You are hunting a rubbermaid container that can hold small trade
items and TB's. Please make sure all 4 locks are engaged to keep
things dry. There is no need to go on "private property" to
retrieve the cache but it's as close as it gets. Regular cachers
will get a laugh at the sign located at Ground Zero. Happy
Hunting!
John Anderson emigrated to Florida from Maine during the late
1800's. He settled on the east side of the Halifax River. His first
home, "Trappers Lodge," was located in the "wilds" of the
peninsula. Later he built a plantation on the Halifax River and
named it "Santa Lucia" after a popular Italian melody.
John Anderson, Andrew Bostrom and James Ormond III became
friends during this period. In fact, James Ormond III had recently
visited Bosarve Plantation. This visit is said to have been
instrumental in the town being named because John Anderson and
Andrew Bostrom convincingly swayed the group to name it Ormond in
honor of the James Ormond family. The name Ormond was adopted then
and there – and so was the banana tree as the City’s emblem.
Being far-sighted individuals, John Anderson and J.D. Price
bought part of the Bostrom peninsula homestead and built the first
wing of the Ormond Hotel. The community celebrated the opening –
and New Year’s Eve – on January 1, 1888. The later years of the
19th century proved to be a time of growth. Florida, like the rest
of the country, was experiencing the industrial revolution and all
that came with it – thanks to industrialists like Henry Flagler.
Pouncing on the potential of becoming a railroad giant, he
purchased all the existing "little" railroad lines and coordinated
a rail system from Amelia Island to Key West. His policy was to
incorporate hotels along his line. The Hotel Ormond was enlarged to
accommodate 600 guests and became one of his fashionable resorts,
especially with winter guests.
The Hotel Ormond management coordinated activities and events
and a variety of entertainment for their guests both on and off the
premises. Anderson and Price, the former hotel proprietors began a
new business of providing tours of the area in chauffeur-driven
steam automobiles. They were also tour guides on the Tomoka River
Cruise departing from the hotel and serving picnic lunches at their
river cabin. These hot lunches and ice-cream were delivered to the
cabin overland from the hotel.
This cache was placed by a member of the
Northeast Florida Geocachers
Association
