Volusia County
FLGenWeb
Volusia
County FLGenWeb is a free genealogical site about the history
of the county. We hope you find helpful clues for your research of
ancestors and relatives of Volusia county.
Please consider contributing your pieces of Volusia county family history. Corrections, updates, and additions to this site are always welcome. Our combined efforts can make this a great site for all who visit!
County Coordinator: Norma Hass normahass01@gmail.com
Co-Coordinator: YOU? Volusia FLGenWeb needs a local co-coordinator. Are you familiar with the area? Do you have a family tree
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State Coordinator:
Denise Wells
Assistant State Coordinator:
Jeff Kemp
Volusia County was established December 29, 1854. Its territory was carved from Orange County. It was named for the port of Volusia along the St. John's River on the county's western side. DeLand is the county seat.
In 1884 when the Volusia County area was separated from Orange
County, river travel deigned where the greatest population would be. The
town of Volusia began as a trading post in the early 1800's as it was
situated on an Indian trail as well as being located on the eastern side
of the St. Johns where Hwy 40 crosses it. The area became a supply depot
for military goods during the 1884-1885 Second Seminole War.
It's
banks made easy landing for steamboats. People disembarked, liked what
they saw and stayed. The whole of Volusia County had a population of
around 600 people at its birth. The largest group resided in the town of
Volusia. The town grew and had it's own post office, one of only four in
the county. With the coming of the railroads in the 1880's the tracks
didn't come through Volusia. Now it is a small unincorporated area.
There are three theories of the meaning of the word Volusia.
Timucuan Indians died out leaving the area uninhabited in the early
1700's. The next tribe to inhabit the area were the Euchee who migrated
from South Carolina. The word might have come from their word meaning
"Land of the Euchee". It might have come from the name of a plantation
along the river or it might have come from changes in the last name of
an employee of the trading post, Veluche, perhaps of French descent
whose name was pronouced Va-loo-shay. The man was so well liked that
people referred to the post office as "Veluche's Place".
During
the time the British occupied Florida, a new settlement was begun in
southeast Volusia County. It was connected to St. Augustine by the Kings
Road. Many of these settlers were Minorcan and moved to St. Augustine,
70 miles north.
Another group of Indians settled in several parts
of Volusia. These became the Seminole Tribe. They were descendants of
Creek's from Georgia and Alabama who would not abide by the forced
relocation instead moving to Florida. A large sugar plantation located
in what became Daytona Beach was burned by the Seminole's in the Second
Seminole War (1836-1842).
Today evidence of the Timucua can be
seen in various areas around Volusia. There are large shell middens at
Tomoka State Park. These are large dumps of domestic waste containing
many mollusk shells as well as tools of the time and remnants of the
food the inhabitants ate. In some areas each home had their own midden
rather than utilizing a community wide one.
Source: Information
compiled from commentary by Tom Schofield and Wikipedia.
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