Historical Markers and War Memorials in St. Cloud, Florida
Kissimmee is the county seat for Osceola County
St. Cloud is in Osceola County
Osceola County(119) ► ADJACENT TO OSCEOLA COUNTY Brevard County(344) ► Highlands County(39) ► Indian River County(66) ► Lake County(66) ► Okeechobee County(14) ► Orange County(269) ► Polk County(134) ►
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In the 1800s land boom Mr.Gerald Ashton and his brother Mr.Frank Ashton came to the
Narcoosssee English Colony and settled in Runnymede. Frank started the little town of Ashton where he had a "wood rack” three miles south of Narcoossee and . . . — — Map (db m215443) HM
Built in 1914, the 50’ × 100’ structure was the longest single floor space in the city at that time. The gas pump was on the edge of the road leaving your car on the road as you filled the tank. — — Map (db m209079) HM
Front:
Jacob W Aderhold • Greenleaf Andrews • James A. Bandy • Isaac Barber • Edwin A. Barnes • James A. Barnes • Archibald C. Bass • Crawford H. Bass • George W. Bass • Richard Bass • Thomas J. Bell • William J. Brack • David M. Breaker . . . — — Map (db m209489) WM
St. Cloud's First National Bank opened in 1910. This narrow, two story Masonry Vernacular structure was built from locally produced sand brick, wood beams, and concrete block. St. Cloud residents subscribed over $100,000 of capital stock, twice as . . . — — Map (db m96945) HM
Side 1
In 1915, licensed embalmer Carl E. Carlson opened his undertaking establishment in a rented building on Massachusetts Avenue and 11th Street. In 1918, he purchased the building belonging to St. Cloud’s first physician, Dr. C.S. Cooper, . . . — — Map (db m172080) HM
#7-10. When the Union veterans first arrived in 1909
there were very few buildings. Everyone lived in tents. The first house was the home of GW. Penn and still stands at 1205 Massachusetts Avenue. First National Bank was Saint Cloud's first bank . . . — — Map (db m212236) HM
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a nationwide organization founded in 1866 for Union veterans of the Civil War. The town of St. Cloud was founded in 1909 as a community for Union veterans. The L.L. Mitchell Post #34, named for the first . . . — — Map (db m112312) HM
#15. In 1881, Hamilton Disston purchased four million acres of land from Florida's indebted Internal Improvement Fund. The purchase may have been the largest land purchase by an individual in world history. He planned to drain the swampland north of . . . — — Map (db m212182) HM
In 1885, Hamilton Disston, Pennsylvania industrialist and pioneer Florida promoter, established an extensive experimental sugar plantation on the drained lands around St. Cloud. The enterprise, part of Disston's promotional scheme, prospered for . . . — — Map (db m72623) HM
#4. In 1881, Hamilton Disston purchased four million acres of land in Florida. His efforts to drain the Everglades to open Florida to agriculture included dredging the canal between St. Cloud and Kissimmee. When it was completed on November 22, . . . — — Map (db m209075) HM
#2. Horse drawn wagons delivered ice to homes and
businesses from the Saint Cloud electric and ice plant at Tenth Street and Minnesota Avenue. When the plant reached its full production capacity in 1911, it could produce 10 tons of ice per day. . . . — — Map (db m212155) HM
Following World War I, the United States economy was thriving. Florida’s population skyrocketed as cheap land, combined with the improved roads and railways, drew northern tourists and developers to the state. In 1925, Ohio mausoleum builder . . . — — Map (db m137485) HM
#1. The Joyland Beach Pier and Dance Hall located near the beach on the lakeshore at Ohio Avenue provided a place for relaxation and entertainment for the growing town. It had replaced the original boat and bathhouse that was built in 1911 after it . . . — — Map (db m212160) HM
More than 35 years prior to sugarcane being grown commercially in South Florida, northern entrepreneurs came to Central Florida and started planting cane on newly drained, nutrient-rich, land. By 1888, Hamilton Disston, a Philadelphia saw . . . — — Map (db m237884) HM
#11. This mule yard on the south side of 13th Street between Pennsylvania and New York Avenues became history on March 29, 1928 when the city decided to transform it into a new city park. In 1936, a band shell was constructed. On June 13, 1937 the . . . — — Map (db m212163) HM
#3. Originally built by Osceola County State Bank in 1911 by N.F. Bass this building later served as the St. Cloud City Hall. The town contracted to purchase the building and made the final payment in 1920. The addition on the south side was built . . . — — Map (db m212154) HM
Runnymede was originally established in 1885 and called Wharton. A man name Beauchamp Watson owned a home and a store here. He eventually operated the Runnymede Hotel which was popular among English visitors. The hotel was originally created as an . . . — — Map (db m237885) HM
#13. Looking to find a location to establish a veteran's retirement colony, the Grand Army of the Republic established the Seminole Land & Investment Company. The site had to meet its requirements of health, climate and productiveness of the soil. . . . — — Map (db m212180) HM
Side 1
Beginning in 1909, Union Civil War veterans from all over the United States began to move to St. Cloud, many drawn by promotions in Northern newspapers. The first veteran to die in St. Cloud, Lucius L. Mitchell, passed away in December . . . — — Map (db m172100) HM
St. Cloud Roll of Honor World War One
1917 - 1918
Armstrong, Dan E. • Arrowsmith, C.M. • Bailey, Clarence • Baker, Elmer • Barber, Dan M. • Barber, Jack • Bartlett, Neil • Bleech, Otto • Booth, James L. • Cathcart, H.C. • . . . — — Map (db m209496) WM
#12. The Grand Army of the Republic Post 34 played an active role in bringing thousands of Union veterans to Saint Cloud in the early 1900s, the largest concentration of Union veterans in the South. The G.A.R. Fire and Drum Corps made these honored . . . — — Map (db m212179) HM
The Sugar Belt Railway Line, built in 1889 by Hamilton Disston, transported sugar and citrus between the town of Narcoossee and Kissimmee. The train made the return trip after being reversed on a turntable at Narcoossee operated by muscle power. The . . . — — Map (db m96946) HM
The Bell AH-1 Cobra, “Snake”, was the world’s first specifically designed armed attack helicopter. During the Vietnam War, the need for a gunship to protect unarmed helicopters quickly became apparent, when many were lost to ground fire. First . . . — — Map (db m208619) HM
In Memory of
The Grand Army of the Republic
and those
Union Veterans
who in 1909 settled the
“Wonder City”
of St. Cloud, Florida
At 1101 Massachusetts Avenue stands the GAR Memorial Hall which held the Lucius L. . . . — — Map (db m208621) WM
#6. Just after midnight on July 28, 1917, a suspicious fire started in a storeroom and spread to businesses and apartments on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue between Tenth and Eleventh Streets. Volunteers formed bucket brigades to put out the . . . — — Map (db m208972) HM
#5. The Saint Cloud Sugar Belt Railway opened in November 1890 and ran from Kissimmee through the Saint Cloud plantation to Narcoossee. Made to haul sugar to market, it also carried passengers and other freight through the area. In 1917, a brick . . . — — Map (db m208967) HM
On a typical summer afternoon thunderstorms will be seen in the skies surrounding this site. So common they are often ignored, thunderstorms are nevertheless vital to the State's economy. They provide most of Florida's annual rainfall, but . . . — — Map (db m54028) HM
The Ladies Improvement Club of St. Cloud organized in 1910 for the betterment of the community through civic projects and the advocacy of literacy. The club established a small area in the Sugar Belt Railway depot for books and magazines for . . . — — Map (db m102976) HM
1947
Dedicated to
Our Veterans of All Wars
Rededicated by St. Cloud Main Street, 2014
Supported by:
Veterans Organizations and Local Donors — — Map (db m209491) WM
#14. The train station would be the embarkation point for local troops that served in two world wars. At its tracks, family and friends would welcome home many veterans. The station is now home to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3227, which serves . . . — — Map (db m208973) HM
