| Around 1909, Eugene C. Howe and George H. Currier of Chicago, Illinois purchased 35,000 acres of land west of New Smyrna Beach from the Bond Lumber Company (DeLand News, June 4, 1909). The ten-acre plats surveyed in the Howe and Currier allotment formed the basis for the communities of Indian Springs, Alamana (near Lake Ashby), and eventually Samsula.
This exhibit features newspaper articles and other artifacts from the early twentieth century that talk about Howe & Currier and their efforts to develop this area of Volusia County. |
| A very brief statement in this 1909 DeLand newspaper mentions Howe & Currier setting up shop in New Smyrna. Transcript: “Howe and Currier, who recently purchased 35,000 acres of land from the Bond Lumber Company, have established an office in this city with Mr. Leidersdorf as agent. Mr. Leidersdorf says they are expecting several hundred settlers down next fall.” |
| By December of 1909, Howe was discussing the need for drainage on the Lake Ashby properties, and plans for expanding Indian Springs to include a hotel and general store. Excerpt: “Mr. Howe informs the Editor of the [New Smyrna] Breeze that the matter of drainage will be gone into very thoroughly this winter. The land which was placed on the market November 15 will be drained north into Spruce Creek. . . Mr. George Moody will erect a good sized hotel building at Indian Springs to take care of the settlers as fast as they arrive. Mr. Moody will also erect a large store building at Indian Springs and put in a first class stock of general merchandise.” |
| This 1912 ad from the Washington, D.C. Herald illustrates the marketing efforts Howe & Currier were putting into their Florida investment. This ad also ran in the Washington Herald on February 4 and 18, 1912 according to the Library of Congress digitized records. |
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