Holly Hill, Florida: Small town charm, Business friendly, and Recreational lifestyle
http://hollyhillfl.org/
1065 Ridgewood Ave
Holly Hill, FL 32117
(386) 248-9420 Although they occupied Florida for only twenty-one years they left a lasting imprint on Volusia County. To encourage demographic and economic growth the British quickly invalidated Spanish land claims and instituted a liberal land polic
y, which by 1776 amounted to 114 grants totaling 1.4 million acres. Holly Hill was a part of the Turnbull grant. Florida returned to Spanish control in 1783. The new Spanish government required all settlers to take an oath of allegiance to the Spanish crown or sell their property to Spain. Most settlers elected to leave and the territory returned to wilderness. The Spanish then offered land grants to Englishmen and Scotsmen on the condition that they plant and cultivate the lands. Holly Hill’s beginnings date back to the early 1800’s, when Governor Coppinger of Mexico gave a royal title of 4,500 acres on the Halifax to Fernando de la Maza Arrendonda. The area was then sold to Thomas Fitch. Thomas Fitch eventually sold a large parcel of property to William Samuel Flemming Sr. Flemming acquired one of the Spanish grants containing 3,200 acres along the Halifax River. In 1835 he lost everything during the second Seminole War. The Halifax area was again abandoned until after the Civil War but wasn’t long till adventurous settlers seeking a better life arrived to take advantage of the natural beauty and enticing climate. William Wallace Ross arrived here sometime in the 1860’s and established a home site at a point which he called ‘Palmetto Point’. There he established the first Holly Hill area post office at his home which was called the Palmetto Post Office. Records of the Post Office Department in the National Archives confirm a Post Office, was established at Palmetto Point on July 21, 1868, with Samuel P. Wimple appointed postmaster. It was discontinued on July 12, 1870. This date is collaborated with other information that is known of them. Ross was the brother of Edmund G. Ross who, was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. Tax rolls for 1869 show Ross had 200 acres of orange trees valued at $600 He owned the grove jointly with his brother in law Wimple. Abilene, Kansas records say Wimple started the grove and a sugar plantation in Florida in 1868. Ross then invested in the grove. When Mathis Day, founder of Daytona Beach, arrived here in May 1870, he spotted the Wimple and Ross grove behind a growth of Palmettos on the west bank of the Halifax River. This information is obtained from Day’s diary. Ross and Wimple did not stay here too long. A freeze in the very early 1870’s wrecked their orange crop and the pioneers returned north. There is no record of what happened to the Ross cabin but through the years it disappeared. In 1904 the Mabbette family lived to the west just across the road ( Riverside Drive) and it became know as ‘Mabbette Point’. On February 26, 1958 the Holly Hill Council officially named the point ‘ Ross Point Park’ in honor of Ross and a marker was placed there preserving its importance in the cities history. William Samuel Flemming Sr. meanwhile had not given up on the area. The land owner was born in Holywood (pronounced Hollywood), County Down on the coast of North Ireland near Belfast. In the summer of 1876 Fleming went to Philadelphia with the express purpose of influencing settlers to come to Florida. He got the promise of fifteen families. Among the families were the Wetherell’s and the Simcoe’s. Wetherell was born on October 30, 1846. He and his wife, Margaret, were both born in Durham, England and now had four children: Tom, the eldest, Charles, William and a baby girl of a few months. William Wetherell first came to America in 1866 to work in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the preparations for the big Centennial celebration. He had left his bride behind in northern England, while he grabbed the opportunity to earn more in this country. He received a job working on the Continental Building. In 1868 he returned to England, but he was already making plans for a permanent move to the United States. In 1872, the family sailed into New York, settled close to Pittsburgh, and later moved to Philadelphia. It was there that Wetherell met William Simcoe, a friend from his earlier days in the city. Simcoe heard that Miami was beautiful and because of the climate it offered a chance for tremendous growth and work. He was able to convince the Wetherell family that Miami was the place to be. Two other families Flemming influenced were the Monroe’s and the Wood’s neither of who had any children. It is notable that New Port News, Virginia was settled by the Irish in 1621 and the Monroe’s were quite probably of the same Virginia family tree as James Monroe, the 5th U.S. William Samuel Fleming Sr. in 1876 owned most of the land now comprising Holly Hill and his land holdings continued from there south through Port Orange, where he and his wife Mary lived. In 1877 he owned 4,000 acres on the Halifax River between Ormond and the recently settled site of Daytona and began to erect a simple frame dwelling on a portion of his riverfront property. The Wetherell family left Philadelphia in middle September of 1876 in a small schooner and sailed to Fernandina, where the schooner Alagnolia was to pick them up there but it ran aground in Ponce Inlet, The Monroe’s and the ‘Wood’s from Virginia joined them there. They were stranded in Fernandina at the far Northeast tip of Florida for three weeks until Captain Charlie Fossard who ran a freight and passenger schooner between Daytona and Fernandina arrived and the families got passage on his boat, the Frank Stone, to complete the trip, A storm forced them ashore at Ponce Inlet on October 15 th. Fortunately for Holly Hill they never completed the trip to Miami. Thomas Wetherell, 9 years old at the time, wrote an account of their arrival in Daytona years later. The Frank Stone brought them safely through the inlet but they saw the remains of the unfortunate M agnolia being tom apart by the surf. They landed in Daytona on October 17, 1876. At that time this part of Florida was practically a wilderness. There was no railroad closer than Jacksonville. Mail was brought in about once a week on horse back from Enterprise, the County seat of Volusia. The Post Office was a dry goods box that sat in the corner of William Jackson’s small store at the south end of Daytona. The Wetherell’s spent that first fall and winter at Daytona Beach in the woods in an old house at what then was the northeast comer of Ridgewood and Volusia Avenue now known as International Speedway Blvd (USl and 92). But in the spring Flemming got them to move to Holly Hill where they bought from him the 220 feet on Washington Avenue, now LPGA Blvd. between Daytona Ave. and Dixie Highway for the sum of $75. Their first home there was a one-room shack they built of driftwood found along the river and palmetto fans. Tragedy hit the Wetherell’s when their fourth child, the baby girl died very young but two more girls were born to them in Holly Hill, Ethel and Victoria. The Monroe’s were the only other family settling directly in Holly Hill at that time, living in a cottage at the site of the old city hall where the jail is now located. Dependent on boats for their supply of groceries, these families experienced frequent food shortages during periods of stormy weather. Though fish, oysters and wild game were abundant, women and children often dug for coontie roots, which they grated and baked into pancakes to use in the place of bread. For drinking water they dug a hole in a low spot of ground and drank this surface water. The wells were sometimes visited at night by wild animals. One evening Mrs. Wetherell was startled by a noise at the well and looking out saw a big black bear down on his haunches trying to get a drink. The oldest boy was chased by a large panther on what is now Daytona Avenue. It pursued him to the gate and even attempted to jump the picket fence after him. Another time Mrs. Wetherell was nearly paralyzed with fear when on going to the bed for the baby, she found a six foot black snake coiled up in the bed beside it. Holly Hill at that time had no name and in discussion among the settlers Mrs. Monroe would like to have had it named New Port News, after her old home. This was a popular way of naming towns at this time as Ormond Beach was originally named New Britain after the Connecticut hometown of many of the early settlers there. In the discussions among the settlers however they decided that as ‘Mr. Flemming owned nearly all the land and was the colony founder he should have the naming privilege despite the fact that he still lived in Port Orange. Flemming decided to name the colony Holly Hill in memory of his Irish Holywood home because there were lots of holly in the area and there was a bit of a rise in the terrain. One can easily see the similarity between the two areas in old photos. Flemming began building a simple frame dwelling on a portion of his riverfront property. The land was cleared just south of the Holly Hill Canal right on the river shore. Unfortunately he died in 1878 before construction was completed. His son, Samuel Flemming Jr. who then took charge of his activities never carried the building plans further and continued in the large house they occupied in Port Orange which eventually burned down in the late 1970’s. After a few years both the Monroe’s and the Woods left Holly Hill to return to Newport News. The Wetherell’s however remained in the same location for 51 years. Wetherell died here on March 20, 1922. He gave time and money, the latter of which was not plentiful to anyone in the colony, to developing the town. He was foreman on the first canal dug through Holly Hill. CITY OF HOLLY HILL SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY/TERMS OF USE
Last Updated: September 26, 2024
By posting or commenting on any social media platform used by the City of Holly Hill, you participate by your own choice, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information you provide therein. You further agree to the following terms of use:
The City of Holly Hill maintains a social media program for the purpose of providing relevant and timely community news, information and events, distribution of crime prevention and public safety tips, for urgent notifications of critical incidents which may affect residents, business owners and visitors of the city of City of Holly Hill, and for those people having an interest in the City of Holly Hill. Limited Public Forum
All social media platforms used by the City of Holly Hill are designated as Limited Public Forums. Commenting, where possible, will be disabled. Posting of any content on any social media platform used by the City of Holly Hill, by any visitor, follower, subscriber or fan, constitutes acceptance of the terms of use described here in this policy. For purposes of this policy, a social media platform is the website or app offered to the public to provide audio, video, still-photo or written communication to members of the public and/or representatives of certain groups, businesses, organizations or departments. Examples of social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, LinkedIn, website blogs with commenting capabilities, and forums and emergency notification services. The definition of content as used in this policy refers to any written copy, photos, graphics, videos, live-video streams, comments or any form of communicative content exchanged between parties. Emergency or Non-Emergency Requests for Police Assistance
The posting of requests for police assistance, regardless if it is of an emergency or non- emergency nature, is discouraged and will not guarantee a response by the City of Holly Hill or any emergency service provider. In case of an emergency, or if police assistance is needed, please dial 911. If you wish to report a crime or information relevant to a crime, please call 386-248-9475. You may remain anonymous if you wish. In the event you post information related to a crime, you may be placing yourself in a position of becoming a witness and subject to being subpoenaed into court. Endorsements
“Friending” or “Liking” the City of Holly Hill, or an officer or employee of the City of Holly Hill, does not indicate an endorsement of that person’s actions or comments. A comment posted by a member of the public on any City of Holly Hill social media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the City of Holly Hill, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City of Holly Hill. Moderation of Content
The City of Holly Hill 's social media platforms are intended to be "family friendly," When applicable, the department uses platform provided content moderation/filtering options to limit foul or obscene content. The City of Holly Hill does actively monitor the social media platforms used by the department, and will remove inappropriate content as defined below, without prior notice, and as soon as possible. The department shall reserve the right to remove and/or block anyone who posts inappropriate material as determined by the department. This material may include, but is not limited to:
1. Comments not related to the original topic, including random or unintelligible comments;
2. Profane, obscene, or pornographic content and/or language;
3. Content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, or national origin;
4. Defamatory or personal attacks;
5. Threats to any person or organization;
6. Comments in support of, or in opposition to, any political campaigns or ballot measures;
7. Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any business or product for sale. This includes other online pages or organizations asking for donations.
8. Conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law;
9. Encouragement of illegal activity;
10. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
11. Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party;
12. Harassment or content which constitutes and/or facilitates stalking;
13. Content which violates the right to privacy;
14. Encouragement of violence;
15. Repetitive content. Repeated posting of identical or very similar content in a counter- productive manner;
16. Comments which may reasonably interfere with, inhibit, or compromise law enforcement investigations, police tactics, police responses to incidents and/or the safety of police staff and officers.
17. Posts or comments which contain any external links. The City of Holly Hill does not allow posting of photos or videos by anyone other than members of the department. Denial of Access
The City of Holly Hill reserves the right to deny access to any City of Holly Hill social media sites for any individual, who violates the City of Holly Hill’s Social Media Terms of Use, at any time and without prior notice for a period of up to six months. The person or entity blocked may request to be reinstated any time after the six month period expires. If you wish to contest the removal or hiding of your content, or your denial of access ("banned") from our social media platforms, you may do so by contacting the information technology manager at 386-248-9459. At your request the City of Holly Hill will review your comment(s) to ensure they meet the accepted guidelines as outlined earlier in this document. If it has been found to not be in violation of those guidelines your comment will be unhidden. If you were blocked from our social media site(s) because of the comment and has been found to not be in violation of those guidelines your account will be unblocked from our social media site(s). Facebook's Community of Standards
All comments posted to any City of Holly Hill Facebook site are bound by Facebook’s Community Standards, located at http://www.facebook.com/communitystandards, and the City of Holly Hill reserves the right to report any violation of Facebook’s Community Standards to Facebook with the intent of Facebook taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action. YouTube Community Guidelines
When applicable, the City of Holly Hill reserves the right to report any violation of the YouTube Community Guidelines, located at http://www.youtube.com/yt/policyandsafety/communityguidelines.html with the intent of YouTube taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action. Instagram Community Guidelines
When applicable, the City of Holly Hill reserves the right to report any violation of the Instagram Community Guidelines, located at https://help.instagram.com/477434105621119/ with the intent of Instagram taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action. External Links
The provision of direct links should not be construed as an endorsement or sponsorship of these external sites, their content, or their hosts. The City of Holly Hill specifically disavows legal responsibility for what a user may find on another site, whether or not operated by the City of Holly Hill. The views and opinions of the authors of documents published on or linked to the City of Holly Hill’s social media accounts do not necessarily state or reflect the opinion, policy or position of the City of Holly Hill. The City of Holly Hill is not responsible for the content, quality, accuracy or completeness of any offsite materials referenced by or linked through the City of Holly Hill’s social media accounts. By using the City of Holly Hill’s social networking sites, the user acknowledges and accepts the risk of injury or damage from viewing, hearing, downloading or storing such materials rests entirely with the user and that the City of Holly Hill is not responsible for any materials stored on other social networking sites or websites, nor is it liable for any inaccurate, defamatory, offensive or illegal materials found on other social networking sites or websites. The City of Holly Hill does not endorse any content, viewpoint, products or services linked from its social networking sites and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. The City of Holly Hill does not warrant the accuracy or reliability of or endorse any products or service providers listed or linked to its site. Privacy of Children
We believe in the importance of protecting the privacy of children online. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) governs information gathered online from or about children under the age of 13. Verifiable consent from a child’s parent or guardian is required before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from a child under age 13. Our site is not intended to solicit information of any kind from children under age 13. If you believe that we have received information from or about children under age 13, please contact us. Public Records Law
The City of Holly Hill social media sites are subject to applicable public records laws. Any content maintained in a social media format related to agency business, including communication posted by the Agency and communication received from citizens, is a public record. The Department maintaining the site is responsible for responding completely and accurately to any public records request for social media content. Questions
Should you have any questions in regards to items contained herein this Terms of Use, please contact the City of Holly Hill information technology manager at 386-248-9459. Pursuant to F.S. 668.6076: Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to us. Instead, contact our office by phone or in writing.
