Stories
-
Longwood Narrowly Averted a Great Fire
Most cities during Florida’s wood-framed pioneer days experienced devastating fires. For example, the 1887 Great Sanford Fire destroyed most of the town’s earliest buildings. Oviedo’s struck in 1914. Thankfully, this never happened in Longwood, and because of this, there are many examples of pre-1900 buildings in the historic district. However, that fate was only narrowly avoided. On September 30, 1899, the townspeople of Longwood hurried to the scene of a blaze at the Florida Midland Railroad depot (north of The Shoppes at Longwood Station Plaza today). Sparks from a northbound freight train ignited the train platform. Since there was no…
-
Founding of the Longwood Historic Society
We owe much to the great Civil War general and our 18th President, Ulysses S. Grant. He never spent more than a day in Seminole County. The closest he came was a ceremonial visit to Sanford in 1879 to turn the first spade in the construction of the South Florida Railroad. Despite this, without him, it is likely the Longwood Historic Society would not exist, and the face of the Longwood Historic District would be dramatically different. It all started with a creative realtor. After the death of the Altamonte Springs home’s owner, Mrs. Bradlee, in 1946, the realtor decided…