CALENDAR OF EVENTS. You are invited to visit our website July 26th Business Meeting Installation of officers

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1 A Member Publication of the Eustis Historical Museum A 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization EUSTIS HISTORICAL MUSEUM, INC OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES TRUSTEES: Bob Carter Gloria Corbet Louise Carter Ethel Ryan Dr. Jim Rotella OFFICERS: Sue Hooper President Karen Marshall 1st Vice President Melaine Blankenship 2nd Vice President Linda Becker Recording Secretary John Blankenship Treasurer MUSEUM HOURS Our museum is open every Friday & Saturday Of the month, 1:00pm 5:00pm You are invited to visit our website CALENDAR OF EVENTS July 26th Business Meeting Installation of officers August 23rd Guest Speaker September 27th Social Meeting October 25rd Business Meeting CURATOR: Gary Marshall APPOINTED: Louise Carter Historian Bill Stewart Newsletter Pg 1

2 The Eustis Museum has been an important part of my life since my husband and I moved to Eustis in I volunteered to be recording secretary during that first year in Eustis. It was called the Eustis Historical Museum and Preservation Society at that time. I held several offices and in 1999 I was elected president for the term. I served again for the term. I am honored to serve another term. I remember at one meeting when I was president; we were discussing the maintenance of the building, our precious museum, the Clifford Taylor House. I believe it was 1999 and we had just spent $60,000 the year before on a new roof. The roof was made of asbestos shingles and each single removed needed to be specially wrapped and disposed properly. Now we discovered that there was a termite problem with the support structure under the house and that some of the wood holding the house up was cut and replaced when the air conditioning was installed. Now we had a real problem! The house was so large it would have to be raised in three sections to repair the foundation beams. The cost $250,000 and it would invalidate the warranty on the roof! The next morning, my husband and I were having breakfast at Pine Meadows Country Club. We were discussing the dilemma brought up at last night s meeting. He had a puzzled look on his face and said, Why don t they just tear it down and build a new one. I immediately banned him from attending any museum meetings! My husband had no appreciation for antiques. I love antiques and told him that was why I loved him so much. He was 18 years older than I and he was my special antique! Pg 2

3 Report from Karen Marshall Unity Bell It was such a pleasure portraying Unity Bell Clifford at our Afternoon Tea, celebrating Mother s Day. Our event was on Sunday, May 6th at 3:00pm, and it was a splendid event. The museum looked marvelous with the tables set and decorated beautifully! The flowers donated by Claudia s Pearl Florist added a special touch, and the hat contest was also delightful. JoAnnFolder won the price for the most elaborate hat. All the ladies in attendance spoke about how wonderful it was, and they really enjoyed not only the decorations and elegance of the event, but the fantastic food, catered by Lori Pittsley of Jeannie s Place in Eustis. Of course, our servers were great as well: Police Chief, Gary Calhoun; Fire Chief, Michael Swanson; City Manager, Ron Neibert, and our Curator, Gary Marshall. Gary also gave a museum tour following the afternoon tea. Special thanks to the others on the committee, Sue Hooper and Irene Chandler. Their efforts are most appreciated, and they also dressed in period costume to portray Unity Bell s friends. To top it off, we also were able to raise funds for the museum. We re looking forward to other events later this year and, of course, the Ladies Tea next year! Mother s Day Tea - Sunday, May 6th, 2018 Pg 3

4 From the Membership Desk If you haven t been outside lately, our Florida summer has arrived. One excellent way to cool off is to visit our museum during one of your Friday or Saturday afternoons. Besides enjoying the welcome coolness of the house, you can have the opportunity to browse through the many rooms full of unique and interesting items from our past, guided by our very informative curator or one of our docents. Since our last newsletter, we are proud to welcome two new members, Beth Neal and Elaine Veilleux (who by the way, has volunteered to assist with docent duties). Renewal notices were mailed to all members the 1 st of June. The response so far has been very good. One of our loyal, long-time members, William Church, decided to renew with a Life Membership. Thank you, Mr. Church. When you renew, if you happen to feel extra generous, a donation is always appreciated. As you know, the Museum is a not for profit organization. All dues and tax deductible donations we receive are used to continue providing our patrons with the quality museum exhibits, tours, events and experience they expect when they visit. If you, or someone you know is planning an upcoming event, party or wedding, please do not hesitate to recommend or consider the Eustis Historical museum for the event. The grounds are spacious, lovely and our Unity Bell Pavilion is available year round. Just give us a call. We will be happy to provide you with all the details and available dates to provide your guests with a unique and memorable experience. As we enter our new year, we plan to not only continue holding our time honored events such as the semi-annual Eustis Road Show, Cookies with Santa and Christmas Concert, but add new and exciting programs, events and displays. If you haven t stopped by lately, please do. The Museum is open every Friday and Saturday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. We are very proud of The Clifford House and are eager to show it off at every opportunity to our community and visitors alike. Pg 4

5 Late in the summer of 1874, seven settlers met in Jacksonville. They were Guilford (G.D.) Clifford, Augustus Gottshee, E.F. King, F.F. Morin, C.T. Smith and Conway & Level. Clifford, Morin and Smith remained in the area for the rest of their lives and became founding fathers of Eustis. Paying a Federal land agent $10.00 a day, the group traveled by boat down (south) the St. John s River to Mellonville Landing, where Sanford is now located. The trip took sixty hours. After leaving the boat, they rented a small wagon and two ponies and traveled thirty miles to Lake Gertrude, which took an additional sixteen hours. Clifford purchased 160 acres of land in the area (where SR19 crosses US441 on the shore of Lake Woodward) and applied for a title to the property. Returning to Jacksonville he bought a wagon and mules and traveled back to Mellonville with his household goods. Along the way, he bought lumber and built a two-room house. One room of the house became the Lake Woodward store, the first business in the area. The store supplied all the items that pioneers of the day needed. Staple food, such as flour, sugar, etc., as well as plug tobacco and hardware items were included. Medicines were also stocked. Most of them were home remedies such as cod liver oil for coughs, rheumatism, and skin problems; smelling salts for faintness and headaches; and worm cakes for those unlucky enough to be bothered by those pesky critters. Hires Root Beer also was sold as a blood purifier. Pg 5

6 the Curator continues In 1875, Clifford brought his wife (Unity Bell) and daughter (Lottie) from Virginia. They slept in the second room of the house. Because there was no indoor plumbing, water was supplied from nearby Lake Woodward. The springfed lake was very pure. The family kitchen was not in the house but in a separate building located very near the lake. The open-air room had a thatched roof and held a primitive log-framed stove that was used for all cooking. The Clifford family built a two-story community building in early Town meetings were held on the lower floor. Twice a month the room was used for Friday night get-togethers. Here the townspeople played games, held square dances and had frequent picnic suppers that were attended by all. The room also served as one of the earliest boarding houses and the workers who were developing the area stayed there. In the upstairs room were Clifford s workbench and tools. A skilled cabinetmaker by trade, Clifford also made the cedar coffins for burials. During the winter of , Crooked Lake School was built. The state allowed the children a teacher for only 13 weeks each year. Each day began with prayer, Bible reading and singing. Slates and slate pencils were used for the lessons. There were no free books and no lunches or transportation were provided. Many children walked as far as three miles to attend the one-room school. G.D. Clifford was a school trustee, a position he held for 30 years. Many houses were built in 1876, including the home of A.S. and Olivia Pendry of Rochester, New York. Originally named the Ocklawaha House, it later became the Ocklawaha Hotel, the hotel in the area. At this time, the town was called Pendryville but it wasn t a popular name. In 1880 the town s name was changed to Lake Eustis; in 1883 it became Eustis. The Town of Eustis in next quarterly newsletter. HEED THE CALL WE NEED YOUR ADDRESS Pg 6

7 Remembering Local Artist Catherine Stockwell Catherine Stockwell, who was born in 1895, was one of Florida s most prolific impressionistic artists. Although she painted still lives, landscapes and portraits, her favorite subjects were views of Central Florida, particularly Lake Eustis, Alexander Springs, Trout Run, New Smyrna Beach, Juniper Springs and the Dora Canal. The local African-American community was also of special interest to Stockwell and she painted numerous portraits of African-American children and elderly men and women, all of whom are portrayed in a particularly sensitive manner. Many of Stockwell s still lives feature native flowers and plants such as magnolia blossoms, and citrus fruit and flowers. Mrs. Stockwell completed over 5,000 paintings during her lifetime. Her reputed ability to paint two different paintings simultaneously, using each of her hands, may have contributed to this impressive body of work. During her life, Catherine Stockwell won many awards and prizes for her paintings and several retrospective exhibits of Stockwell paintings have been held since her death in Eustis in The Eustis Historical Museum is fortunate to have numerous Catherine Stockwell paintings included in its collection. These paintings are beautiful decorations for the museum s walls as well as serving as a wonderful reminder of a simpler time in rural Florida. Linda Becker, Recording Secretary Local Artist Catherine Stockwell Pg 7