The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
Menu
Admin Sign-In

Royal Page Davidson

Colonel Royal Page Davidson (1870–1943) was an American military educator, inventor of early armored military vehicles, and longtime Superintendent of the Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.[nrhp-00000266] During the Florida land boom of the 1920s, Davidson became a major developer in Avon Park, establishing the Pinecrest Golf Club on Lake Lotela and donating the historic 110-foot flagpole to the Mile Long Mall.[nrhp-avon-park-district][nrhp-00000266]

Military Leadership and Technological Innovations

Born in Somerville, New Jersey, Davidson was the son of Colonel Harlan Page Davidson (1838–1913), who founded the Northwestern Military Academy in Highland Park, Illinois in 1888.[nrhp-00000266] The elder Davidson had acquired waterfront acreage on the southeast shore of Lake Lotela near Avon Park around 1890 during the initial promotional era under Oliver M. Crosby.[nrhp-00000266]

Royal Page Davidson graduated from the academy and became an early pioneer in mechanized warfare, designing the Davidson-Duryea gun carriage in 1899 (the first American armored military vehicle) and subsequent semi-armored reconnaissance vehicles using Cadillac chassis. He succeeded his father as academy superintendent, overseeing its relocation to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

The 1922 Armistice Day Flagpole

In 1922, as Avon Park embarked on the civic construction of the landscaped Mile Long Mall along Main Street, Colonel and Mrs. R. P. Davidson presented a 110-foot steel flagpole to the community.[nrhp-avon-park-district]

The flagpole was erected in the median between Butler and Forest Avenues and dedicated during the town’s Armistice Day Carnival on 11 November 1922 in memory of the men and women who served in the First World War.[nrhp-avon-park-district] Anchored in a raised concrete base and topped with a gilded eagle ornament, the flagpole remains one of the central landmarks of the Avon Park Historic District.[nrhp-avon-park-district]

Development of the Pinecrest Golf Club (1924–1926)

Inheriting his family’s Lake Lotela estate in 1924, Davidson launched an ambitious resort subdivision known as Pinecrest Lakes.[nrhp-00000266] In 1925, he commissioned premier golf course architect Donald J. Ross to layout a championship golf course overlooking Lake Lotela.[nrhp-00000266][ross-society-list]

Simultaneously, Davidson retained Pittsburgh architect William J. Heim to design a $50,000 Mediterranean Revival clubhouse, completed for the winter 1926 season.[nrhp-00000266] The two-story clubhouse featured an expansive dining room seating 150, open-air loggias, pro-shop facilities, and private locker suites.[nrhp-00000266] Although the collapse of the land boom following the September 1926 hurricane delayed construction of the associated 100-room hotel wing until 1936, Davidson’s golf course and clubhouse became an enduring destination for winter tourists and tournament play.[nrhp-00000266][maxwell-1976]

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. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Avon Park Historic District (reference 90000486) (references/nrhp-avon-park-historic-district-1990.md) (1990)
  2. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Pinecrest Hotel, Old, Avon Park, Florida (reference 00000266) (2000)
  3. Donald Ross Society and the Tufts Archives, Pinehurst, N.C., Directory of Golf Courses Designed by Donald J. Ross, compiled by the Donald Ross Society and the Tufts Archives, Pinehurst, updated 2022 (2022)
  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)

Something here wrong, or incomplete? The Society would rather know. Tell a volunteer.

Have a question about this record?

← Back to collection

Ask A.P.

Ask the archive

    Try asking:

    0 / 500

    A.P. answers only from the Society's own archive and cites what it used. Questions are not linked to you; search history is stored on your device only (how it works).Ask a volunteer for anything it cannot answer.