The first settler in the area was probably Ruben Marsh. He first came to Florida during the Seminole Indian War in 1841, during a scouting party that stopped at a lake area within the modern city limits, and in 1846, when the war ended, Ruben Marsh got married and moved to what is now known as DeLand. He bought a settlers claim, where he built a cabin for his family and started raising livestock.[2]
Henry Addison DeLand, a baking soda magnate from Fairport, New York, visited there in 1876, and envisioned building a citrus, agricultural and tourism center. He sold his northern business and hired people to clear land, lay out streets, erect buildings and recruit settlers, most of whom came from upstate New York (though DeLand never lived in the city year-round). On December 6, 1876, at 2:00 PM, the settlers decided to rename the community from "Persimmon Hollow" to "DeLand", in honor of him founding and helping develop its infrastructure.[2]
In 1877, DeLand built a public school for the town.[6] To enhance the community's stature and culture, and to enhance the value of his local real estate holdings, in 1883 DeLand established DeLand Academy, Florida's first private college.[6] However, in 1885, a freeze destroyed the orange crop. One story has it that DeLand had guaranteed settlers' investments as an inducement to relocate, and so was obligated to buy back their ruined groves, though there is no hard evidence that this took place. As for many other would-be real estate magnates in the area at the time, his Florida investments were nearly worthless after the freeze, and he returned to his home in the North. DeLand entrusted the academy to his friend John B. Stetson, a wealthy hat manufacturer from Philadelphia and one of the institution's founding trustees. In 1889, it was renamed John B. Stetson University in its patron's honor.[6] In 1900, it founded the first law school in Florida (which relocated to Gulfport in 1954). Its various sports teams are called the Hatters.
The community was officially incorporated as the "City of DeLand" in 1882, and became the county seat of Volusia County in 1887. It was the first city in Florida to have electricity.[7] According to city officials, minutes of the first City Commission meeting in 1882 show the city decided to create a seal with the emblems of "Faith, Hope and Charity," namely a cross, an anchor and a heart.
Since 1992, the city has hosted the DeLand Fall Festival of the Arts, a two-day event held annually in the historic downtown area on the weekend before Thanksgiving. As of 2009, the event has an annual attendance of more than 50,000 during the weekend.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.8 square miles (46.1 km2), of which 17.6 square miles (45.6 km2) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.5 km2), or 1.06%, is water.[11] DeLand is drained by the St. Johns River.
On February 2, 2007, DeLand and the surrounding area was the site of a major tornado outbreak.[14] One tornado passed through Deland. It reached a peak intensity of EF-3 (160–165 mph), had a track length of 26 miles, and was responsible for the deaths of 13 people.[15] On August 18, 2020, an EF-2 tornado made landfall in DeLand Around 4 PM EST, and caused an estimated $7.4 million in damages over its 4.6 mile path.[16]
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 37,351 people, 12,675 households, and 7,753 families residing in the city.[20]
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 27,031 people, 10,007 households, and 5,498 families residing in the city.[21]
2000 census
As of 2000, there were 8,375 households, out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.92.
In 2000, in the city the population was spread out, with 20.7% under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.8 males.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $28,712, and the median income for a family was $35,329. Males had a median income of $26,389 versus $20,114 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,936. About 14.2% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.
Old Volusia County Courthouse DeLand
Historic districts
Athens Theater, built in 1921New York Avenue in 1905DeLand Hall, built in 1884
Downtown DeLand's main street, Woodland Boulevard, has a number of notable 19th-century buildings. It is officially known as Downtown DeLand Historic District.
The Garden District is a mixed-use neighborhood adjacent to downtown DeLand, which is officially known as Downtown DeLand's Historic Garden District. The neighborhood was originally developed between 1900 and 1920. It fell into a long period of decline after World War II, and by the 1980s, had become blighted.[22]
In 2001, Michael E. Arth [de; es; fr; ja; zh], a California artist, urban designer and filmmaker, bought 27 dilapidated structures, renamed the area the Garden District, and lobbied to create a new historic district. During the following eight years, he restored or rebuilt 32 homes and businesses, which have become the core of a neighborhood revival. The feature-length documentary film New Urban Cowboy: Toward a New Pedestrianism tells the story of DeLand and the Garden District.[23] The film premiered in DeLand in January 2009 at the newly restored Athens Theatre. Previously, the film had appeared in seven film festivals and received the Audience Choice Award at the Real to Reel International Film Festival in 2008.
DeLand hosts all home games for Stetson UniversityHatters athletic teams. The men's and women's basketball teams play at the J. Ollie Edmunds Center, an on-campus arena which opened in 1974 and seats approximately 5,000 spectators.
The Hatters baseball team plays at Melching Field at Conrad Park, a 2,500-seat ballpark located off campus just south of downtown DeLand. Melching Field was built in 1999 and is recognized as one of the finer college baseball venues in the NCAA, having hosted numerous Atlantic Sun Conference championships, the 2018 NCAA Baseball Regionals, and other baseball related tournaments and events. Prior to the opening of Melching Field, the Hatters played at old Conrad Park on the same site, which also hosted spring training games in the 1940s and 1950s and the DeLand Red Hats, a Florida State League minor league franchise.
Adjacent to Melching Field is Spec Martin Stadium, a 6,000-seat football stadium. Spec Martin Stadium hosts DeLand High School Bulldog football and soccer games, and serves as home of the Stetson UniversityHatters football team. Stetson had discontinued its football program in the early 1960s, but reinstated the sport in 2013, when it joined the Pioneer Football League. As part of Stetson's re-entry into college football, Spec Martin Stadium underwent significant renovations, including a new press box, handicapped and premium seating areas, and new locker room facilities.
DeLand has been called the "skydiving capital of the world", with the majority of skydiving industries calling it home.[25] The skydiving industry employs over 500 workers from the DeLand area. This in combination with the tourist end of the industry makes it one of the town's largest supporters and invaluable to the local economy.[26][25]
DeLand has been the filming location for a number of television and movie projects, including the 1999 Adam Sandler comedy The Waterboy. Scenes showing the fictional South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs home football games were shot at Spec Martin Stadium. Classroom and exterior scenes were filmed at Stetson University. Scenes involving Sandler's character's home were actually filmed in neighboring DeBary.
The HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon filmed several scenes on the campus of Stetson University. The 1999 independent film The First of May, starring Mickey Rooney and Joe DiMaggio, was shot on various locations throughout DeLand. Days of Thunder, starring Tom Cruise, was partially filmed in DeLand.
New Urban Cowboy: Toward a New Pedestrianism (2008) was filmed almost entirely in DeLand in 2006 and 2007.[27][28]
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, serves DeLand, operating its Silver Meteor and Silver Star trains daily in both directions between Miami and New York City. Since August 12th, 2024, the station has been the northern terminus of Orlando's SunRail commuter rail system, with service approximately every hour on weekdays only. The line is primarily CSX's Sanford Subdivision. It also contains a spur leading from the station which was built by the Orange Ridge, DeLand and Atlantic Railroad and has received passenger service in the past.
Local transit service is provided by VOTRAN on the #20 and #60 routes.[35]
US 17 / US 92 The major US highways through DeLand are US 17 (hidden SR 15) and 92 (hidden SR 600), which overlap each other from Lake Alfred in Polk County to the northern part of the city. From here, US 92 turns east onto International Speedway Boulevard toward Daytona Beach, while US 17 continues north towards Barberville, Jacksonville, and along the coast of Georgia, the Carolinas and southern Virginia.
SR 44 The main west-to-east state highway in DeLand is Florida State Road 44 which runs along New York Avenue. SR 44 intersects US 17/92 in Downtown DeLand but making turns at the intersection is prohibited. Access between the two road requires taking side roads within the vicinity.
SR 15A is an alternate route of SR 15, one of the two hidden state roads along US 17 and 92. It runs along the west side of the city, and also serves as an undesignated truck bypass for US 17/92, as well as SR 44. North of International Speedway Boulevard (Volusia CR 92) and the city line, it is strictly a truck detour for US 17.
^"The Groundhog Day Tornado Outbreak"(PDF). National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Melbourne, Florida. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. February 17, 2007. Archived(PDF) from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
^Andrade, John M. (1979). U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Leister, UK: Midland Counties Publications. p. 96. ISBN0-904597-22-9.
