Preservation on Parade 5-2002

Florida was sparcely settled in aboriginal times. Almost certainly the shores of Lake
Helen were wild when the Unity States convey to Virgil R. Dupont all of Block 30 on August 1, 1856.

Subsequent pioneer owners include James Prevatt in 1860, Henry DeLand in 1883 and Pelton and Baker who in 1887 began to subdivide Block 30 into lots for resale. Early deeds reference citrus groves and a �South Florida Nurseries� in Block 30.

The earliest documented house in the subject area was built by Mrs. Fanny Andres and her second husband William Andres sometime after she bought most of Block 30 in 1906. Lewis Long relates that Mrs. Andres, also known as �Aunt Fanny,� divorced her first husband, the president of a major railroad, possibly the Illinois Central, and married a lifeguard. This was William Andres, whom she had met at a beach or resort in Illinois. They eloped or fled to Lake Helen and about 1906 or later built a two story shingle style house(3) near the �point,� the peninsular of land jutting into the lake across from the public boat launch. Lewis states that �cull� lumber was used in the construction of the Andres house but that it was quality material by today�s standards. Of course, the shingled walls would effectively hide any defects.

The property and house was sold to Mark G. Treadwell in 1924 and to the Fultz�s in 1950 as was noted above. The Fult�z moved to the area in 1947, settling at first in DeLand.

Marjorie Fultz was born in 1890 in Wilton, Connecticut. David Fultz, about 20 years her senior, had been a major league baseball player. They had no children. Marjorie was active in the First Presbyterian Church of DeLand, the garden clubs of DeLand and Lake Helen, Orchid Society of West Volusia and the Pink Ladies Auxillary of First Memorial Hospital.

After David Fultz�a death in 1959, Marjorie continued to live in their lakeside home until 1970 when she rented the house and retained residence in an apartment addition on the east side of the house. In 1973 she sold the house to Kenneth and Shirley Zufelt but continued living in the apartment until her death in 1974.

The Zufelts� ownership was brief, selling in the Fall of 1974 to E. J. Mack who made extensive renovations and additions to the original structure. In 2000 Mr. Mack deeded the house to his daughter, Dawn Grady, who continues to reside there.

Before leaving the subject of this house, mention must be made of �Miss Polly� who lived in the Fultz�s attached apartment from 1954 to 1970. Pauline Denton Whitson was born in Tennessee but lived abroad and spoke with a �high� British accent. She was an actress, appearing on the New York stage and traveled Europe in a Rolls Royce with Ardie Bulova, heir to the Bulova watch fortune. Never married, she devoted her retirement years in Lake Helen to writing under the pen name �Denton.� She wrote a play about the Children�s Crusade and published a novel, �Savage Heart� about Osceola and the Seminoles.

Miss Whitson (�Aunt Polly�) owned a 1954 Buick neighbors named �Zig-Zag� in celebration of her somewhat free driving style. Miss Whitson moved to DeLand in 1970 when Mrs. Fultz took over the apartment. �Miss Polly� died some years later in DeLand at age 96.(4)

Recently my friend, Stan Gunby gave the Lake Helen-Cassadaga Museum a gift scrapbook with photos of the east side of Lake Helen Lake in the vicinity of Enchantment Drive. The photos show the lake, an unimproved Orange Avenue and the Fultz�s home and grounds about 1950. At that time the Fultz�s had just acquired most of Block 30 which is about 8 acres of land bounded by Orange Avenue on the east, Rose Avenue on the north, and the lake on the west and south.(1)

The Fultz photos shown in this article certainly capture the semi-tropical beauty of Lake Helen. They also tell the east shore of the lake to be more forested and rural than the �town� side.(2)

Except for its rivers, such as the St. Johns where food resources were reliable, interior

The Andres house, built most likely before World War I, was the only house in Block 30 until after World War II when seven others were built. These postwar homes, in order of their construction, are as follows:

160 Rose Ave.: Built about 1947 by person unknown to me. Subsequent owners: Oscar V. and Clara Smith, 1955-1973; Jack and Kay Anderson, 1973-1984; Tom and Nancy Mead, 1984-2001; Paul and Ann Nehrig, 2001 to present.

190 Rose Ave.: Built about 1952 by Bessie (last name unknown). She married Roy Cummings in 1955 and they lived here until 1981; Ken and Barb DeWitt, 1981-2002; Larry and Marilyn Long, 2002 to present.

144 Rose Ave.: Built 1953 by Roy Cummings who lived here until 1955 when he moved to 190 Rose Ave. as stated above; Glendon and Eava Patterson, 1955-1964; Gene and Lena Utterback, 1964 to present.

199 Rose Ave.: (Formerly 222 Orange Ave.) � Built in 1954 by Richard and Elizabeth Merty; John and Thelma Wilkinson, 1966-2001; Stanley Hill, 2001 to present.

180 Rose Ave.: Built in 1955 by Clestin A. and Daisy Penny; Oscar and Eleanor Brock, 1983 to present.

252 Enchantment Dr.: Built in 1960 by Caywood and Joan Gunby. Joan Gumby � present owner.

202 Enchantment Dr.: Built in 1962 by Marjorie Fultz for a widowed friend, Mrs. Petrie. The one bedroom �Pink House� was purchased from Mrs. Fultz in 1971 by Joe and Winnifred Koch; Lou and Wanda Hollosi, 1985 to present.

(Next month: Part 2, �Local Color�)

(Footnotes)
1 See map
2 Local residents Stan Gumby, Lewis Long, Lena Utterback and Dawn
Grady provided information for this article. I also consulted abstracts of title for ownership of various Block 30 lots over time.
3 See photos and map.
4 Readers may want to check area libraries for works by Denton. That effort could lead to another OBSERVER article.