The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Origins and Formation of the Old Settlers Association and the Historical Society of Avon Park (1945–1981)

Contemporary reporting in The Avon Park Sun (1948–1978), cross-referenced with Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell’s The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (1976) and Florida Department of State corporate records, establishes the exact founding date, charter signers, and institutional evolution of the Old Settlers Association of Avon Park into The Historical Society of Avon Park, Inc.[aps-1950-09-29][aps-1957-10-10][aps-1977-11-03][aps-1978-10-12][maxwell-1976][sunbiz-758915]

1. Resolving the Founding Date Discrepancy: October 9, 1945 vs. 1946–1947

In The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (1976), Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell gave two conflicting retrospective dates for the founding of the Old Settlers Association: 1947 on page 13 (“Organized in 1947 as the Old Settlers Club”) and 1946 on page 16 (“The Florida Historical Society was organized in 1856 … Ninety years later the Old Settlers Organization was started in Avon Park”).[maxwell-1976]

Contemporary accounts in The Avon Park Sun resolve this discrepancy and fix the founding to October–November 1945:

  • Organizational Meeting (October 9, 1945): Both the September 29, 1950 and October 10, 1957 issues of The Avon Park Sun—alongside two photo captions in the November 3, 1977 issue—record that the Old Settlers Association of Avon Park was formed on October 9, 1945, with pioneer civic leader May Walden (Mrs. Kerr Walden) serving as acting chairman and writing the bylaws and Articles of Incorporation.[aps-1950-09-29][aps-1957-10-10][aps-1977-11-03]
  • Charter Signing and First Picnic (November 1945): In November 1945, the charter was signed first by the five founding members of the original Executive Committee—May Walden, Cora Gray Wray, Byrum Shockley (first historian), Clara Davidson, and Alice Davidson—followed by sixty-three pioneers who attended the inaugural picnic and resolved to compile an accurate history of Avon Park.[aps-1948-09-10][aps-1957-10-10]
  • Corroboration from Annual Reunion Numbering: Every numbered annual meeting reported in The Avon Park Sun counts inclusively from October–November 1945 as the first annual gathering: the 4th in October 1948, 5th in October 1949, 6th in October 1950, 7th in October 1951, 9th in October 1953, 12th in October 1956, 13th in October 1957, 28th in October 1972, and 32nd in October 1977.[aps-1950-09-29][aps-1951-10-19][aps-1957-10-10][aps-1977-11-03]
  • Refutation of the 1968 Sebring Website Conflation: A business directory subpage on the museum’s website (avonparkdepotmuseum.com/business/aphs) erroneously states that the society was founded on “March 18, 1968” by “Mrs. Olive (Polly) Pollatty” at the “Sebring Fire Station”—a copy-paste of the founding history of the neighboring Sebring Historical Society. Avon Park’s organization originated with the Old Settlers Association on October 9, 1945.[aps-1950-09-29][aps-1957-10-10]

2. Archival Custodianship and the October 23, 1971 Meeting Date Correction

Under Article III of the 1945 charter, membership required twenty years of residency in the Avon Park area and carried no dues.[aps-1950-09-29][aps-1957-10-10][aps-1977-11-03] In October 1951, at its 7th Annual Reunion, the association secured fireproof locker space inside the new Avon Park Public Library building on East Main Street to store its growing collection of historical papers and pioneer photographs, voting a cash contribution to the library building fund.[aps-1951-10-19]

In 1970–1971, under President Rev. Herbert D. Graetz, Bandstand Restoration Chairman W. Cliff Thomas, and Treasurer Grace (Mrs. P. C.) Boney, the Old Settlers Association spearheaded the restoration of the Avon Park Bandstand on the Mile Long Mall.[aps-1971-10-28][maxwell-1976] While page 71 of Maxwell’s The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida captions the photograph of charter historian Cora Gray Wray’s final meeting—carried in her chair by Cois Leroy (“Jack”) DeLaney and Milford Dilley—as taking place on “October 9, 1971,” the contemporary report and identical photograph published in The Avon Park Sun on October 28, 1971, establish that the meeting took place on Saturday, October 23, 1971, at the Old Union Congregational Church Fellowship Hall on Wray’s 87th birthday.[aps-1971-10-28][maxwell-1976]

Before her death (which occurred between late 1971 and October 1975), Wray persuaded Secretary Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell to accept custody of her pioneer family albums and historical manuscripts; after Wray’s passing, her daughter Mildred Wray Waddell delivered boxes of these archives to Maxwell.[aps-1975-10-23][aps-1978-10-12][maxwell-1976]

3. Institutional Transitions (1975–1981)

The transformation of the Old Settlers Association into the modern corporate entity proceeded through four documented stages between 1975 and 1981:

Year / Date Institutional Name Key Actions and Documentation
October 9, 1945 – November 1945 Old Settlers Association of Avon Park (also Old Settlers’ Club) Organized Oct. 9, 1945 under Acting Chairman May Walden; charter signed Nov. 1945 by five Executive Committee members (May Walden, Cora Gray Wray, Byrum Shockley, Clara Davidson, Alice Davidson) and 63 attendees; 20-year residency rule.[aps-1948-09-10][aps-1950-09-29][aps-1957-10-10][aps-1977-11-03]
May–October 1975 Old Settlers Historical Society (also Avon Park Historical Society) Appointed by Mayor J. Marshall Davis in May 1975 to coordinate Avon Park’s U.S. Bicentennial (Leoma Maxwell, chairman; George Haynie, asst. chairman); abolishes 20-year residency rule to admit anyone interested in Avon Park history; passes Oct. 17, 1975 resolution to fund Oliver M. Crosby’s grave marker.[aps-1975-05-22][aps-1975-10-23][aps-1977-11-03]
1976–1977 The Historical Society of the Old Settlers Association, Inc. Dedicates Crosby monument on July 4, 1976, and publishes Maxwell’s The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida under Presidents Rev. H. D. Graetz and Robert W. Burkhart and Treasurer James Fountain; campaigns via Fred Jahna and Ben Hill Griffin Jr. to acquire the 1926 Seaboard depot, appointing Jane Barben, Ben Hill Griffin Jr., and Fred Jahna as the museum conversion committee on Nov. 4, 1977.[aps-1977-11-03][aps-1977-11-10][maxwell-1976]
October 1978 – January 4, 1979 The Historical Society of Avon Park Membership votes by Oct. 1978 to drop “Old Settlers” from the title; receives Avon Park Sun Linotype and press from publisher Edward Carter (Oct. 1978); Seaboard Coast Line Superintendent John W. Thomas deeds the 1926 station to the City of Avon Park for the museum on Jan. 4, 1979.[aps-1978-10-12][maxwell-1976]
May–June 25, 1981 THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AVON PARK, INC. Dedicates the Avon Park Depot Museum in May 1981 and incorporates with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, as a Florida Not For Profit Corporation on June 25, 1981 (Document No. 758915, FEI/EIN 59-2302474; reinstated May 28, 1996).[sunbiz-758915]

D. M. Earnest, Fred Garrett and J. W. (Billy) Martin at the Old Settlers Historical Society annual meeting, November 2, 1977

D. M. Earnest, Fred Garrett, and Highlands County Tax Assessor J. W. (Billy) Martin examining an archival scrapbook at the annual meeting of the Old Settlers Historical Society in autumn 1977. The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (1976), page 206. Avon Park Historical Society.[aps-1977-11-03][maxwell-1976]

References

  • aps-1948-09-10 — The Avon Park Sun. Notice of Old Settlers Association Executive Committee Meeting. 10 September 1948. Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1948-10-13 reel)
  • aps-1950-09-29 — The Avon Park Sun. Old Settlers Plan Annual Picnic Oct. 11. 29 September 1950. Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1950-10-11 reel)
  • aps-1951-10-19 — The Avon Park Sun. Old Settlers Enjoy 7th Annual Picnic; Vote Donation to Library Fund. 19 October 1951. Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1953-09-28 reel)
  • aps-1957-10-10 — The Avon Park Sun. Old Settlers Plan 13th Annual Picnic Wednesday, Oct. 16. 10 October 1957. Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1957-10-10 reel)
  • aps-1971-10-28 — The Avon Park Sun. Old Settlers Association Holds Annual Covered Dish Dinner and Meeting. 28 October 1971. Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1971-10-28 reel)
  • aps-1975-05-22 — The Avon Park Sun. Old Settlers Historical Committee Named To Coordinate Bicentennial Celebration. 22 May 1975. Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1975-05-22 reel)
  • aps-1975-10-23 — The Avon Park Sun. Historical Society To Raise Funds For Crosby Grave Marker. 23 October 1975. Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1975-11-29 reel)
  • aps-1977-11-03 — Lew Miller and Betty Amburn (The Avon Park Sun). Old Settlers Work For Museum / Your Ideas Needed. 3 November 1977. Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1977-11-03 reel)
  • aps-1977-11-10 — The Avon Park Sun. Old Settlers Meeting. 10 November 1977. Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1977-11-10 reel)
  • aps-1978-10-12 — Betty Amburn and Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell (The Avon Park Sun). Leoma Maxwell Helps To Organize City’s History. 12 October 1978. Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1979-10-11 reel)
  • maxwell-1976 — Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell. The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida. 1976. documents/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md
  • sunbiz-758915 — Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. Florida Division of Corporations Filing: THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AVON PARK, INC. (Document No. 758915). 25 June 1981. https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=HISTORICALSOCIETYAVONPARK%207589150&aggregateId=domnp-758915-7e940b63-6784-4821-8176-2eb38068437f

Where this comes from

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

Sources

  1. The Avon Park Sun, Notice of Old Settlers Association Executive Committee Meeting (Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1948-10-13 reel)) (1948) · newspaper
  2. The Avon Park Sun, Old Settlers Plan Annual Picnic Oct. 11 (Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1950-10-11 reel)) (1950) · newspaper
  3. The Avon Park Sun, Old Settlers Enjoy 7th Annual Picnic; Vote Donation to Library Fund (Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1953-09-28 reel)) (1951) · newspaper
  4. The Avon Park Sun, Old Settlers Plan 13th Annual Picnic Wednesday, Oct. 16 (Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1957-10-10 reel)) (1957) · newspaper
  5. The Avon Park Sun, Old Settlers Association Holds Annual Covered Dish Dinner and Meeting (Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1971-10-28 reel)) (1971) · newspaper
  6. The Avon Park Sun, Old Settlers Historical Committee Named To Coordinate Bicentennial Celebration (Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1975-05-22 reel)) (1975) · newspaper
  7. The Avon Park Sun, Historical Society To Raise Funds For Crosby Grave Marker (Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1975-11-29 reel)) (1975) · newspaper
  8. Lew Miller and Betty Amburn (The Avon Park Sun), Old Settlers Work For Museum / Your Ideas Needed (Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1977-11-03 reel)) (1977) · newspaper
  9. The Avon Park Sun, Old Settlers Meeting (Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1977-11-10 reel)) (1977) · newspaper
  10. Betty Amburn and Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell (The Avon Park Sun), Leoma Maxwell Helps To Organize City's History (Avon Park Historical Society Newspaper Archive (1979-10-11 reel)) (1978) · newspaper
  11. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (documents/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976) · book
  12. Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Florida Division of Corporations Filing: THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AVON PARK, INC. (Document No. 758915) (1981) · archival

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