110 W. New York Ave.
DeLand, FL 32720
386-734-4622
BEACON PHOTO/PAT ANDREWS
Sad days — This photo, taken in February 2009, shows the packinghouse's deterioration over the years.
PHOTO COURTESY RENEE TALLEVAST
Glory days — This photo shows the active Bob White Packing House in DeLeon Springs during the 1920s.
New owner says he will save landmark
By Pat Andrews
posted Aug 22, 2012 - 7:44:39am
The derelict Bob White Packing House in DeLeon Springs, a busy hub of activity in the early 20th century, may gain new life with a new owner.
Steve Strickland of Oviedo is purchasing the 13-acre property that includes the historic but deteriorating packinghouse. Strickland, who's in the hay and feed business, wants to put a feed store on the front on the property, which sits along U.S. Highway 17 at Lake Winona Road.
Strickland, for whom antiques are a passion, said of the property and its buildings, "I'm going to try and clean it up."
The packinghouse is in bad shape, he acknowledged, but Strickland wants to "save everything," he said.
The real-estate closing is set for Thursday, Aug. 30.
Strickland is paying $50,000 for the property, he said. He had been looking at the property for a couple of years, and recently made the offer.
In February 2009, River of Lakes Heritage Corridor tourism officials tried to purchase the property to preserve and use the packinghouse, perhaps as a museum. At that time, the price was $175,000, too much for the group to raise.
The property, owned by father John Strawn and then, son Mark Strawn, has been sitting unused for many years.
The packinghouse began processing oranges under the "Bob White" label in 1882, when Theodore Strawn built the original packinghouse and ran a prosperous business. A fire destroyed the original building, and Theodore Strawn built the current structure, designed to be fireproof, in 1921.
Back-to-back freezes in the early 1980s killed most citrus groves in West Volusia, and put an end to packing operations.
The Strawn Packinghouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 13, 1993, along with an adjoining sawmill which has since been sold.
The Strawns applied to Volusia County in 2006 and 2008 for permission to demolish the historic packinghouse, but failed to get approval. Strawn lawyer Alex Ford said then that the packinghouse would cost millions to restore, and was impossible to insure.
Vandalism and arson have plagued the property. A case of arson destroyed one of the smaller buildings in December 2009, but firefighters doused the flames before they could spread to the main building. It was one of several fires to plague the property.
Mark Shuttleworth, owner of Florida Victorian Architectural Antiques in DeLand, numbers Strickland among his clients. Shuttleworth sees the packinghouse as worth the effort. He noted its huge wall of textured glass that gives the interior "an incredible north light."
"I want him to save the building," Shuttleworth said. He's willing to work with Strickland on historic preservation.
Perhaps the building could be leased, Shuttleworth suggested.
All that remains to be worked out.
First, Strickland will have to complete the property's purchase, and he wants to get the retail store designed, permitted by the county, and built.
Strickland has been operating his "Hay Baby" hay and feed business out of Lake County, marketing it at locations in DeLeon Springs, Altoona and Mount Dora on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. He wants to establish a permanent feed store in DeLeon Springs.
Strickland is also in the market for a historic home in the DeLand area.
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Then, later that year, while my brother was a Firefighter for the Volunteers at Station 41 in DeLeon Springs, they got a call out there for a structure fire. it was the storage "building" for all the wood formerly used to make the boxes...the fire was so hot, it melted my brother's face mask as well as the right front fender of R-41.
I have a lot of happy memories of DeLeon Springs, and I hope that when my son is older, I can take him to the packing house and see what I saw when I was a boy and show him how our area used to prosper by producing and farming. A dying art to be sure.
Andy Ferrari,
2. Appears the Strawn family is not very well connected and that they have not been kissing the rear ends of the local politicians. If they would have only supported a few more campaigns $$$ maybe they would have gotten their permits to destroy those buildings. Look at what Stetson got approved to destroy. I know there is a difference in that the Stover Theater was a City of DeLand issue and the Strawn's issue was with the County. But you will find that the County's and the City's politicians are peas in the same pod.
I really hate to think that there is corruption and favoritism in Volusia County. However, from all that I have seen it is impossible for me to be in denial. If you ever think that you are going to have to ask the County Council for special permission to do something, now it the time to start kissing up ###.
Fastback flashback:
Carol & June Strawn were our baby sitters during summer and Christmas vacations and they would take us there on occasion so we got to see the packing and sawmill operations in full swing and it was a sight to behold.
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