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Daytona Beach
Of the flourishing communities that were scattered along the eastern coast in the late 1800s, Daytona Beach was one of the first to be established, preceded by St. Augustine and New Smyrna Beach. In 1871 a group of colonists came from Mansfield, Ohio and purchased the Samuel Williams grant of 2,144 acres along the Halifax River, about twelve miles north of the inlet.
Seabreeze Boulevard 1893The leader of the colony was Matthias Day, Jr., an inventor and newspaper publisher after whom the town was named in 1876. Matthias Day, was schooled at Oberlin, steeped in evangelical Calvinism.
It took only a few years for Daytona to be the largest village on the coast. The peninsula communities of Seabreeze and Goodall were connected to Daytona by a Steam ferry across the Halifax River. Goodall became Daytona Beach in 1905. In 1925, the cities of Daytona and Seabreeze merged into Daytona Beach.
Daytona Beach has gained an international reputation as a travel destination. Warm winter days and the hard packed sand of the World's Most Famous Beach lures thousands of visitors every year. Daytona Beach hotels are filled with beach lovers, motorcycle enthusiasts, race fans, tourists and spring breakers filling the streets, restaurants and beaches.
First Passenger Train 1886The first passenger train that came to Daytona on the St. Johns and Halifax Railway was The Bulow. It arrived December 2, 1886 and commerce flourished. Locals were finally able to receive supplies on a regular basis and the local economy was enhanced by the tourists arrivals on rail lines.
First Car in Daytona Beach 1898
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