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A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P Q S T V W Z
Choose the first letter of a city name to see its Great Floridians.
Wachula | Wakulla Springs | West Palm Beach | Windermere | Winter Haven | Winter Park
Wachula (Central)
W. Curtis Ezelle was born in 1921 in Hardee County and spent two years at the University of Florida before entering the Army in 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1948, he was elected to the first of 12 terms (nearly 48 years) as Hardee County Tax Collector. His community service included membership in the Masonic Lodge and Kiwanis Club, which sponsored the Hardee High School Key Club, in which he took a special interest. He was active in the National Association of Counties and was president of state and national organizations for county tax collectors and financial advisors. W. Curtis Ezelle died in 1996. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Hardee County Courthouse Annex, U.S. Highway 17 and Oak Avenue, Wachula.
Wakulla Springs (North Central)
Edward Ball was born in 1888 Northumberland County, Virginia, and came to Florida in the 1920s after being asked by his brother-in-law, Alfred I. duPont, to assist with his Florida business interests. Ball tripled duPont’s holdings, investing in real estate and banking. When the State of Florida was having revenue difficulty, Ball prepaid the taxes on the duPont estate in order to assist the state. After duPont’s death in 1935, Ball acquired more than a million acres of Florida land, as well as a major interest in the Florida National Bank, which he used as basis for the Florida National Group, one of the most successful banking ventures in the state. Ball also established the Ed Ball Wildlife Foundation, a perpetual trust with sanctuaries in seven locations across Florida. He bequeathed his estate to the Nemours Foundation established by Alfred duPont, which operates the Nemours Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville. Edward Ball died in 1981. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Wakulla Springs Lodge, Wakulla Springs, south of Tallahassee, where Edward Ball frequently stayed.
West Palm Beach (Southeast)
Edward R. Bradley was born December 12, 1859 in Johnston, Pennsylvania. At the age of 14, he went to Texas to be a rancher. He came to St. Augustine in 1891 and seven years later to Palm Beach. In 1898, he built the Beach Club restaurant, invested in real estate and became wealthy. He donated to St. Mary’s Hospital, St. Edward’s Catholic Church, and the West Palm Beach Public Golf Course. He promoted Palm Beach County with his associates and friends, especially those in Kentucky and New York. He served as president of the Thoroughbred Horse Association of the United States and was known as a preeminent breeder. Edward R. Bradley died in 1946. His Great Floridian plaque is located at E.R. Bradley’s, 104 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach.
Dr. Joseph Wiley Jenkins was born in Summerville, South Carolina in 1901. He studied to become a pharmacist at South Carolina State University. Roberta Robinson Jenkins was studying in Tampa when she met Dr. Jenkins I 1929. The Jenkins moved to West Palm Beach in 1933 and in 1937 they opened the Economical Drug Store, which became a popular gathering place. Their home, built in 1946, gained the admiration of people far and wide for its grandeur and elegance. The house soon became a meeting place for West Palm Beach’s black society. The store operated until 1952. After Dr. Jenkins’ death in 1950, his wife operated the store until 1952. Dr. Jenkins’ Great Floridians 2000 plaque is located at the Historic Jenkins House, 815 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., West Palm Beach.
Marvin U. Mounts was born in 1898. In 1925, he became the first Assistant County Agricultural Agent. In 1929 he was made County Agent in Palm Beach County, a position he held until the 1960s. During his tenure the value of the county’s agriculture grew from $2 million to $120 million and Palm Beach County led the country in the production of corn and green beans. Marvin Mounts formed the first chartered 4-H Club in Florida and during World War II was Chair of the State Farm Labor Committee. He was president of the Florida Extension Workers Association, Florida County Agricultural Agents Association, Florida State Horticultural Society, Audubon Society of the Everglades, Florida Mango Forum and the Rotary Club of West Palm Beach. Mounts Botanical Garden is named for him. Marvin U. Mounts died in 1969. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Mounts Botanical Garden, 531 North Military Trail, West Palm Beach.
Dr. Thomas Rudolph Vickers was born in 1879 in Key West and was educated at Howard University. He arrived in West Palm Beach between 1912 and 1916 to begin his medical practice. He was one of seven African-American pioneer physicians to practice in West Palm Beach. His wife, Alice W. Vickers, was an opera singer and together they were known for their service, leadership, education, culture and successful professional status. During segregation, Dr. Vickers provided medical care at affordable rates to the African-American community. Dr. Thomas Rudolph Vickers died in 1965. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Vickers House, now restored and operated as a Community Resource Center, 811 Palm Lakes Boulevard, West Palm Beach.
Windermere (Central)
Nellie A. Grice, born in 1897 in St. Clair, Michigan, and her husband, James Edwin Grice, came to Windermere by way of Gulfport, Florida in 1923. They operated a grocery store from 1923 to 1925 and purchased the Little Inn, a hotel, in 1925. Jim and Nellie Grice helped incorporate Windermere, February 9, 1925. James Grice served as town clerk from 1930 to 1936 and Nellie Grice occupied the office from 1937 through 1960. Nellie A. Grice died in 1974. Her Great Floridian plaque is located at the Town Office (1916 school), 614 Main Street, Windermere.
Dr. John Howard Johnson was born in 1871 in Springbelt, Ohio and graduated in 1897 from the Cleveland University Medical Department. He was a member of the Wauseon, Ohio Board of Education and a surgeon for the Wabash Railroad Division. In 1910 he visited Florida and Windermere with John Calvin Palmer, also of Ohio. They bought 2,000 acres (240 acres within the town) for $10,000 in 1911. Palmer remained in Windermere to develop the property and Dr. Johnson returned to Ohio where the headquarters of the Windermere Improvement Company remained until 1925. The Johnsons moved to Windermere in 1925 where Dr. Johnson served as mayor in 1935 and 1936. Dr. Johnson and Cal Palmer donated land for four parks in town and for the woman’s club. In 1923 they gave land for the Windermere Union Church. Dr. Johnson died March 22, 1936. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Cal Palmer Memorial Building, 520 Main Street, Windermere.
John Calvin Palmer, born in 1869 in Wauseon, Ohio, and Dr. J.H. Johnson of Ohio, visited Windermere, Florida in 1910. They bought 2,000 acres in and around the town in 1911. Forming the Windermere Improvement Company, Palmer moved to Windermere while Johnson remained in Ohio running their sales office. Palmer was co-founder of the Windermere Club Company that developed and sold land in the town. He was Postmaster from 1911 to 1914, a Trustee of the Gotha-Windermere Special Tax Sub-District from 1918 to 1922 and in 1933 and 1934. He was Chairman of the Orange County School Board Budget Committee in 1933. He helped found the Windermere Citrus Growers Association in 1920, was a member of the Florida Citrus Exchange from 1929 to 1943, and served as director from 1934 to 1943. He donated land for four parks and gave land for the Windermere Union Church. John Calvin Palmer died in 1966. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Windemere Town Hall, 520 Main Street, Windermere.
Winter Haven (Central)
Dick Pope, Sr., born in 1900 in Des Moines, Iowa, was the founder of Cypress Gardens. In the early 1930s he took 16 acres of swampland and created one of the most famous tourist attractions in Florida prior to the arrival of Disney. His publicity stunts enticed visitors to Cypress Gardens from the beginning. In the 1940s and 1950s, the motion pictures "On an Island with You," "East to Love," and "This is Cinerama" were all filmed at Cypress Gardens. The park was used for television commercials and outdoor location shoots including the Mike Douglas Show and the Johnny Carson Show. Called "Mr. Florida," Pope was an incessant promoter and played a role in the establishment of Walt Disney World. Under his direction, Cypress Gardens was at the forefront of the tourist industry that swept Central Florida in the 1970s. Dick Pope Sr. died in 1988. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Pope Museum, Cypress Roots, Cypress Gardens, 2641 South Lake Summit Drive, Winter Haven.
Winter Park (Central)
Loring A. Chase was born in 1839 in Nashua, New Hampshire and went to work in Boston as a bookkeeper. In 1880 his physician advised him to go south to cure his chronic bronchitis. Arriving in what is now Winter Park, he contacted an old friend, Oliver E. Chapman of Canton, Massachusetts. They purchased 600 acres and laid out a new town, naming it Winter Park. From 1881 to 1885 Chase and Chapman advertised Winter Park as a resort for wealthy northerners, opened streets, planted orange trees and built cottages. In 1885 Chapman sold his interest to Chase and incorporated the Winter Park Company. Chase sold his interest in the Winter Park Company to Francis B. Knowles in 1886 and retired. The following year the Town of Winter Park was incorporated. Loring A. Chase died in 1906. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Winter Park City Hall, 401 Park Avenue South, Winter Park.
Jeannette Genius McKean was born in 1909 and attended the Grand Central Art School and Art Students League in New York City. Exhibitions of her paintings were held throughout the world. Her lifelong interest in Rollins College began in 1926 when she studied there for a summer session. She served on the Rollins College Board of Trustees from 1942 to 1975. In 1942 she founded the Morse Gallery on the Rollins campus and created the Charles Hosmer Morse and Elizabeth Morse Genius McKean Foundation to ensure the gallery would grow and operate independently. Thirteen years after she founded the Morse Gallery, she staged an exhibition of the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Her acquisitions established the nucleus of the most comprehensive collection of his work in the world. McKean was President of the Winter Park Land Company which controlled her grandfather’s (Charles Hosmer Morse) Winter Park holdings. Jeannette Genius McKean died in 1989. Her Great Floridian plaque is located at the Morse Block, 122-136 Park Avenue South, Winter Park.
Albin Polasek was born in 1879 in Frenstat, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic) and arrived in America in 1901. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the American Academy of Rome, and was recognized with awards, prizes and scholarships. In 1916 he became the first head of the Department of Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago. Polasek visited friends in Winter Park and decided to purchase property. He became associated with the community’s social, educational and cultural life. Some of his best-known Winter Park sculptures include "Victory of Moral Law," "Ascended Christ," "Man Reaching for the Moon," "The Nativity," and "Emily." More than 400 of his works are displayed in American and European collections with the largest single collection in Winter Park. Albin Polasek died in 1965. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden (Albin Polasek House), 633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park.
A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P Q S T V W Z
Choose the first letter of a city name to see its Great Floridians.