The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Ellis R. West

Ellis Robert West (1877–1957) was an English-born merchant, freight contractor, municipal officer, and private banker who served as the inaugural Town Clerk and Tax Assessor of the incorporated Town of Avon Park following its statutory charter in May 1913.[lof-1913-6662] Together with his father Benjamin Francis West, he operated one of the settlement’s early general mercantile and farm supply enterprises, B. F. West & Son, during the formative decades before the 1920s land boom.[dsc-1905-1915]

Early Life and Pioneer Commercial Career

Ellis Robert West was born in England on 5 May 1877, the son of Benjamin Francis West (1847–1926) and Emma C. West.[fag-west] The family settled in the Lake Wales Ridge area of northern DeSoto County during the 1890s, establishing a general store on Main Street offering feed, hay, fertilizers, groceries, and hardware.[dsc-1905-1915][maxwell-1976]

The firm’s advertisement at the head of the Avon Park page of The De Soto County News in 1905 carried the name of the son beside the father’s: “Established 1895. B. F. West & Son, Feed and Fertilizers, Hay and Grain, General Merchandise. Everything that you want, and at right prices. Avon Park, Florida,” with “B. F. West” and “R. Ellis West” printed above the firm’s name.[dsc-1905-08-18]

B. F. West and Son’s advertisement in The De Soto County News, 18 August 1905

B. F. West & Son’s advertisement, The De Soto County News, 18 August 1905, page 8. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Public domain.[dsc-1905-08-18]

Prior to the construction of a direct railroad connection in 1912, freight movement into Avon Park relied on team transport over unpaved sand trails connecting to railheads at Fort Meade and Bartow. Ellis West managed the firm’s heavy freight team and wagon line until the autumn of 1905, when the team operation was transitioned to contract drivers such as W. H. Daugherty.[dsc-1905-1915]

The West mercantile enterprise subsequently expanded into private banking services, operating as “B. F. West & Co., Bankers” by 1918, providing commercial credit and exchange before the proliferation of national charter banks in the region.[gaz-1918]

Municipal Incorporation and Civic Governance

In 1906, Ellis West joined other early residents in signing the successful petition to establish a special tax school district for Avon Park.[dsc-1905-1915]

When the Florida Legislature chartered the Town of Avon Park under Chapter 6662, Laws of Florida 1913, approved on 23 May 1913, Section 47 named Ellis R. West as the town’s first Clerk and Tax Assessor.[lof-1913-6662] In this capacity, he established the town’s initial property assessment rolls and municipal recordkeeping systems alongside Mayor Herbert Seaverns and Marshal Irvin Raulerson.[lof-1913-6662]

West remained an active civic participant for several decades, serving repeatedly as an election inspector for the Avon Park precinct in county, state, and national elections.[dsc-1905-1915]

Personal Life and Legacy

In 1913, the year of municipal incorporation, West married Flora Otho Hunt (1888–1983).[fag-west] He died in Sarasota, Florida, on 7 April 1957 at the age of seventy-nine and was interred in Bougainvillea Cemetery in Avon Park alongside his wife and parents.[fag-west]

References

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. Legislature of the State of Florida, Chapter 6662 (No. 242), Laws of Florida 1913, Special Laws, section 47 (1913)
  2. The De Soto County News, Arcadia, Fla., The De Soto County News, 18 August 1905, page 8: B. F. West & Son advertisement on the Avon Park page (1905) · newspaper
  3. The De Soto County News, The De Soto County News (Arcadia, Fla.), 1905–1915: Avon Park correspondence and merchant advertisements (1915)
  4. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976)
  5. Find a Grave contributors, Find a Grave memorial 34658389, Ellis Robert West (5 May 1877 – 7 April 1957), Bougainvillea Cemetery, Avon Park (2026)
  6. R. L. Polk & Co., Florida State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1918, s.v. Avon Park (references/florida-business-directories.md) (1918)

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