The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Dr. Mary’s Health Villa on Lake Isis and the Medical Lineage of Mary E. Coffin and Ida B. Peffers

The Lake Isis Estate: From Perkins to Stephenson (1893–1920)

The property on the south shore of Lake Isis that housed Dr. Mary’s Health Villa originated during the pioneer colonization era. In 1893, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Perkins arrived in Avon Park from Jersey City, New Jersey, traveling by basket phaeton behind a black mare[maxwell-1976]. After lodging initially at the Hotel Verona, Perkins acquired acreage fronting the south shore of Lake Isis and erected a barn followed by a substantial two-story frame residence that became recognized as one of the regional showplaces of the early settlement[maxwell-1976].

Following the Perkins tenure, the estate was purchased by Henry Stephenson and his family[maxwell-1976]. The Stephensons named the property “Lillydale Farm” and used its lakeside grounds extensively for civic and social entertainment during the 1900s and 1910s, establishing the site’s identity as a prominent residential gathering point on the northern fringe of the town[maxwell-1976].

Dr. Mary’s Health Villa (c. 1922)

Around 1922, during the early stages of the Florida land boom, the former Lillydale Farm was acquired and opened as a winter health retreat known as Dr. Mary’s Health Villa[maxwell-1976]. The facility was organized and managed by two female physicians, Dr. Mary E. Coffin and Dr. Ida B. Peffers[maxwell-1976].

Seeking to capitalize on national interest in Florida’s winter climate and therapeutic sunlight, Drs. Coffin and Peffers launched an active promotional campaign across northern and midwestern states. They published and distributed an illustrated “picture folder” detailing the scenic landscape of Lake Isis, offering supervised recuperative stays, dietary regimens, and outdoor rest for seasonal visitors[maxwell-1976]. This establishment predated by fourteen years Mrs. Helen G. Randle’s short-lived Sun and Diet Health Resort at the Highlands Lakes Hotel.

Medical Background of Dr. Mary E. Coffin and Dr. Ida B. Peffers

Unlike transient promoters, both founders of Dr. Mary’s Health Villa were formally educated, licensed physicians belonging to the homeopathic medical tradition:

  1. Dr. Mary E. Coffin: A graduate of the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College in Ohio, Dr. Coffin served on the college’s clinical faculty during the 1904–1905 academic term[king-1905-homoeopathy]. She subsequently established an extensive medical practice in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, maintaining offices in Allegheny and Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania[iha-1913-proceedings][wilkinsburg-1937-nugget]. In 1913, she contributed clinical case papers to the International Hahnemannian Association, and later served as president of the Wilkinsburg Business and Professional Women’s Club[iha-1913-proceedings][wilkinsburg-1937-nugget]. Her professional ties to the Pittsburgh area connected her directly to the large circle of western Pennsylvania investors active in Avon Park during the 1910s and 1920s, including Edward M. Brickell and the Pittsburgh-Florida Fruit Growers Association.
  2. Dr. Ida B. Peffers (1861–1952): Born Ida Belle Kent, Dr. Peffers completed her medical training at the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College in the mid-1890s, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine[king-1905-homoeopathy]. Practicing in northeastern Ohio and Geauga County, she maintained professional connections with Dr. Coffin through regional homeopathic societies before joining her in launching the Avon Park sanitarium in 1922[king-1905-homoeopathy][maxwell-1976].

Red Top Ranch and Norton T. Smith

Following the conclusion of the Health Villa’s operations in the mid-1920s, the Lake Isis property was purchased by Norton T. Smith[maxwell-1976]. Smith, an active Avon Park civic leader who in 1918–1919 had co-supervised the widening of Main Street and later joined fellow large property owners as a co-relator in the landmark 1932–1934 municipal annexation quo warranto litigation (State ex rel. Davis v. City of Avon Park), converted the estate into a residential and agricultural property known as Red Top Inn or Red Top Ranch[maxwell-1976].

Under Smith’s ownership, the distinctive red-roofed two-story landmark on the south shore of Lake Isis remained one of the established physical landmarks of northern Avon Park through the mid-twentieth century[maxwell-1976].

References

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
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unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
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Sources

  1. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida) (1976) · book
  2. William Harvey King, M.D., History of Homoeopathy and Its Institutions in America, Volume III (1905) · book
  3. International Hahnemannian Association, Proceedings of the Thirty-Fourth Annual Session of the International Hahnemannian Association (1913) · book
  4. Wilkinsburg Golden Jubilee Committee, The Nugget: Official Publication, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania Golden Jubilee, 1887–1937 (1937) · book

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