The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1910-06-03
Crescent CITY News
THE PRIZE ESSAY
ON CRESCENT CITY

1.-THE Bank of Crescent City offered a
prize of Five Dollars in gold to the high
school pupil writing the best essay on
Crescent City. The judges, Mesdames
Frank Buck, w. C. Norton and E. H.
Williams, knew the essays only by num-
Der. There were eight in all. The fol.
lowing paper, written by Miss Mary
Alice Eaton, was awarded the prize]:
Crescent City is one of Florida's most
beautiful small towns, made beautiful
not by man and his works, but by God
and Nature. II is situated between two
beautiful lakes. Lake Crescent, on the
East, is about twenty miles long and four
miles wide; on the West is Lake Stella,
DER which one catches glimpse of the
most beautiful sunsets.
Imagine this little place many years
ago, before the coming of Ponce de
Leon, with the red man roaming through
the cool woods, padding his canoe on
the wild deer and turkey. Some of
Crescent City's most striking features
are its grand old oaks, with their waving
gray moss and spreading branches
some are said to be forty years old; the
orange trees first, with their fair and fra
grant blossoms, and then the luscious,
golden fruit; the tall, stately pine, and
also the many different kinds of flowers
and shrubs, lend great attraction to
this little town.
In the winter of 1874 and 1875, a gen.
tleman who was visiting family relative
out on the high pine land few miles
east of Welaka, by chance heard of the
''big field" on Dunn's Lake; he made
trip TO Dunn's Lake and was so pleased
with the location that he set about TO
acquire the title to this "big field" A
few years previous several families some
from Alabama, some from North Caro-
lima, others from northern portions OF
Florida, and perhaps one or more from
Mississippi, had settled on part of the
'big field" but became respondent and
discouraged and went away, so that the
spring of 1872 found the big field"
without occupants save our Major ]. l..
Burton and Dr. Harrison in the southern
portion of the "big field" and Mr.. Jesse
Neal, father of our townsman, S. E.
Neal, who lived near where Mr. Harry
Campbell now resides, and Rev. t. N.
Gautier and family, who lived a short
distance east of the present site of the
old Gautier homestead.
Some of those who moved away left
debts behind them; others left their land
TO sell for taxes, SO that the undertaking
of acquiring titles to the "big field'' was
no small Job, but the gentlemn, who
was MIR. Charles r. Griffing, of New
York, called to his assistance such legal
help as he could and pushed on, remov-
ing such obstacles as he was able and
surmounting others, until the winter of
1875 and 1876, when the "big field" died
out and our present beautiful Crescent
City was ushered into existence
Dunn's Lake now became Lake Cres-
cent. and where the weeds and grass
had long held SWAY was now fast be.
coming inhabited by man.
A steamboat was bought and put into
commission TO run from Jacksonville to
Crescent CITY. The first boat was the
Euphemia. This boat brought provis-
ions, lumber, hardware, settlers, mules,
and other freights, but there was no
wharf on which to land them. The
mules were thrown overheard and al
lowed TO swim ashore, while two plankS,
placed side by side, formed runway to
shore DER which light freights and peo-
ple could pass
A Mr. Kingsbery was the first settler in
Crescent CITY; he set up tent and lived
in this until MAY, 1876. He soon began
The erection of the first wharf and ware
house. but to Mr.. Thomas Capwell is
due the credit and honor of erecting the
first house in Crescent City, now the
residence of our present mayor and presi-
dent of the Bank of Crescent City. Mr..
| Capwell brought his wife and daughter
here as soon as his house was finished.
Most of the settlers during the first
season were bachelors, or men who left
their families behind until shelter and
comfort could be had for them. Rude
structures. such as were called "shacks,"
wore hastily built. A sawmill was put in
to commission on Lake Crescent, the
nine forests were invaded and houses
built The Capwell house first, then
The Phillips house, then a part of what
has been added TO. enlarged and now
called Southfield Hotel; then the resi-
dence Of Rev. C. s. Williams, and then
the EDiscopal church, and in this way
one house after another was built and
occunied But Crescent CITY had some
hacksets. for the C. R. Griffing Co. was
not a rich one, They soon needed more
money than thew could get, their sales
did not meet with their fond hopes and
thev were soon mortgaging their beauti-
fuI Town lots, so that il was not an easy
matter to induce settlers. And when
some who had bought lots had TO paw
twice for them il gave the place an I'M
Savorv reputation. Several disastrous
fires yisited the place. The Potter House
If one hundred rooms, occupying nearly
or quite ali of the block now occupied
nv small groves, barns and residences of
Cant TaBree. W A Russell. S. e. Neal
and p C. Smith, was DESTROYED by fire.
In 1855 Crescent City shut its door