Roads link communities, and they open land up for development. The original vision for the Howe & Currier planned communities included Indian Springs and Alamana–the main part of what we now consider Samsula was still a rural outpost, not the central goal. The fire of 1919 that destroyed the hotel, post office, and other structures in Indian Springs changed things, and the post office moved to the intersection of the railway and Samsula Drive.
The roads in early Samsula were unpaved or non-existent. Many of the side lanes are still unpaved, maintained through county road graders. But access to neighboring cities is much different than in the early days, since highways–some four-laned–now join the community to New Smyrna, DeLand, Port Orange, and Daytona.
Personally, I can remember when S.R. 415 did not connect with C.R. 415, and you could not get from Sopotnick’s Corner to S.R. 44 without going around, either by Samsula Drive or Pioneer Trail. My brother Chris remembers the time before S.R. 44 reached from New Smyrna to DeLand, and Pioneer Trail, or C.R. 40, was the route people had to travel ~ Marcy
More Maps
Following are links to some early (1800s-1900s) Florida maps, listed chronologically:
Hood, Washington, et. al. Map of the Seat of War in Florida. United States Army. Corps of Topographical Engineers, 1838, U. Washington, Bureau of Topographical Engineers, 1838, https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3931s.fi000128.
Bruff, Joseph Goldsborough. The State of Florida. United States Army. Corps of Engineers, 1846, From U.S. Senate Executive Document v.2 No.2-5, in 30th Cong., 1st Sess., 1847-48, serial set #504, Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C., http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3930.ct000140.
Rogers, D. D. Map of Volusia County and Vicinity Florida. Map. Daytona Board of County Commissioners, 1883, Library of Congress American Memory, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3933v.la000083.
Elliott, D. H. A New Sectional Map of Florida Issued by the Land Department of the South Florida R. R. Co. and the Plant Investment Co., 1888, Library of Congress American Memory, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3930.rr001960.
Associated Railway Land Department of Florida Matthews-Northrup Company. A New Sectional Map of Florida. Matthews, Northrup & Co, 1892, University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, Florida History Map Collection, http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00058557/00001.
The Rand-McNally Indexed County and Township Pocket Map and Shippers Guide of Florida Showing All Railroads, Cities, Towns, Villages, Post Offices, Lakes, Rivers, Etc. Rand-McNally & Co., 1900, Library of Congress American Memory, Memory.loc.gov, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3931p.rr001970.
A New Sectional Map of Florida. Florida Department of Agriculture. Matthews, Northrup & Co., 1909, University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, Florida History Map Collection, http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF90000257/00001.
A New Sectional Map of Florida. Florida Department of Agriculture. Matthews, Northrup & Co., 1916, University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, Florida History Map Collection, http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00004010/00001.
A New Sectional Map of Florida. Florida Department of Agriculture. Matthews, Northrup & Co., 1920, University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, Florida History Map Collection, http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00004011/00001.
State of Florida Base Map. U.S. Geological Survey, 1940, Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3930.ct000499.