The Historic 1876 Heritage Inn

Sometime between 1939 and 1954, Wittenburg University and John Kolar owned the hotel.

In 1954, Charles and Carol Forrer purchased the hotel and used it a nursing home until 1973 when the building state regulations were changed to prohibit nursing homes in frame structures. Mrs. Forrer, a nurse, started with just 8 patients and before long had an average of 49 patients for a facility licensed for 55. The Orange City Nursing Home, as it was known, was the first in the state to have an organized volunteer nursing auxiliary and the first to have a nurse call system installed by its auxiliary. In 1965, the home had 32 employees. A complete beauty parlor served the patients and churches of all demoninations took turns holding services on Sundays.

After closing the nursing home, Mrs. Forrer filled the front rooms with craft stores, painted it white and called it the “The White Elephant”. She was one of area’s the largest dealers of recreational vehicles and sporting goods. Even to this day, many people refer to the building as the “White Elephant.”

Today it is a beautiful & historic Florida hotel in Orange City. Come stay the night and experience a piece of Florida History.
www.1876heritageinn.com
(386) 774-8849

What makes the 1876 Heritage Inn Special?

What makes the 1876 Heritage Inn Special?

Location
Situated in Orange City, the inn is 2.5 miles from Blue Springs State Park and within 6 miles of Victoria Hills Golf Club and Colby-Alderman Park. Stetson Mansion and Stetson University are also within 6 miles.

www.1876heritageinn.com

Property Features
A restaurant, a bar/lounge, and a coffee shop/café are available at this inn. Free WiFi in public areas and free self parking are also provided. Additionally, laundry facilities, a garden, a barber, and gift shops / newsstands are onsite.

www.1876heritageinn.com

Room Amenities
All 30 rooms provide conveniences like refrigerators and microwaves, plus free WiFi and TVs with cable channels. Free local calls, ceiling fans, and phones are among the other amenities that our guests find nice.

www.1876heritageinn.com

1876 Heritage Inn

The origins of the word "Volusia" are unclear, though there are several theories:

1 - The name came from a word meaning "Land of the Euchee," from the Euchee Indians who migrated into the area after the Timucua Indian cultures faded away in the early 1700s. The Euchees (or Uchees) lived in the area of Spring Gardens, about ten miles south of Volusia.

2 - The name was taken from the a British man named Voluz who owned a plantation located on the St. Johns River in the late 1700s.

3 - The name originated from the last name Veluche belonging to the French or Belgian owner of the trading post in Volusia. According to some, this was during the British regime, and according to others, it was around 1818. Over time, the name Veluche became anglicized to Volusia.

4 - The town was established by and named for Jere Volusia.

5 - The settlement was named by the Spanish after the celebrated Roman jurist Volusio, who wrote 30 books and tutored Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor and philosopher.

Come visit Florida history at the historic Heritage Inn.
www.1876heritageinn.com
(386) 774-8849

Come stay with history

Following the Civil War, however, famed author Harriet Beecher Stowe lived near Jacksonville and traveled up the St. Johns, writing about it with affection: "The entrance of the St. Johns from the ocean is one of the most singular and impressive passages of scenery that we ever passed through: in fine weather the sight is magnificent." Her memoir Palmetto Leaves, published in 1873 as a series of her letters home, was very influential in luring northern residents to the state."

The 1876 Heritage Inn is available for you and your family to relive history in!  Call us today.
Enjoy Volusia County & stay with history.

www.1876heritageinn.com

(386) 774-8849

Come visit the 1876 Heritage Inn

In 1882, the hotel was the sight of two days of negotiations concerning the city incorporation.

In 1886, owner of the hotel, Hugh DeYarman, serves as the fourth mayor of Orange City, serving a term of six years. Only five other mayors served terms as long or longer. Mr. DeYarman also served as postmaster of Orange City from 1889 to 1893.

Sometime during the early 1900’s, two additional wings were added to the west and east sides. The west wing addition added 10 hotels rooms, five upstairs and five with a shared bathroom between two rooms.

The East wing added a dining room and kitchen on the first floor and 8 rooms on the upstairs.

www.1876heritageinn.com
(386) 774-8849

Visit Hontoon Island, stay at the 1876 Heritage Inn

There's plenty of things to do in Volusia County and many of them are in the beautiful outdoor world we are blessed to have in sunny Florida. Visit Hontoon Island.

Hontoon Island State Park is a 1,648-acre Florida State Park located on Hontoon Island between the St. Johns River and the Hontoon Dead River in Volusia County. It is only a few miles from Orange City, off SR 44, and can only be reached by boat or park-operated passenger ferry. No motorized vehicles, other than wheelchairs, are allowed to be brought onto the island and there is no swimming. The island has pine flatwoods, palm and oak hammocks, bald cypress swamps and marshes. Hontoon Island is surrounded by the St. Johns River, the Hontoon Dead River, and Snake Creek.

Activities include horseshoes, cycling, boating, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing, as well as hiking, camping, picnicking, and nature viewing and photography. The island can be circumnavigated with a nine and a half-mile day trip; Blue Spring State Park is a short paddle up the St. Johns one way. Amenities include canoe rentals, bike paths, eleven tent sites and six rustic cabins. The park also has overnight boat slip rentals, playground equipment, picnic tables, and a 3.4-mile nature trail. The park has a lending library with picture books for children aged four to nine. The park is open from 8:00 am till one hour before sunset year-round.

After your full day of cycling, boating, and fishing, you'll need a place to rest your head. Stay a night in the rich Florida history at the 1876 Heritage Inn.

http://www.1876heritageinn.com/
(386) 774-8849

The 1876 Heritage Inn - Where history meets comfort

Cool St Johns Facts!!

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings used the St. Johns as a backdrop in her books South Moon Under and The Yearling, and several short stories. In 1933 she took a boat trip along the St. Johns with a friend. In the upper basin, she remarked on the difficulty of determining direction due to the river's ambiguous flow, and wrote in a chapter titled "Hyacinth Drift" in her memoir Cross Creek that she had the best luck in watching the way the hyacinths floated. Rawlings wrote, "If I could have, to hold forever, one brief place and time of beauty, I think I might choose the night on that high lonely bank above the St. Johns River."

Live the History if only for one night! 1876 Heritage Inn.

http://www.1876heritageinn.com/ | (386) 774-8849

1876 Heritage Inn - Stay with history

Following the Civil War, however, famed author Harriet Beecher Stowe lived near Jacksonville and traveled up the St. Johns, writing about it with affection: "The entrance of the St. Johns from the ocean is one of the most singular and impressive passages of scenery that we ever passed through: in fine weather the sight is magnificent." Her memoir Palmetto Leaves, published in 1873 as a series of her letters home, was very influential in luring northern residents to the state.

The 1876 Heritage Inn is available for you and your family to relive history in!  Call us today.

Enjoy Volusia County & stay with history.

http://www.1876heritageinn.com/
(386) 774-8849

So much to do in Volusia county - Stay at the 1876 Heritage Inn

ATTENTION TOURISTS!!!

Following the Seminole Wars, a gradual increase in commerce and population occurred on the St. Johns, made possible by steamship travel. Steamboats heralded a heyday for the river, and preceding railroads they were the only way to reach interior portions of the state. They also afforded the citizens of Jacksonville a pastime to watch competing races. By the 1860s, weekly trips between Jacksonville, Charleston, and Savannah were made to transport tourists, lumber, cotton, and citrus. The soil along the St. Johns was considered especially successful for producing sweeter oranges.

Stay the night in an official historical building - the 1876 Heritage Inn!

http://www.1876heritageinn.com/
(386) 774-8849

Enjoy historic Volusia County at the 1876 Heritage Inn

Have you ever been told how much there is to do in Orange City?

Here is a cool place to see when your staying at the Heritage Inn - the Blue Spring State Park.

Blue Spring State Park is ranked #1 of 12 attractions in Orange City by tripadvisor.com

You can see manatees, alligators, and a variety of native birds! Some times more than 300 manatees visit the park during the month of December. If you like visiting: Parks; State Parks; & the Outdoors - Blue Springs is for you!  This state park offers a variety of outdoor activities including camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing, boating, snorkeling and scuba diving. Afterwards, you can return the Heritage Inn to relax after a long day of exploring.

As always, it is our great pleasure to serve you and your families. Contact us at: (386) 774-8849 or visit us at: 300 South Volusia Ave US-17-92, Orange City, Florida

www.1876heritageinn.com

The very special 1876 Heritage Inn

What makes the 1876 Heritage Inn Special?

Location
Situated in Orange City, the inn is 2.5 miles from Blue Springs State Park and within 6 miles of Victoria Hills Golf Club and Colby-Alderman Park. Stetson Mansion and Stetson University are also within 6 miles.

www.1876heritageinn.com/

Property Features
A restaurant, a bar/lounge, and a coffee shop/café are available at this inn. Free WiFi in public areas and free self parking are also provided. Additionally, laundry facilities, a garden, a barber, and gift shops / newsstands are onsite.

www.1876heritageinn.com/

Room Amenities
All 30 rooms provide conveniences like refrigerators and microwaves, plus free WiFi and TVs with cable channels. Free local calls, ceiling fans, and phones are among the other amenities that our guests find nice.

www.1876heritageinn.com/

Visit the Historic 1876 Heritage Inn

1876 Heritage Inn, Orange City - The 1876 Heritage Inn, Volusia County's oldest hotel, is located in a national register historic district, centrally located between Daytona Beach and the Orlando area attractions. Quaint accommodations and friendly service make the inn a perfect destination for a vacation, honeymoon, anniversary or weekend getaway. Leashed pets are welcome.

The Red Roof Cafe is located on site and is also pet-friendly with a doggie dining area in an interior courtyard.

The inn is home to one of only three U.S. Postal Museums in the country.

386-774-8849 www.1876heritageinn.com

1876 Heritage Inn - Come visit history

The Timucuan Indians were the first inhabitants of Hontoon Island. Evidence of their presence can be seen by a large shell mound that still exist at the end of the Hammock Trail, 1.7 miles one way, on what is mostly a shaded hike.

The Timucua were an American Indian people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The various groups of Timucua spoke several dialects of the Timucua language. At the time of European contact, the territory occupied by speakers of Timucuan dialects occupied about 19,200 square miles, and was home to between 50,000 and 200,000 Timuacans. It stretched from the Altamaha River and Cumberland Island in present-day Georgia as far south as Lake George in central Florida, and from the Atlantic Ocean west to the Aucilla River in the Florida Panhandle, though it reached the Gulf of Mexico at no more than a couple of points.

Visit the History Now - 1876 Heritage Inn... explore, learn, enjoy!
http://www.1876heritageinn.com/
(386) 774-8849

Float away in the historical atmosphere of the 1876 Heritage Inn

Following the Seminole Wars, a gradual increase in commerce and population occurred on the St. Johns, made possible by steamship travel. Steamboats heralded a heyday for the river, and preceding railroads they were the only way to reach interior portions of the state. They also afforded the citizens of Jacksonville a pastime to watch competing races. By the 1860s, weekly trips between Jacksonville, Charleston, and Savannah were made to transport tourists, lumber, cotton, and citrus. The soil along the St. Johns was considered especially successful for producing sweeter oranges.

Stay the night in an official historical building - the 1876 Heritage Inn!

http://www.1876heritageinn.com/
(386) 774-8849

Happy St Patrick's Day - Heritage Inn

Happy St Patrick's Day from the Heritage Inn

Creation of the U.S. Postal Museum began in 1995 through the efforts of Postmaster Joe Guthrie (Deland, Florida) and postal historian and curator, Richard Feinauer. The museum started as a collection of displays temporarily housed in a ten by sixteen foot room inside the Deland Post Office. In 1998, when the Post Office relocated, a new, permanent home for the display was needed.

Orange City is seemed very well suited for a postal museum since the city and the surrounding area are at the origin of Volusia County's history. Back in 1876, the first Post Office for the area, later to be known as Orange City, was housed in the very same building as the museum now resides, 129 years later! In 1886 a Post Office was established at Blue Springs Landing, on the St. Johns River. Ten years later, the Post Office was again relocated to Orange City( do you know where) and the name was changed to the Orange City Post Office.

The Museum was established for the preservation and appreciation of postal history and postal artifacts. Through the efforts of the United States Postal Service and private individuals, there now exist numerous items on display that represent all phases of the U.S Postal Service from inception to the present time.

Walk inside a recreated Post Office from the 1940's. Visitors will see various artifacts, paperwork, books, forms, and clothing used over fifty years ago. Observe up close many postal artifacts, which have all but disappeared from modern day postal facilities. Learn about mail processing, mail delivery, stamps and postmarks. Explore the 80 foot hallway lined with over 100 shadow boxes full of postal memorabilia and hundreds of envelops categorized with such topics as slogans, Army/Navy, and many more. Find the world's largest postage stamp (???) and the one with the earliest date. Visit the special display on Orange City postal history. (Richard, would like to get this). Search through hundreds of stamps which are "free" for the taking.

The Museum is conveniently located just 30 minutes from Orlando or Daytona Beach in the 1876 Heritage Inn at 300 South Volusia Avenue (Highway 17-92) in Orange City, Florida. The Museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday 10 a.m. to Noon for self-guided tours. Narrated tours are available with advance notice for tours of eight or more.

http://www.1876heritageinn.com/
(386) 774-8849

Come stay at the HISTORICAL Heritage Inn

ATTENTION TOURISTS!!!

Following the Seminole Wars, a gradual increase in commerce and population occurred on the St. Johns, made possible by steamship travel. Steamboats heralded a heyday for the river, and preceding railroads they were the only way to reach interior portions of the state. They also afforded the citizens of Jacksonville a pastime to watch competing races. By the 1860s, weekly trips between Jacksonville, Charleston, and Savannah were made to transport tourists, lumber, cotton, and citrus. The soil along the St. Johns was considered especially successful for producing sweeter oranges.

Stay the night in an official historical building - the 1876 Heritage Inn!

http://www.1876heritageinn.com/
(386) 774-8849

You can't ignore a cute manatee

Hey DeBary Residents!!

Have you ever been told how much there is to do in Orange City?

Here is a cool place to see when your staying at the Heritage Inn - the Blue Spring State Park.

Blue Spring State Park is ranked #1 of 12 attractions in Orange City by tripadvisor.com

You can see manatees, alligators, and a variety of native birds! Some times more than 300 manatees visit the park during the month of December. If you like visiting: Parks; State Parks; & the Outdoors - Blue Springs is for you!  This state park offers a variety of outdoor activities including camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing, boating, snorkeling and scuba diving. Afterwards, you can return the Heritage Inn to relax after a long day of exploring.

As always, it is our great pleasure to serve you and your families. Contact us at: (386) 774-8849 or visit us at: 300 South Volusia Ave US-17-92, Orange City, Florida

www.1876heritageinn.com

Visit the History of the 1876 Heritage Inn!

The Timucuan Indians were the first inhabitants of Hontoon Island. Evidence of their presence can be seen by a large shell mound that still exist at the end of the Hammock Trail, 1.7 miles one way, on what is mostly a shaded hike.

The Timucua were an American Indian people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The various groups of Timucua spoke several dialects of the Timucua language. At the time of European contact, the territory occupied by speakers of Timucuan dialects occupied about 19,200 square miles, and was home to between 50,000 and 200,000 Timuacans. It stretched from the Altamaha River and Cumberland Island in present-day Georgia as far south as Lake George in central Florida, and from the Atlantic Ocean west to the Aucilla River in the Florida Panhandle, though it reached the Gulf of Mexico at no more than a couple of points.

Visit the History Now - 1876 Heritage Inn... explore, learn, enjoy!
http://www.1876heritageinn.com/ | (386) 774-8849

Stay local this vacation season - Orlando Residents visit the 1876 Heritage Inn!

Hey Orlando Residents!!

Have you ever been told how much there is to do in Orange City?

Here is a cool place to see when your staying at the Heritage Inn - the Blue Spring State Park.

Blue Spring State Park is ranked #1 of 12 attractions in Orange City bytripadvisor.com

You can see manatees, alligators, and a variety of native birds! Some times more than 300 manatees visit the park during the month of December. If you like visiting: Parks; State Parks; & the Outdoors - Blue Springs is for you! This state park offers a variety of outdoor activities including camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing, boating, snorkeling and scuba diving. Afterwards, you can return the Heritage Inn to relax after a long day of exploring.

As always, it is our great pleasure to serve you and your families. Contact us at: (386) 774-8849 or visit us at: 300 South Volusia Ave US-17-92, Orange City, Florida

www.1876heritageinn.com

Live in the History at 1876 Heritage Inn!

On the east shore of the St. Johns River in Volusia, in present day DeBary, General Winfield Scott established a fort/depot in 1836 named Fort Florida.

Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866) was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852.

Known as "Old Fuss and Feathers" and the "Grand Old Man of the Army," he served on active duty as a general longer than any other man in American history, and many historians rate him the best American commander of his time. Over the course of his 53-year career, he commanded forces in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, the Mexican-American War, the Second Seminole War, and, briefly, the American Civil War, conceiving the Union strategy known as the Anaconda Plan that would be used to defeat the Confederacy. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army for twenty years, longer than any other holder of the office.

A national hero after the Mexican-American War, he served as military governor of Mexico City. Such was his stature that, in 1852, the United States Whig Party passed over its own incumbent President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, to nominate Scott in that year's United States presidential election. At a height of 6'5", he remains the tallest man ever nominated by a major party. Scott lost to Democrat Franklin Pierce in the general election, but remained a popular national figure, receiving a brevet promotion in 1855 to the rank of lieutenant general, becoming the second American since George Washington to hold that rank.

Live the History - Visit DeBary but Stay at the 1876 Heritage Inn - if only for one night!

http://www.1876heritageinn.com/