All posts by Sandy History Lady

“Just One Place for a Harbor”

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The local dream for a huge deep water port within the St. Lucie Inlet has been the subject of previous blogs. Harry Lyons, the father of beloved longtime Stuart News editor, Ernie Lyons, has also been the subject of a blog; as has the Florida Photographic Concern. This blog ties all three together is a surprising way.

Harry Lyons dedicated his harbor song to Stuart, Florida because it was where his health was restored after he worked himself to exhaustion in real estate sales on Chicago’s North Shore.

Fifteen years ago, Juanita Brown Fisher and her husband Jack bought a box of old sheet music at Palm City Auction. “Just One Place for a Harbor” published in 1924 was in the box. The words were written by Harry Lyons and the music was composed by Harry’s brother-in-law Chancellor L. Jenks.

When I saw it, I could not believe my eyes. Juanita has a lovely voice and sang in her church choir. I twisted her arm and had her sing the song acapella for a September 9, 2009 Stuart Heritage program. Juanita has never completely forgiven me but she made herself my friend forever. I have had scanned copies of the sheet music in my computer ever since the program.

Those who know music say this song is “a challenge.”

Ernie Lyons’ sister, Isabel Williams, allowed me to make copies of her family photographs. Among them were photographs of Chancellor Jenks at the piano where he composed the harbor song. Harry Lyons wrote on the photograph saying so.

Harry Lyons wrote” Where music for my Stuart Song was composed in 1924. Chancellor sang for my phonograph records of my song.”

The Jenks home was in the affluent community of Kenilworth near Chicago where Harry Lyons’ success in real estate sales inspired his grand plans for Martin County.

Harry Lyons mentioned phonograph records. His daughter, Isabel, and newspaper articles told of Florida Photographic Concern movies showing what new Martin County had to offer. Although no phonograph records or moving pictures films have survived., Florida Photographic Concern prints continue to be discovered and shared.

This photograph of the proposed harbor site recently came to light through the generosity of Bette “Tootsie” Kindberg.

The Ironic Legacy of the Pelican Hotel

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This vintage postcard shows the Pelican Hotel as it looked in the 1920s.

The former Pelican Hotel stands today as the firm law firm of Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary. Its history can be told from many angles, some of them charming, but those will be covered subsequently. The era of the hotel’s management by the King family is a heartwarming one.

 I started to write this blog about Governor John Martin’s involvement in hotel’s coming into existence. The birth of Martin County is filled with what is called “conflicts of interests” today.

Governor Martin was on the board of the Griner Company that managed a chain of hotels. An agreement was signed on January 21, 1926 between the Pelican Hotel Co., with John E. Taylor as President and Gerald J. O’Reilly as Secretary and Charles B. Griner as President of the Griner Hotels, Inc. committing Griner Hotels, Inc. to operate the Pelican Hotel.

The Pelican Hotel was financed by W. I. Shuman’s Southland Bond and Mortgage Company. John E. Taylor was the mayor of Stuart. Gerald J. O’ Reilly was the architect of the Pelican Hotel as well as other buildings financed by W. I. Shuman. Taylor, O’Reilly and Shuman were all members of the County Division Committee.

This amazing photograph of the Pelican Hotel under construction was dropped off anonymously at the Stuart Heritage Museum.

The Pelican Hotel was opened just in time for the huge Martin County Birthday Parade. Governor and Mrs. Martin were the first guests to arrive. The Griner organization put on an elaborate reception, banquet, and dance at the Pelican Hotel on January 29, 1926.

Lottie Martin sits beside her husband Florida Governor John W. Martin. (Florida State Archives)

Previous blogs showed the cars, floats, bands and children passing by the reviewing stand at the Pelican Hotel.

I was shocked when I found the following article that was published in The Stuart News on March 26, 1926.

Page one of The Stuart News, March 26, 1926. ( Newspapers.com)

I am afraid my admiration for our county’s founders took a dive.

The twists of fate amaze me.

After the Pelican Hotel was no longer a hotel he was converted to an office building. It was acquired by Willie E. Gary in 1986, remodeled and furnished with elaborate custom-made mahogany furniture.

Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary, LLC. Attorneys at Law. Photo taken September 15, 2024..
Willie E. Gary (Internet)

Willie E. Gary is an American lawyer. Gary and his wife Gloria established Martin County’s first Black law firm at the age of 27, presently known as, Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson, Gary & Gillespie, P.L.L.C. Gary was portrayed by actor Jamie Foxx in the 2023 film The Burial. Wikipedia

Such a Crowd!

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Governor Martin and other dignitaries spoke from a platform on what was referred to as the “Yacht Club Grounds.” This would be today’s Flagler Park. The number of people clustered around the platform is quite remarkable considering the small population of in the new County of Martin. (The 1930 US Census Report listed 5111 total population.)

Governor John W. Martin, top hat in hand, addresses the multitudes.

They yacht club referred to was the St. Lucie River Yacht Club, the subject of an earlier blog. Stanley Kitching, the Commodore, hosted a luncheon honoring Governor Martin and his party in the yacht club following the speeches.

St. Lucie River Yacht Club was destroyed in the 1928 hurricane that drowned over two thousand people south of Lake Okeechobee.

At the bottom of this 1925 aerial photograph are: the Riverview Apartments, still standing but now vacant; the Coventry Hotel and Apartments, now flourishing as the Old Colorado Inn; the Platt/Porter House also known as the “Owl House” that is now also part of the Old Colorado Inn vacation rentals. It is easy to pick out the Post Office Arcade with the black roof that goes from Osceola to Seminole Street. It was newly built when the photograph was made.

Glorious Celebration for Martin County

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The huge “Birthday Celebration” for Martin County was held on January 28 and 29, 1926. As mentioned previously, it was basically orchestrated Harry Lyons  and Major W. I. Shuman.

Governor John W. Martin, in top hat, welcomes famed Palm Beach architect, Addison Mizner to Stuart during the January 1926 birthday celebration. William G. “Fingy” Conners, developer and builder of the Conners Highway below Lake Okeechobee, looks on.  Josephine A. Paradise

After their arrival in Stuart, Gov. and Mrs. Martin checked into the newly built Pelican Hotel. They were the hotel’s first guests.  They rested before settling on a parade viewing stand at eleven o’clock

Gov. and Mrs. Martin viewed the Martin County Birthday Parade from this vantage point as school children passed by.

The Martins must have been exhausted after watching a two hour long parade with over 700 decorated automobiles, numerous bands and 500 school children.

This photograph of the school children dressed to represent pioneer families was used on an invitation for a “Old Home Week” at the Elliott Museum in September 2007.
This section cropped from the previous photograph shows, Virginia Dyer, in the dark hat and Isabelle Lyons with the kerchief.

Isabelle Lyons was the daughter of parade organizer Harry Lyons and the sister of beloved Stuart News editor Ernie Lyons. Virginia Dyer, was the daughter of Stuart pioneers Flora and Harry Dyer and the granddaughter Russell and Margaret Frazier for whom Frazier Creek is named.

Sandy Thurlow and Pam Fogt “Old Home Week ” organizers, flank Isabelle Lyons Williams.
Jeanne Brock Mills speaks with her mother Virginia Dyer Brock during “Old Home Week.”

One of the most significant parade photographs shows the Lyric Theatre under construction.

The number in the left hand corner identifies this photograph as the work of the Florida Photographic Concern. The images was shared by Ginger Baldwin early director the restored Lyric Theatre.

The Creation of Martin County

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The photograph of local boosters, wives and political figures witnessing the signing of the bill creating Martin County on May 30, 1925, preserves an important moment.

Group witnessing Governor John W. Martin signing bill that created Martin County Florida.
Left to right seated: John E. Taylor, Mrs. W. I. Shuman, Mrs. Martin and Governor Martin, Mrs. A. W. Young, Senators T.  J. Campbell and  J. W. Watson. Standing: T. H. Getzen, Representative S. W. Getzen, W. B. Tilton, Major W. I. Shuman, Stuart Mayor Stanley Kitching, J. B. McDonald, Dr. Fons A. Hathaway and A. W. Young. Ashley Family Collection

I wondered about the ages of the men who went to Tallahassee to lobby for a new county, so I looked up their birth dates and did the arithmetic.

Portrait of John E. Taylor, Mayor of Stuart, President of the Seminole Bank, Representative in Florida Legislature.
John Taylor at the age of 33 in 1925.
Stanley Kitching longtime Chairman of the Florida Inland Navigation District.
Stanley Kitching was 51 years old in 1925.
Portrait of Jackson Beauregard McDonald, first Mayor of Stuart Florida.
Jackson McDonald was 63 years old in 1925.
Warner Belknap Tilton portrait. Founder of AA in Martin County Florida
Warner Tilton was 29 years old in 1925.
Thomas Hart Getzen portrait.
Thompson Hart Getzen was 34 years old in 1925.

Warner Tilton, at 29 years old, was the youngest of the group. His father-in-law, R. R. Ricco who had big plans for a new county, died unexpectedly and chose Warner to represent his interests. Of the five men from the St. Lucie River region, three were related. Jackson McDonald was the step father of John Taylor and Stanley Kitching was the uncle of John Taylor’s wife.

As I contemplated the men who undertook the creation of a new county, I realized that there was only one attorney in our group, Thompson Hart Getzen. In my mind, it seems likely that having his brother in the legislature must have been a great advantage to the local leaders who wanted a new county. Then, I thought about my husband, Tom Thurlow’s little book The Early Lawyers of Martin County.

Information about Thomas Hart Getzen.
Cover of The Early Lawyers of Martin County by Thomas H. Thurlow Jr published in 2011. Former Stuart School modified to Martin County Courthouse.e

Deanna Thurlow designed and supervised the printing of The Early Lawyers of Martin County for her father-in-law. It gives me much satisfaction to have Tom’s research contribute to my blog. Florence Getzen Boushall, Thompson Hart Getzen’s daughter, provided Tom with images and information..

Deanna Thurlow shows her father-in-law the proof of his lawyer book in June 2011.

Martin County Promotion by Harry Lyons and Major Shuman

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In an earlier blog about the South Florida Developer, I credited Martin County’s creation to Edwin Menninger. My history colleague, Rick Crary, has educated me about the impact Major Shuman, a new man on the scene in the early 1920s, had getting Governor Martin to support the creation of a new county and financing the building boom associated with Martin County’s creation.

This photograph of Major William Irvin Shuman was cropped from a group photo of local men with Governor John W. Martin in Tallahassee . (Courtesy Ashley Family)

Major William Erving Shuman’s Southland Bond & Mortgage Company financed numerous local building projects.

The Post Office Arcade on Osceola Street was financed by Southland Bond & Mortgage Company.
This photograph of Harry Lyons as he looked in 1925 was recently shared by his grandson William Lyons.

Harry Lyons featured in my last blog was certainly in the thick of things. With all of the Lyons generated publicity for Stuart Shores, the big development on land on either side of the Welcome Arch, I began to suspect he was involved it the plans for Stuart Shores. Research, using newspapers.com, proved this to be so.

Harry Lyons and Major Shuman were quite a team when they focused their energies into planning a two day event celebrating Martin County’s creation. Dignitaries were invited, bands played, a lavish dinner was held, and a parade, the likes of which was never been matched in Martin County, took place.

Stuart Shores, the planned subdivision that would have surrounded the Welcome Arch, won the prize for best decorated open car.

Behind the scenes of Stuart’s Welcome Arch

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There was a great deal going on behind the scenes when the Stuart Welcome Arch was built in 1926 with great haste. The real estate boom that caused the creation of Martin County also caused local communities to puff up their egos, incorporate and expand their boundaries.

Map of expanded limits of incorporated cities of Stuart, Jensen and Palm City published the the South Florida Developer on January 18, 1926.
Jensen ( the Beach was not added until 1943) was and is on the Welcome Arch as you head northeast.

During the boom, the boundaries of the incorporated cities of Stuart and Jensen met each other as shown on the “Three Cities Map.”

The Welcome Arch was not completed in time for the huge Martin County Birthday Festival that took place on January 28 and 29 1926.

The Three Cities Map was printed in the South Florida Developer as part of an advertisement for St. Lucie Estates. Some of the men who were developing St. Lucie Estates were also the men who pursued the creation of Martin County and were promoting the establishment of a deep water commercial port.

Many advertisements for St. Lucie Estates were published in both the Stuart News and the South Florida Developer. This one was published in the Stuart News on July 30, 1925. The Osceola Block still stands on the northwest corner of Osceola and St. Lucie Avenues.

Lyons. Atkins & Innes were exclusive sales agents for St. Lucie Estates, subdivided in phases in differed numbered sections on what was once the pineapple fields of Stuart pioneer Carroll Duncombe. The Lyons in the name was Harry Lyons, the father of beloved Stuart News editor Ernest F. Lyons.

Harry Lyons, a self-educated former journeyman printer turned real estate salesman, was constantly submitting articles, letters and advertisements to newspapers. He promoted the formation of Martin County as well as the building of the Welcome Arch. He knew it paid to advertise and worked closely with Edwin A. Menninger..

This tabloid size booklet is a time capsule of Martin County’s creation.

Harry Lyons worked with Edwin Menninger owner of the South Florida Developer to publish a tabloid size booklet memorializing the celebration.https//www.martindigitalhistory.org

A copy of the booklet has been preserved and can be viewed on Martin Digital History. You can find it by entering “birthday” to search items.

Atlantic Gateway to the Gulf of Mexico

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Early color postcard of the Stuart Welcome Arch

“Stuart, Atlantic Gateway to the Gulf of Mexico.” How is this so? The first water from Lake Okeechobee came into the South Fork of the St. Lucie River on June 13, 1923. The Caloosahatchee, already partially channelized, led to Ft. Myers. Hence there was a cross-state waterway to the Gulf of Mexico. The men who promoted the formation of Martin County thought this gave our region great advantages. Products from the interior of the state could be brought to the coast inexpensively by water. Pleasure yachts could and would use the canal.

Local boosters considered the cross-state canal, our “Atlantic Gateway to the Gulf of Mexico,” would give us the upper hand when we appealed to Congress for federal money to improve the St. Lucie Inlet and establish a deep water port for ocean going vessels.

They say “be careful what you wish for.” Martin County’s greatest blessings are the result of unfulfilled dreams. Luckily, we did not always get what we wished for. We DID NOT get a deep water port. However, we wished for the St. Lucie Canal that connects with the Caloosahatchee and leads to the Gulf of Mexico and we GOT IT. We have had to deal with its consequences. The Stuart Welcome Arch is a monument to the Florida Real Estate Boom that brought Martin County into being. It has been preserved and put on the National Register.

Martin County Commissioner Doug Smith and volunteer Julie Preast pose with the Stuart Welcome Arch historical marker during its installation celebration on August 27, 2004.
Martin County Commissioner Doug Smith and volunteer Julie Preast pose with the Stuart Welcome Arch historical marker during its installation celebration on August 27, 2004.
The restored Stuart Atlantic Gateway to the Gulf of Mexico arch was dedicated on November 21, 2006.
The restored Stuart Atlantic Gateway to the Gulf of Mexico arch was dedicated on November 21, 2006.

The restoration of the arch and getting it placed on the National Register seemed like an impossible undertaking. We should have known not to underestimate the determination of Commissioner Doug Smith and super volunteer Julie Preast.

Stuart Welcome Arch Official State Historic Marker

Here is a link for a Martin County website for the Stuart Welcome Arch.
Click here.

Today is the Birthday of Martin County

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Today, August 5, 2024 is the 99th Birthday of Martin County. It is my birthday too.

I am not quite as old as Martin County. The county was just a young teenager when I was born.

Governor John Martin

Governor Martin was born just a few miles south of Gainesville, my hometown.

My plan is to post tidbits of Martin County history during the year before Martin County’s 100th Birthday.

Serendipity is My Favorite Word

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Just as Heidi Rich had almost finished designing and assembling A Pictorial History of Palm City Florida, serendipity came into play.

Josh Liller, Historian and Collections Manager of the Jupiter Lighthouse and Museum, is a Martin County boy and Martin County High Schools graduate.
http://Jupiter Lighthouse and Museum

Daughter, Jacqui Thurlow Lippisch, and I attended a meeting of Southeast Florida Archaeological Society at the Hobe Sound Library on January 13, 2024.  Josh Liller, the Historian and Collections Manager of the Jupiter Lighthouse and Museum, sat next to us. We talked about our Palm City book project. The following Monday morning I received an email from Josh alerting me to early photos of Palm City being sold on eBay.http://Southeast Florida Archaeological Society

This is what was posted on eBay.

I was amazed when I checked them out. They were the work of Florida Photographic Concern, the main subject of my previous blog posts.

The photographs were found in a flea market near Detroit, Michigan by John Monaghan. They were in a booth selling records where John noticed a stack of photographs for sale. Some of them were identified as Palm City in 1912 and 1913.

Josh Liller’s computer is set up to notify him when something pertaining to Palm Beach history is for sale on eBay. There was one photograph of the Royal Poinciana Hotel in the batch.  He already had the Royal Poinciana photograph but he knew Jacqui and I would be interested in the Palm City photographs. We certainly were.

Sam Matthew, the builder of many structures in what became Martin County came to Florida to work on this hotel.
The Palm Beach County School was constructed “way out of town” when William Dyer, who left the St. Lucie River Region for West Palm Beach, was Chairman of the School Board.

When I contacted John Monaghan,  he said that he had just picked out what he thought were the most interesting photographs and he would see if the rest of the photographs were still there when the flea market opened again on the following Sunday.

The photographs were still there and he let me purchase them for what he thought was a fair price. There were 35 photographs in all and I was delighted to obtain them.

The Stuart School was built of blocks crafted by pioneer Frank Frazier. In 1925, the former school became the Martin County Courthouse..



I am going to share only one of the Palm City photographs
and take this opportunity to share ones that will not be published in A
Pictorial History of Palm City.