Mount Dora, Florida: A Short History

by Laux, James M.

• ISBN13: 9781929925766
• ISBN10: 192992576X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-07-01
• Publisher: Firstpublish.Inc

Summary

How a unique small town in Florida has thrived since the 1870s. The Central Florida town of Mount Dora grew with oranges and retirees. It survived killing freezes and the expansion of nearby Orlando to become an oasis of charm and attractiveness, a real community rather than an accidental collection of transients. How did Mount Dora get its name? Who settled there and why? How did the white and black races get along? How did its people make their living? What is it about Mount Dora that attracts thousands of visitors every year? How did it avoid succumbing to automobile traffic? How has it managed residential and commercial growth? How did it keep its downtown attractive and profitable? How does it expect to retain its traditional character? Book jacket.

Author Biography

James M. Laux is a retired professor of history at the University of Cincinnati

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Introduction	xi
Founding the Town	1	(10)
The Dora Ann Drawdy Story
Beginning of Settlement From Royallou to Mount Dora
The Early Years	11	(13)
Oranges
Tourism
Churches and Schools Chautauqua
Modernization
The Era of the World Wars	24	(18)
Population Growth and Racial Tensions The Land Boom
Sylvan Shores
Business Expands
Social Life The Community Building, Town Hall, and Politics Schools
The Second World War
The Town Grows Up	42	(14)
Postwar Expansion
Zoning
New Churches Recreation
The Ice House Theatre
City Life A/C and TV
City Hall and National Politics Fire and Police Protection
Racial Controversies	56	(15)
The Groveland Case
School Desegregation? The Platt Affair
The Decline and Fall of Willis McCall The Schools Integrate
Renewal	71	(15)
The Highway By-Pass
A Touch of New England The Catacombs
Yachts and Lawn Bowling Apartment Buildings and Condominiums
Civic Improvements
A New Library
A City Manager?
Citrus Collapse and Business Expansion	86	(21)
Citrus Boom and Bust
Manufacturing Commercial Activity
The Antique Capital Entertainments and Festivals
Simpson Cove The Topic
Honky Tonk Freeway and the Lakeside Inn Ed Roy
City Government
Into the 21st Century: Government and Business	107	(17)
Annexations
City and National Politics
City Improvements Drug War
Another New Library
Storm of the Century Tourism in the 1990s
Into the 21st Century: Social Activity	124	(9)
Public Schools
Private Schools
Churches
Recreation, Hospice, Sister Cities, and Friends of the Environment Unity House
Epilogue	133	(5)
Bibliography	138	(4)
Index	142