Henry Addison Deland (October 25, 1834 — March 13, 1908
) was a
baking soda
Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...
manufacturer from
Fairport, New York
Fairport is a village located in the Town of Perinton, which is part of Monroe County, New York, United States. Fairport is a suburb east of Rochester. It is also known as the "Crown Jewel of the Erie Canal". In 2005, it was named as one of th ...
who first visited Persimmon Hollow, Florida March 1876. The community where his brother-in-law, O.P. Terry had purchased property to raise oranges intrigued him. So did the name chosen thus for the persimmon trees abundant in the area.
On DeLand's first visit to the hollow he and his brother-in-law traveled from the north by rail to Jacksonville, then took a steamboat up the St. Johns River to Enterprise. As their rig headed to the hollow DeLand was unenthusiastic during his bumpy ride from Enterprise but as the flat terrain transitioned from swamp to rolling acreage it was reported that DeLand exclaimed, "This looks like the West. Here is snap and push. I am willing to go on." And he did.
High noon, February 8, 1882, the town known as Persimmon Hollow, Florida was incorporated by a unanimous vote of its 23 townspeople. Persimmon Hollow's name change took place after the generous donation of acreage for a school, church, and main thoroughfare by DeLand. DeLand took great interest and pride in his new Florida enterprise and intended to make it the ''Athens of Florida'' as he dubbed it. DeLand founded the DeLand Academy which soon became known as
John B. Stetson University, after he persuaded his friend, the millionaire hat maker
John B. Stetson
John Batterson Stetson (May 5, 1830 – February 18, 1906) was an American hatter, hat manufacturer, and in the 1860s, the inventor of the cowboy hat. He founded the John B. Stetson Company as a manufacturer of headwear. The company's hats a ...
, to come to DeLand and invest in the institution.
Around this same time, Henry DeLand suffered a severe financial loss in the freeze. He'd promised that anyone who moved to the area and planted oranges and then lost their crop to a freeze would have their financial investment covered by him. But as time passed, the city he founded continued to develop and thrive. It has remained the county seat of Volusia County since 1887, and today has an estimated population of around 37,000.
References
External links
*"Images of America: DeLand" by Maggi Smith Hall, Michael Justin Holder, Arcadia Publishing, 2003
Find a GraveEncyclopædia Britannica articleWorld Population Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeLand, Henry Addison
1834 births
1908 deaths
People from DeLand, Florida
People from Fairport, New York