We were given access to the DeBary Hall by West Volusia Tourism to facilitate our review. All opinions expressed are our own.
On our latest getaway trip we ventured into West Volusia in Florida. A little North of Orlando. We were on our way to visit the DeBary Hall. It was a big treat for us because Sr. Cool is very interested in History, and on the way of life in times passed. A treat for me because in getting there we were totally lost which gave us the luxury of enjoying fabulous streets, home and lush Florida green.
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Beautiful and Lush Florida Vegetation |
It is not often that we come face to face with Florida history so this is a total treat for us. This particular home takes us to the post civil war time, when it was all about reconstruction:
DeBary Hall was the winter home of a European-born wine merchant who chose the St. Johns River country for his hunting estate. Beginning in the 1870s, New Yorker Frederick deBary acquired lands near Lake Monroe, built a large vacation house, and tried his hand at orange growing and commercial steamboating.. A perfect retreat for some R&R, hunting, hosting and entertaining located at 198 Sunrise Blvd.
DeBary, FL 32713 . And Entertaining they did. The home has had important guests such as Presidents Grant and Cleveland.
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Front Facade of the Victorian Home |
The visit begins with a 15 minute film explaining the significance and importance of the St. John River. A river that is visibly at a distance from the DeBary house itself. Understanding this explains the relationship of the house and the way of live of the period. The short movie is wastched on a rotation platform and a 3 panel screen that really gives you the feeling of being aboard a steam boat. Getting you ready for the journey as a guest of a house would have in its glory days.
Photos are not permitted in the house, so I hope our descriptions will give you a good idea of what you can expect from your visist when you go.
The DeBary’s only spent a month or two a year at the house. Nevertheless, they spare no cost, luxury or whim on the house.
Before entering the house, we discovered a good size ice house. Transported by boat from the north, the ice was stored in a shed in the backyard and transfered into the very big ice box in the kitchen as needed. True luxury to for the time. The house itself has a few pieces here and there. It is not completely furnished. Nevertheless, this highlights the great ammenities in the house.
Here is a list of what stood out for us:
- Service bells: In every room in the house we found door bells. These were a system of pulleys used to summon service from the house help. It all connected to a system that was monitored from the kitchen. As rings were pressed, a box in the kitchen would indicate the number of the room in the house the request came from. Pretty advanced for its times! Then again Ford and Eddision were friends with the owners and we all know about their creativity and innovations for the times
- Ice box: like we mentioned before the house boasted an ice house and an ice box. The ice box was impressive because of its size and also the intricate ornate doors and metalwork it has.
- As no running water system was in place back then, what looks like gutters is actually a water collection system that uses the gravity system to distribute water throuhgout the house
- Taxidermy display: as a hunting home, there is a superb display of birds that have been preserved, and luckily for us we can appreciate a couple of already extint species in the collection.
- A very creative system of poles on the roof of the house was in place to deflect lightning. This would make the electricity enter one end of the house and leave through another without affecting the actual structure
- An interesting collection of art hangs on the wall of the house. This includes samples of bird identification when books where so big a page was almost postersize.
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Ice house ath the DeBary home located in the backyard |
The visit was relaxing, and took us back in time. If you get to go, we hope you get Matt as your tour guide, he was full of details and information and took his time to share his vast knowledge. It was really interesting to see the evolution of the home as daily habits were transformed with the access of new ideas and advances.
On the premises there is also a stable and a service house to discover at your pace.
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The Tenant House. Some help lived here, but home help lived in two bedrooms with quick kitchen access |
This visit really made us appreciate how despite the luxury living in Florida was hard! Plus made us really grateful for the things we take for granted today in our home.
We sure recommend it.
Keep tuned for our post on Blue Springs, a Manatee paradise.
Are you ready for your #VisitWestVolusia adventure? You definitively should Visit West Volusia!
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Tengo que ir a conocerla! Gracias!
Siempre es interesante conocer sitios que nos permiten conocer más nuestra historia. Me ha resultado muy interesante. Gracias por el post.
Que buenos tips para cuando viajamos. Gracias!
Me gustan mucho los viajes educativos donde puedo aprender mas de las culturas.
OMG what a great place I live so close and I have never been will need to add to my list thanks Taty!
That would be an awesome place to visit. I love visiting historical places like this.
What a gorgeous looking place – I love history so anywhere historical is right up my street 🙂 x
I have never been to Volusia. It does sound lovely, and you’re right, sometimes getting lost can be fun too. 🙂
Que lindo paseo, me encnataria visitar la casa con mis pekes!
Me fascinan los sitios asi. Está lindo.
Wow.. Me encantó.. Que lugar tan bello e interesante para visitar… Ojalá podamos ir.. Gracias por compartir.
I love history and especially houses like this.I would love to be able to visit.
We love to visit places like this one. Now we have now we have one more in our list, thanks to you!
Now this looks like a great place to visit. Amber N
I would love to visit here one day, looks lovely!
West Volusia looks like such a beautiful and historical place to visit. I love exploring new places like this one.
The tidbits you shared are super interesting. I would be fascinated with that tour!
What a great old house to visit. I love that it’s full of interesting historical objects.
Wow! I had no idea this place existed!… Thank you for the heads up!
wow i’ve lived here in FL 32 years and had no clue this place existed. adding it to my list of day trips to take. thank you for sharing
We went there once a long time ago, It is a really beautiful place to visit. I would love to go back.
Looks really nice. I am sure it would make a great wedding location.
This looks really gorgeous! What a great place to visit!
Soon as I saw the first picture of the Victorian home I had a mental picture of attending a wedding there. It’s gorgeous!
I just love historical buildings like this! This is definitely a destination I would love to visit!
I love history, especially the post civil war period. This would be a great place to visit and I could spend a lot of time there.
Me encanto! Tengo que visitarlo! Muchas gracias por la información!
¡FELIZ DÍA!ॐ
http://mamaholistica.com
We are headed to Wes Volusia this summer and will be sure to visit this house! Love learning about history.
I love touring old homes like this – they are so beautiful but it was such a different way of life. We have a park nearby with many old homes and we love visiting and touring the homes and hearing the stories.
Looks like a fun educational adventure for the entire family. I’ll have to look into it for our next Florida journey.
Fun and educational! That sounds really great for the family to do. Great pictures
Looks like an awesome place to visit. I’m in Florida too!
BB never tires of Florida history. To think that they actually lived here w/out AC Boggles BB’s Brain!! Looks like a place to visit- when it gets cooler.
; ) BB2U
What a great outing. I love going and seeing old houses. I actually got to see the only Castle here in the US and it was amazing.
What a fun time. I love old buildings and when there is history behind it.
Wow this looks nice. The water system sounds particularly cool!
beautiful place… I have to go
That house looks absolutely gorgeous! I would love to visit!