Strawn Historic Citrus Packing House District
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The Strawn Historic Citrus Packing House District (also known as the Bob White Historic Citrus Packing House District) is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on September 13, 1993) located at 5707 Lake Winona Road in
DeLeon Springs, Florida DeLeon Springs () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,614 at the 2010 census. De Leon Springs State Park is located in DeLeon Springs, as is the Strawn Historic Citrus Packing House ...
in
Volusia County Volusia County (, ) is located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida, stretching between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 2 ...
. It contains 12 historic buildings and 3 structures. The packing house is in a state of abandoned decay and has not been operation since 1983.


Description

The 20 acre site is situated off of
U.S. Route 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, wit ...
between Lake Winona Road and Ridgewood Avenue. It is bordered by the CSX railroad line on the southwest. It consists of a packing house with a distinctive saw tooth roof. Behind this building stands a barn, blacksmith shop, machinery house, a steam and dynamo building and 10 other structures.


History

Theodore Strawn, a native of Illinois, settled in West Volusia County and started an orange packing operation in 1882. In 1921, the original packing house burned and a metal structure with an iconic sawtooth roof was constructed to replace it. The walls were built from stamped copper alloy steel panels, and designed to be fireproof. The packing house was closed down after a destructive freeze on Christmas 1983. That year, the orange trees were killed down to the stump, according to John Strawn, the grandson of Theodore Strawn, the site's founder. The site was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1993, along with a sawmill and some additional Strawn agricultural buildings about a mile away. The site has been heavily vandalized and looted over the years since it closed, in spite of no trespassing signs and a fence around the facility. In 2008 a fire destroyed the machine shop. In 2010, a fire destroyed a 40 foot by 50 foot outbuilding and damaged two others. The site, even in its dilapidated condition, is of significant historical importance, as it depicts the early development of the citrus industry in Florida. It has been on The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation's list of Florida's Eleven Most Endangered Historic Sites since 2007. It is listed as endangered by the Volusia County Historic Preservation Board.


Gallery


References


External links


Volusia County listings

National Register of Historic Places

State of Florida Historic Places
{{National Register of Historic Places in Florida Citrus industry in Florida National Register of Historic Places in Volusia County, Florida Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Blacksmith shops Packing houses