05/29/2026
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐โ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐ It began with one woman, usually Mrs. HELEN FREEMAN, reading aloud from a book she brought while her friends sewed and mended useful items for the poor. Then other group members began bringing books to loan to each other. In 1879, as the number of books grew, the first Orange City library was created in a room at the DeYarman Hotel. The Orange City Library Association became official June 5, 1880, with the adoption of a constitution and bylaws. The first president was A.L. WELLMAN, a Volusia County representative to the State Constitutional Convention.
The book collection moved several timesโfrom Mr. Wellmanโs store to Dr. P.W. Hillโs office to Dr. H.S. Allenโs storeโbefore the Association, in 1887, purchased a small building on Holly and Lemon (now Cherokee) from Dr. L.P. Hammond. In 1892, Miss Mary Stillman gave the Association a lot on the west side of Holly Avenue near University; books and buildings were moved; and the first library had a permanent home.
SOURCE: Our Story of Orange City, Florida, 4th Edition, Orange City Village Improvement Assn., pp. 114-5. The photo of the Orange City Literary Society, the forerunner of the Library Association, is from the Dreggors Collection in the WVHS historic photo archives.
