on the corner of W. Doane Ave. and Smith St. This frame Vernacular style building was erected in 1927.
These homes were built in 1919. Each is an example of the Frame Vernacular style.
The congregation organized in February of 1884 and held its early services in Clifford's Hall in the A.D. and C.D. Miller Store at the corner of MacDonald Ave. and Bay St. In a matter of months, A.S. Pendry erected a frame sanctuary on this site. The first pastor was Rev. J.H. Potter, who served from 1884 to 1903.
This church was built in 1914 in the Romanesque Revival style, which was popular from 1880 to 1920. It has heavily rusticated stonework with contrasting stone arches, emphasizing deeply recessed window openings. It also features a square tower, eaves which end close to the walls, stone bands in relief, tracery windows, and a parapet gable.
This was built in 1924 in the Prairie style, which was developed in the early 1900s by Frank Lloyd Wright for easy living and comfort. This building features a low pitched roof, grouped windows, decorative wood brackets along the broad overhanging eaves at the side porch.
This 1924 home is two stories with a full-length one-story front porch supported by wood posts, a symmetrical front and a hipped roof. It is Frame Vernacular in style, with a French Colonial influence. Similar buildings, appearing from the outside as single-family residences, were often built as apartment houses.
Built in 1927, this church is an example of the Gothic Revival style, which features a formed stone foundation and a continuous wall surface on the gabled end which extends into the peak without division. Other typical Gothic Revival characteristics are steeply pitched roofs and pointed arches. This style was popular from 1840 to 1930.
This is a two-story Queen Anne style home, built in 1890 for George W. Church, the owner of Church's Jewlry Store. At the top of the columns of the wraparound porch are wood cut-out ornaments. Recent renovations make the house appear much newer than it actually is.
In 1924, this one-story school was built with a Mission style of architecture. It features a barrel tile roof, semi-circular arched parapets, and arched entryways with cabled columns that form a covered walkway with brick stairs. For a time, it housed all 12 grades.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in 1885 for P.A. and A.M. Ross with a porch with wrought iron columns. The wooden exterior has since been covered with aluminum siding. It later housed a used clothing store.
This church was founded in 1892, and the first services were held in a hall at the corner of Magnolia Ave. and Bay St. In 1894, this Classical style red brick sanctuary was dedicated, featuring art glass and memorial windows. The first pastor was Rev. W.K. Pendleton, the former president of Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia.
This was the home of Carl and Josephine Ferran, who had a two-story Frame Vernacular garage with a gabled roof. It is the only known structure in Eustis known to have been used for loading ice.
This house was built in 1910 in the Italianate style, which was popular from 1880 to 1930. It is accented by a roof line balustrade and three windows in the dormer.
The first unit of Clara Palmer's Private School was called Wisdom Hall, located at this intersection. It was built by her brother, Frank D. Waterman, and in it the first kindergarten in the city was opened on October 6, 1906. After the building ceased to be used as a school, it was donated to St. Thomas Episcopal Church for use as a parish house.
By 1906, this was the site of the hostlery known as the St. George Cottage, later called the Boyer Hotel. By 1929, the hotel had been torn down and replaced by a gas station. Later, the site was the home of Goodwill Industries.
Eustis was founded in 1875 by seven young men from the north - Clifford, Smith, Morin, Key, Gotchee, Level, and Conway. They hired the federal land agent, John A. MacDonald, as a guide for $10 per day. They sailed up the Oklawaha River to Lake Griffin and Fort Mason. Each of the seven bought a quarter-section of land consisting of 160 acres, and their combined hodlings covered the entire present city of Eustis.
In 1895, this corner property was described as being occupied by "Negro tenements".
The present city hall was completed in 1927 for a cost of $200,000. Originally, it housed the fire station, municipal offices, an auditorium seating 770, the public library, Chamber of Commerce, Eustis Motor Club, and the American Legion, and had additional rooms for the entertainment of tourists.
This building was renovated in 1974 by architects Stevens & Walton, Inc. and contractor J.A. Wynne & Co.
In 1887, this was the site of the Reed & Griffin Restaurant, owned by John Reed and David Griffin, and Samuel S. Duncan's New York Store. Duncan, a black resident, came to Eustis in about 1883 and opened an ice cream parlor and restaurant, then erected Duncan's Block here. An 1890 map also shows a church located here in 1890, but it is likely that it was just a church meeting in a hall on the second floor of the store.
Built in 1939 for William Monroe Igou, this one-story masonry building has a stepped parapet roof and a standing seam metal gabled roof behind it. It is considered to be in the Commercial style. Igou's house was located at the present site of Oakwood Nursing Home.
A bulkhead and landfill here was approved by the city council in 1913, but not built until 1921, for the purpose of creating a tropical park and promenade. On the south end was the home of the Eustis/All States Tourist Club. The pavilion had been created in 1904 by the erection of a roof over the city dock and the installation of seats.
The park was dedicated in the 1920s and is named after E.L. Ferran, a local businessman and early pioneer.
The Alice B. McClelland Memorial Bandshell was donated by Maj. W.S. McClelland in 1926 to celebrate the city's pride in local music. Initially, it faced east toward the business section of town. It was moved on rollers and remodeled by the W.P.A. in 1935-36 as the McClelland Open Air Theater to improve the acoustics, and the style was modified to reflect a more Mediterranean Revival look. Such modifications included stucco decorations, towers, arches, and a clay tile roof.
An Italianate style building generally has a low pitched roof, tall first floor windows with flat arched openings, and wide overhanging eaves with wood brackets or modillions. This example of that style was built in 1881, and is one of the oldest and most prominent commercial structures in Eustis.
This building was the home of B.E. Thompson Furniture, Inc.
G.D. Clifford built a dock and warehouse here in 1880, and the community was served by two boats each week. Supplies shipped here included fertilizer, corn from Illinois, and hay from Missouri and Kansas. This landing became a point of distribution for Tangerine, Mount Dora, Sorrento, Bay Ridge, Messina, Sunset Hill, and other settlements. This dock decreased in popularity when the railroad built its own at the foot of Magnolia Ave.
This section of Bay St. was a part of the Dixie Highway, which was the dream of Carl Fisher of Indianapolis. He had made his fortune in the new auto industry, and wanted to build a highway from Chicago to Miami. When news got out, many communities formed associations to lobby for inclusion on the route.
The Dixie Highway Association met in Chattanooga and chose a route pasing through Tallahassee and Jacksonville, and proceeding south along the east coast. Frenzied lobbying also produced an inland route passing through Gainesville, Ocala, Winter Park, Orlando, Kissimmee, Bartow and Arcadia, rejoining the coastal route at Palm Beach.
In 1915, Fisher led an auto cavalcade from the Midwest to Miami, popularizing auto trips to Florida. The Dixie Highway was officially open for traffic in October of 1925 from the Canadian border at the northern tip of Michigan to Miami.
The graceful antebellum style, with a deep porch, balustraded widow's walk, and double-column two-story entryway may make one think of the 1800s, but this home dates only to 1911. It was built by L.N. Herrick.
Guilford David Clifford came from Rome, New York, in 1875 and planned this home on the west side of Lake Woodward with a New York architect before the freezes of 1894-95, but delayed construction until 1910. Although Clifford was doing well, he needed to extend credit to needy customers hurt by the freezes.
In 1881, Clifford built a two-room house, and in it opened the Lake Woodward Store, the community's first general store. Of the seven original founders, Clifford was one of only three who settled here. He, his wife named Unity, and his daughters occupied the other room as a residence. Later, the building was occupied by A.D. and C.D. Miller, and an opera house operated on the second floor.
This 2 1/2 story 18-room house is built of Florida cypress with double layers of 3/4" Florida pine as floors. There are six fireplaces, each having a unique design of imported Italian tiles. There are seven bedrooms, indoor plumbing, large windows for maximum cross-ventilation, and copper-screened windows. When it was built, this was a quiet dirt road. The home has not been altered since construction, with the exception of railings being blown off in storms over the years.
Beginning in November of 1912, five generations of the family occupied the home. Mr. Clifford's daughter, Lottie Clifford, married Robert Taylor and they resided here. It was later acquired by the Eustis Historical Museum and Preservation Society and since January 26, 1985, has been open to the public as a museum. The home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
A Guide to National Register Sites in Florida, (Florida Department of State 1984)
A History of Altoona and Its Surrounding Area, Altoona Centennial Committee (1987)
A History of Eustis, by Brenda Elliott (1992)
A History of Eustis, Florida, for Reference Use in the Intermediate Grades, by Mary Folk Leeper (Stetson University Research Paper 1961)
About Some Lakes and More in Lake County, by Walter Sime (1995)
Days of Yesteryear: Eustis, Florida 1875-1911, by C.J. Woodring (Lake Region Printing 1991)
Eustis Site Survey, by The Historic Works (1992)
Florida Bed & Breakfast Guide, by Valerie C. Bondy (Queen of Hearts Publications 1995)
Florida Historic Stained Glass Survey: Sites of Historic Windows in Public Facilities in the State of Florida, by Robert O. Jones (Florida Members of the Stained Glass Association of America 1995)
Florida's History Through Its Places: Properties In the National Register of Historic Places, by Morton D. Winsberg (Florida State University 1988)
Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, (University of Florida Press 1989)
Historic Homes of Florida, by Laura Stewart & Susanne Hupp (Pineapple Press, Inc. 1995)
Historical & Architectural Survey - Phase II, by Brenda J. Elliott & Associates (1994)
History of Lake County, Florida, by William T. Kennedy (Lake County Historical Society 1988)
Memories of Mount Dora and Lake County, by David Edgerton (1983)
Waterman Memorial Hospital...its beginning...its present, by Cele Shaw (The Waterman Memorial Hospital Association 1973)
Wish You Were Here: A Grand Tour of Early Florida Via Old Post Cards, by Hampton Dunn (Byron Kennedy and Company 1981)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules.