Port Orange

 

By Harold D. Cardwell Sr., President
Port Orange Historical Trust, Inc.

The development of Port Orange dates back to 1804 when twenty families from the Bahamas settled here on a grant of land from the Spanish government. One of the settlers, Patrick Dean, was granted 995 acres on the Halifax river where he developed a vast plantation with Indigo as his revenue crop. 

In 1832, the Anderson family purchased this plantation which they named Dunlawton and on which they raised sugar cane and built a sugar mill (now known as Sugar Mill Gardens). This plantation flourished until 1835 when it was partially laid to waste by the historic Seminole war and the accompanying great freeze. By 1836, all plantations in what is now Volusia County had been abandoned with most of the inhabitants seeking refuge in St. Augustine.

In 1842, following the war, settlers again came into our area attracted by the ready transportation provided by the Halifax river. One such family was headed by E. H. McDaniel who worked for the Swift Brothers in there timber operations. In 1872, Mr. McDaniel built a hotel which formerly stood at the west approach to the Port Orange bridge. It is interesting to note that in later years the family
name was changed to McDonald and that his descendants still reside here.

Meanwhile, following the civil war, Dr. John Milton Hawks came from South Carolina bringing with him a group of freedmen whom he hoped to establish as a colony. Even though his dream did not materialize, descendants of the freedmen still reside in this area. On Dr. Hawks suggestion, the trustee's of the Florida Land and Timber Company adopted the name Port Orange for there
prospective settlement in 1867. The name was chosen for this area, previously known as Dunlawton, because of the 30 years of
experience which demonstrated the quality of oranges that could be grown and because the settlement was in the path of ocean-going vessels making there way north along the coastline.

In 1913 Port Orange was incorporated as a town, and as a city in 1926. Henry Flagler brought the railroad to Port Orange in 1892, and with the introduction of the automobile these modes of travel opened up transportation to tourists and markets everywhere, which helped to establish a town that has continued to grow to this day.

 

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