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Enterprise, Florida One Place Study

Privacy Level: Open (White)
Date: About 1841
Location: Enterprise, Volusia, Florida, United Statesmap
Surnames/tags: One_Place_Studies Florida United_States
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Enterprise, Florida One Place Study

This profile is part of the Enterprise, Florida One Place Study.
{{One Place Study|place=Enterprise, Florida|category=Enterprise, Florida One Place Study}}

Name

If you sail down the St. John's River from the Florida city of Jacksonville, it may only be a days journey to reach beautiful Lake Monroe. There upon the shores sits the city of Enterprise. In the 1860s, steamboats arrived daily to carry many tourists and would-be residents to its shores.
After the Florida legislature established Volusia County in 1854, Enterprise was chosen as the county seat. Prior to 1854, Volusia County was part of Orange County. The county name was taken from Volusia Landing. During the British occupation, a Swiss by the name of Volusie or Volucao had established a thriving business.[1]
In 1841, Cornelius Taylor (cousin of President Zachary Taylor) had founded Enterprise. Taylor served in the Legislative Council and introduced the bill changing the County Site from New Smyrna to Enterprise. [2]
It was a thriving community that would continue to grow in the next few decades until something unthinkable arrived: the railroad. The railroad made it easier for tourists to travel further South.
Nearby DeLand was centrally located and fast becoming a center of commerce. Interest failed in the steamboats and by 1885 the county seat was moved to DeLand.
This one place study focuses on the city and it's people from 1860 to 1885.

Geography

Continent: North America Country: United States
State/Province: Kentucky GPS Coordinates: 28.86 N, -81.26 W
County: Volusia County Elevation: 6.0 m /19.7 feet


Florida in 1854 with Enterprise highlighted.
Volusia County sits in central Florida with the Atlantic Ocean on the right-side and the mighty St. John's River on the left. Across the Lake Monroe sat Mellonville (Sanford) in Orange County. To the north of Volusia County was St. Augustine. The city was established in the 1550s by the Spanish.
The river is what brought the commerce to the area. Prior to becoming Volusia, the county was known as Mosquito County. As you can imagine, the name did not attract many tourists. Thus Volusia was chosen for the St. John port village on the northern end of the county.
The St. John's River empties into Lake Monroe at its southern end of Volusia. On the north side of Lake Monroe sits Enterprise, near the southern Volusia.
In the 1860s, the other cities around the village were Volusia, Orange City, and New Smyrna. Today's popular cities of Orlando, DeLand and Daytona Beach were in the future.
Volusia County, 1884
Finally, in 1884 the city and town names are more familiar. Daytona and Ormond appear along with DeLand. The dark black lines show the railroads along with the stops.
Notice, the southern border was redefined giving some territory to Brevard County including the town of Titusville.
This is how Enterprise was described in a tourist pamphlet from 1882.
The county site of Volusia County, is situated on Lake Monroe, contains the celebrated Brock House, noted for its mineral springs and is an attractive winter resort, near which is the celebrated groves and winter residence of Count DeBarry.

The village contains two churches, three stores, one drug store, post-office, one newspaper, the Enterprise Herald, two hotels, one school-house, one livery-stable, several boardinghouses and three law-offices.

The scenery on the lake is beautiful. The country around is adapted to agriculture and orange-culture. A railroad is projected to Titusville, the survey of which has been made and its early completion anticipated.[3]

History

The United States gained the Florida Territory in 1819. Between 1816-1858, the Seminole Wars raged in the area. In response to an attack on nearby port town of Palatka, the United States built Fort Kingsbury in what would become Enterprise. It was across the lake from Fort Mellon (today's Sanford).[4]
To encourage population of the area, the United States offered land to settlers who would clear, cultivate, and hold five acres for five years. Over 1,000 citizens applied for the opportunity. [4]
In 1841, Cornelius Taylor (cousin of General Zachery Taylor) and twenty others arrived at Fort Kingsbury to establish the village of Enterprise. The following year they applied for homesteads. [5]
When Volusia County was formed in 1854, Enterprise was chosen as the county seat. In that same year, steamboat captain Jacob Brock completed the very fancy Brock House with a wharf for steamships to land and a nearby spring to heal the ailing. Brock also opened a steamship line to transfer passengers from Jacksonville to Enterprise.
The Brock House, the hotel built in 1854 by Captain Jacob Brock at Enterprise, FL; from an 1876 photograph, showing the building before later owners enlarged it.

Population

From the 1860 Census, we learn several things about the population. There were 72 households (265 free people) who received mail at the Enterprise Post Office. There were more slightly more men than women.
It is a young population, there is only one person (Asa Emanuel (abt.1815-bef.1880)) over 70 years of age. These facts mostly suggest a wilderness area where the life was difficult. With 47% of the population being under 15, it appears young folks were settling in the area and starting families.
1860 Census Population Data Explained


Over 65% of the population were not native Floridians. Most had relocated from the Southern States, which is common in most populations. A family relocates to a nearby area. Many of the residents were born in Georgia and South Carolina.
During the 1840s, the United States was actively fighting the Seminole Indians for control of the territory. Many of the soldiers were recruited from Georgia. They later settled the area and started families.
1860 Census Population: Birth Location Explained
Tidbit: There were only two residents not born in the United States: Francis McCann (1840-) and John Eaton (1802-).

Learn more about the 1860 Slave Schedule

Cemeteries

Find A Grave lists the following cemeteries in Enterprise but there are additional ones within a five-mile radius, so I imagine residents are buried there as well.
Located on Enterprise Road, the cemetery listed 869 memorials. The earliest one is from 1842, but the cemetery is still active today.
The Grave Girl did a nice writeup of the Enterprise, FL cemetery and included pictures of interesting stones.
A small family cemetery with gravesites for the Richards family.


Sources

  1. Everett, Katherine. Early History of Volusia County, Florida from the Marriage Licenses, Volusia County Florida,1856-1889. No date.
  2. Gold, Pleasant Daniel. History of Volusia County, Florida. United States: Painter Print. Company, 1927.
  3. Florida: A Pamphlet Descriptive of Its History, Topography, Climate, Soil, Resources and Natural Advantages, 1882, pages 182-185.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Enterprise, Florida", Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Dec 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise,_Florida.
  5. Enterprise Preservation Society, History. Old Enterprise. Retrieved Dec 28 2022, from https://www.oldenterprise.org/history.




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Thank you, this is great information.
posted by Patti (Patten) Carlen