People
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Mayors of Longwood
1923 / Edward Warren Henck The town founder spent many of the early years as its mayor. He was the first mayor when the city was incorporated in 1923. 1924-1929 / James E. Walker Elected to four consecutive terms as mayor, starting in 1924 and lasting until he died in office in 1929. 1930-1932 / R. R. Green Elected to fill the post vacated by James E. Walker’s death. 1932-? J. H. Menick After being elected, would spend months on end at his home in Connecticut. 1938- 1942 / George H. Bridge Jr. … 1942-1946 / C. S. Baker ……
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Leonard Button and Button Road
Leonard Button was born in 1867 in Birmingham, Alabama. He became a very successful publisher/owner of many newspapers and magazines in Alabama, including the Birmingham News (still the main newspaper there). In 1934, Leonard moved to Longwood. He bought a 500-acre tract east of Casselberry and south of the horse track (now Legacy Park and Geneva School). He also acquired 43 acres in Longwood, near the Sanlando golf course. Button was from a wealthy family. When he was seven years old he recalled traveling to England and being the guest of Queen Victoria at her country home at Sandringham. There…
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Thomas Shepherd
Longwood’s founder, Edward Warren Henck, recruited workers from Georgia and South Carolina to move to Central Florida to help construct his South Florida Railroad. This was the first rail line through Orange and Seminole County, running from Sanford to Orlando via Longwood. Thomas Shepherd heeded that call in 1879. Shepherd, born a Georgia slave in 1849, became the patriarch of one of the most prominent black pioneer families in Longwood. He aspired to do much more than laboring on railroads; he wanted to own his land. Since he did not know how to read, Shepherd paid Henck $1.50 to help…
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George Jones
One of the pioneers families of Longwood. The Jones family settled in West Longwood and owned land on both sides of 434 near Rangeline Road. George Jones was the patriarch, who came around 1920. He was a well-known and respected farmer and citizen around town, as was his son Andy. The family had a cemetery on their propery, near the McDonalds, which was uncovered when the fast food restaurant was under construction. It also stretched into the nearby parking lot of the old Pick-and-Save. It is unclear whether the bodies were moved.
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Saul Grant
Born into slavery near Alachua in 1858. Came to Longwood in the 1880s
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Adrienne Perry elected to Longwood City Commission
Adrienne Perry was elected to the Longwood city commission in 1989, winning her district with 77% of the vote. She served a second term, running unopposed in 1991. After the start of her second term, she was elected mayor by fellow commissioners in November 1991. She served Longwood with distinction during her two terms, in an era of a series of blunders and scandals in the small town. Perry was born in Harlem in 1943. She moved to Seminole County with her husband, Justice James E. C. Perry, in 1975. The couple still lives in the Rangeline Road house they…
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Herman and Lucille Jean
Herman and Lucille Jean came to Longwood in the early 1930s. Herman became the manager of the Longwood Service Station on the southwest side of Molnar Ave (434) and East Lake Dr (427). He was also a bus driver for Longwood Memorial School (Milwee). The Jeans’ bought out the owner and took over the service station; business boomed. They ran out of room by 1950 and bought a lot directly across the street to expand their operation. It took them a year to build the new building, which was mostly their own handiwork (apparently, Lucille was the better carpenter). It…
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Tom Milwee, Oral History
Tom Milwee on September 17, 2023 presentation at the Longwood Historic Society member meeting and potluck at the Historic Civic Center in Longwood, Florida. 🎙️ Tom Milwee: Historic Longwood (Transcript) Introduction and History Before I begin this afternoon, I would like to thank Tom and Pam for inviting us to your program. We’ve been really looking forward to doing this, actually. We’ve been talking about Longwood off and on for many times, talk about how it’s changed and memory of the past. But this gives us a chance to kind of brag about it and tell you what type of…
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Kathleen Kent Chenet, Oral History
Kathleen Kent Chenet and Tom Milwee presented on September 17, 2023 at the Longwood Historic Society member meeting and potluck at the Historic Civic Center in Longwood, Florida.
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Nathan J. Fogg
Nathan J. Fogg was one of the earliest full-time residents of Altamonte Springs. Reports put the family’s arrival between 1882 and 1884. He was originally from Maine and Massachusetts. Fogg served for the Union in the Civil War. About Nathan’s Military Service in the UnionMore about Nathan’s Military Service in the Union… He owned a 60-acre property known as Oak Knoll. There they raised pigs. They grew various crops such as pecans, fruit, and golden yams. Fogg was one of the foremost members of the community and perhaps the most full-throated booster of the town during its early days. He…