VOLUSIA COUNTY’S HISTORIC COURT HOUSE Volusia County was created by an act of the Florida...
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Transcript of VOLUSIA COUNTY’S HISTORIC COURT HOUSE Volusia County was created by an act of the Florida...
VOLUSIA COUNTY’SHISTORIC
COURT HOUSE
Volusia County was created by an act of the Florida Legislature in December 1854...
…to date four courthouses have served the county...
…and the fifth Volusia County Courthouse is currently in use.
The town of Enterprise served as the Volusia
County seat from
1854-1888...
Second Courthouse in Enterprise
circa 1880
…at the time Enterprise was a thriving steamship
port and tourist destination on the St. Johns River.
Vote CountVote CountDeLand: 1,003
Enterprise: 439
Lake Helen 251
DeLeon Springs: 84
Orange City 80
Daytona 3
Port Orange 2
New Smyrna 1
Ormond 1
The county seat was moved to DeLand in 1888 after the town received the most votes in a countywide referendum held that year..
One advantage that the City of DeLand
had over other communities was the
pledge from
John B. Stetson and Henry A. DeLand to
donate land and money for
construction of a courthouse...
First courthouse in DeLand
In 1925 work began on the design of a new courthouse. W. D.
Harper & Co. of Daytona Beach was selected as the
project architect and Arthur Meyers of Fort Pierce as the project engineer. They were
directed to build “a state-of-the-art facility with all modern conveniences…”
Public architecture from this era was typically designed in a grand manner using architectural
traditions of classical origin.
Many elements of the courthouse reflect this rich
architectural heritage.
Art glass dome in the rotunda.
View from new courthouse site.
Insert photo
Interior Corinthian terra cotta columns, two
stories in height, supporting vaulted arches in rotunda.
Exterior fluted Corinthian columns
supporting the elaborate terra cotta
entablature and balustrade.
The copper-clad dome and belfry house the
stain glass dome, the mechanism for the 4 clock faces and the 4 cast bronze bells.
Early 20th Century Hand-colored
Postcard of the Historic Courthouse
After considerable delays in
construction, the building was dedicated on
November 18, 1929 with much fanfare
including a barbecue, musical
performances, circus acts and a grand
floral display in the rotunda. Over 3,000
Volusia citizens were in attendance.
• A four-phase restoration of the historic courthouse was started in 1994 and will be completed this year
• Funding is provided through a partnership between the County of Volusia and Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources with assistance from the Florida Historic Preservation Advisory Council.
Historic Courthouse Restoration
Using a “top down” approach to restoration, the first phase included extensive repair of the copper dome, turret, clock faces and clock
mechanism.
Phase I
Historic Courthouse Restoration
Phase II
Restoration of the north façade involved removal of concrete stucco from original brick and terra cotta surfaces, repair and reinstallation of the
original light fixtures and replacement of deteriorated metal
windows.
Historic Courthouse Restoration
Phase III
Exterior restoration began during 2000
and included removal of the stucco coating on the west side and complete restoration of the south facade.
Historic Courthouse Restoration
Phase IV
Also during the year 2000 design work began and a funding strategy
was developed for restoration of the
building’s interior.
The Historic Court House contains 60,323 square feet which encompasses four floors...
First Floor: 19,181 sq.ft.
Second Floor: 17,600 sq. ft.
Third Floor: 4,295 sq. ft.
Basement: 19,247 sq. ft.
VOLUSIA COUNTY’SHISTORIC
COURT HOUSE