Editing DeLand, Florida (section)

==History==

[[File:Bird's eye view of De Land, Fla., Volusia County, 1884 LOC 89692606.tif|thumb|left|Bird's eye view of De Land, 1884]]

DeLand was previously known as "'''Persimmon Hollow'''" for the wild [[American persimmon|persimmon]] trees that grow around the [[spring (hydrosphere)|natural spring]]s, and the area was originally accessible only by [[steamboat]] up the [[St. Johns River]].<ref name=DLHistory>{{Cite web|title=About Us - HISTORY OF DELAND|url=https://www.deland.org/544/About-Us|website=www.deland.org}}</ref>

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.<ref name=DLHistory/>

[[Henry Addison DeLand]], a [[baking soda]] magnate from [[Fairport, New York]], visited there in 1876, and envisioned building a [[citrus]], [[agriculture|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 (state)|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.<ref name=DLHistory/>

In 1877, DeLand built a public school for the town.<ref name="EB1911" /> 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.<ref name="EB1911" /> However, in 1885, a freeze destroyed the [[orange (fruit)|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 [[Grove (nature)|grove]]s, 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 [[Stetson University|John B. Stetson University]] in its patron's honor.<ref name="EB1911"/> In 1900, it founded the [[Stetson University College of Law|first law school in Florida]] (which relocated to [[Gulfport, Florida|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]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roberts|first1=L. Thomas|author2=West Volusia Historical Society|title=DeLand|date=2014|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|location=Charleston, South Carolina|isbn=978-1467111652|page=8}}</ref> 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.

The city seal was briefly the object of a controversy in 2013, when the national group [[Americans United for Separation of Church and State]] sent the city a letter in which they argued that the seal unconstitutionally promotes Christianity, thus allegedly breaching the [[Establishment clause|First Amendment Establishment Clause]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=DeFeo|first1=Anthony|title=DeLand opts to defend its 131-year-old city seal; Americans United weighs options|url=http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20130911/deland-opts-to-defend-its-131-year-old-city-seal-americans-united-weighs-options|access-date=30 July 2017|publisher=The Daytona Beach News Journal|date=11 September 2013|language=en|archive-date=1 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801001035/http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20130911/deland-opts-to-defend-its-131-year-old-city-seal-americans-united-weighs-options|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Florida city fights to keep 131-year-old seal at center of church-state dispute|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-city-fights-to-keep-131-year-old-seal-at-center-of-church-state-dispute/|access-date=30 July 2017|publisher=Fox News|date=26 September 2013|archive-date=1 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801002144/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/26/florida-city-fights-to-keep-131-year-old-seal-at-center-church-state-dispute.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The controversy faded after the city refused to change the seal.<ref>{{cite news|title=D.C. group: Thou shalt not read the Bible at city meetings|url=https://www.beacononlinenews.com/articles/2017/07/12/dc-group-thou-shalt-not-read-bible-city-meetings|access-date=31 July 2017|publisher=The West Volusia Beacon|date=July 12, 2017|archive-date=31 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731232631/https://www.beacononlinenews.com/articles/2017/07/12/dc-group-thou-shalt-not-read-bible-city-meetings|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the 1920s [[Florida Land Boom]], fine examples of [[stucco]] [[Mediterranean Revival architecture]] by native architect [[Medwin Peek]] and others were constructed in DeLand. Many of these buildings have been handsomely restored, including the restored Athens Theatre.

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.