DeBary's Backcountry Quest Letterbox Hybrid
BoJaB: Due to no response from the cache owner to the previous reviewer temp disable log, I am archiving this listing.
BoJaB
DeBary's Backcountry Quest
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Directions, Parking and Fees:
From Interstate 4: Take exit 108 and turn right (west)
on
Dirksen Drive. Turn right on Mansion Boulevard to Sunrise Blvd. and
stop in the front of the mansion.
From U.S. 17-92: Go east on Dirksen Drive. Turn left on
Mansion Boulevard to Sunrise Blvd. and stop in front of the
mansion.
Visitor Parking is off Sunrise Boulevard west of the
mansion (198 Sunrise Boulevard).
Park Hours are from sunrise to sunset daily.
Park Fees: There is no admission fee to enter the park.
However, for a guided tour of the mansion house: Adults: $5,
Seniors: $4, Children ages 3-12: $2, Children under 3: Free. Tour
hours are Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sunday: noon – 4
p.m. (Last guided tour begins at 3:30.) For more information about
the site, visit www.DeBaryHall.com.
Time to Complete: Approx. 20-30 minutes
Historical Background
DeBary Hall was the winter retreat of a European-born wine merchant
who chose the St. Johns River country for his hunting estate.
Beginning in the 1870s, New Yorker Frederick deBary acquired lands
near Lake Monroe, built a large vacation house, and tried his
hand
at orange growing and commercial steamboating. But above all, this
Florida estate became a center of sport hunting and hospitality.
“Entertainment,” said one relative, “was a very simple matter at
DeBary Hall. Most guests were asked because they enjoyed the out of
doors, with swimming, hunting, and fishing.” When deBary’s last
American heir died in 1941, the retreat had grown to more than
6,000 acres with many outbuildings. Today’s historic site is a
little smaller—ten acres. But it still includes the
8,000-square-foot main house, stables and other structures, plus
artifacts from a kind of working farm, even if the crops were
bobwhite quail. DeBary Hall also offers glimpses of larger things:
America’s long romance with Florida, a nineteenth-century tourism
boom, orange fever and steamboating on the St. Johns. And since
local African-American and white workers kept the estate going
year-round, their lives are central to the storytelling here.
You’ll find remarkable buildings, a treasure trove of historical
images, and many good stories.
We would like to extend special thanks to the staff and volunteers
of DeBary Hall Historic Site (www.debaryhall.com), a facility of
the County of Volusia, for their cooperation with this River Quest
program.
Additional Hints
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