After the Civil War, John Milton Hawks teamed with a couple of other officers to colonize in Florida with black freedmen. Due to faulty planning and harsh living conditions, of the nearly 1600 settlers recruited in 1865 - only 9 remained on the land in 1868.
Port Orange was incorporated into a town in 1913 and named a city in 1925.
Gamble Place/ Spruce Creek Preserve has 150-acres of native flora and fauna, including beautiful cypress trees, alligators, pileated woodpeckers and osprey. Historic buildings such as a "cracker-style" house built in 1907 by James Gamble (of Proctor and Gamble), the Snow White House, modeled after the Walt Disney animated film, and a citrus packing house are located on the grounds.
Sugar Mill Botanical Gardens is 12 acres featuring a reconstructed sugar mill, audubon trail, greenhouse, statues of dinosaurs, as well as flora and fauna native to Florida. The Flower Circle with brass sundial is an ideal location for a wedding. The gazebo and library, with hundreds of books on plants, are worth a visit when touring Sugar Mill Botanical Gardens.
Hours:
8am-6pm
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
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