Enterprise in Volusia County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

The DeBary Connection

Green Springs Park

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

1. The DeBary Connection Marker

Inscription. Green Springs had many owners after Cornelius Taylor first claimed these lands in 1842. Certainly the most exotic were the deBarys — NewYork wine merchants who wintered near Enterprise starting in the 1870s. European-born Frederick deBary and his son Adolphe not only built a showy vacation house at the heart of their vast hunting estate. They also acquired Green Springs and its well-known shell mound.

Most deBary lands lay west of here, in what is now the city of DeBary. Family members and guests ranged over the country, hunting quail, fishing, and exploring on horseback and in wagons. For lovers of the outdoors, Old Enterprise would have been a natural destination.

Not that the deBarys were great preservers of their scenic property. A visitor in 1885 found them clearing and draining the land for orange groves. And he reported that two-thirds of the shell mound had been carted off for fertilizer and walks. "Man erected it," he said, "and man is digging it up.”
(captions)
Frederick deBary (1815-1898), sportsman and part-year resident of lands near Lake Monroe. Photo courtesy of Rollins College special collections.

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Winter Villa and orange grove of Mr. F. DeBary, near Enterprise.

DeBary Hall — once a winter retreat, now a county-run historic site. From a DeBary Merchants’ Line guidebook (1882), courtesy of FSU special collections.

Visitors to the Enterprise shell mound in 1896. Photo courtesy of the Florida Photographic Collection/State Archives.

Erected by Volusia County Florida.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Parks & Recreational Areas • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1842.

Location. 28° 51.807′ N, 81° 14.868′ W. Marker is in Enterprise, Florida, in Volusia County. It can be reached from the intersection of Enterprise Osteen Road and Green Springs Road, on the left when traveling east. The marker is Located within Green Springs Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 994 Enterprise Osteen Road, Deltona FL 32725, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s First Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

2. The DeBary Connection Marker

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Enterprise Midden (within shouting distance of this marker); The Thunder of Enterprise (within shouting distance of this marker); Green Springs Park (within shouting distance of this marker); Tropical Florida (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Delicate Green Waters (about 300 feet away); The Lay of the Land (about 300 feet away); Florida United Methodist Children's Home (approx. 1.2 miles away); Enterprise (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Enterprise.

Also see . . .
1. Enterprise, Florida- Central Florida’s Birthplace. (Submitted on January 29, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
2. Green Springs Park. (Submitted on January 29, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler
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Beach, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 29, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 186 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 29, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.