252 S. Beach Street, Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386) 255-6976
Open: Tuesday-Saturday 10am - 4pm
$10 per person
Children 12 & under FREE
| | Director's Message
Kristine Franklin | | | |
Spring is bringing new stories to the Halifax Historical Museum as we open our newest rotating exhibit, “Businesses That Built Daytona Beach.” This exhibit highlights the entrepreneurs, family shops, and local enterprises that helped transform our community from a small riverside town into the vibrant city we know today. From early storefronts on Beach Street to businesses that became local landmarks, these stories remind us that the history of Daytona Beach is also the story of the people who built it—one business at a time.
It is especially fitting that this exhibit is housed in a building that was once part of that story. Our museum home originally opened as the Merchants Bank, serving the businesses and residents of Beach Street during the city’s early growth.
As part of the Daytona Beach 150th anniversary, we are also highlighting moments from our city’s past. One April milestone takes us back to April 10, 1913, when the first motorized fire equipment arrived at historic Fire Station No. 1—an important step forward in protecting a rapidly growing community.
We are also excited to continue participating in the First Friday Art Walk on Beach Street. In April, visitors can join a special painting class at the museum—an enjoyable way to experience creativity while surrounded by history.
I am so delighted by the many wonderful volunteer applications we’ve recently received. It’s encouraging to see so many people interested in being part of the museum and helping share the history of our community. As Daytona Beach celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, the enthusiasm of both new and longtime volunteers helps ensure these stories continue to be preserved and shared. I am currently reaching out to applicants and look forward to welcoming several new volunteers in the coming weeks.
As Daytona Beach marks 150 years of history, there’s no better time to explore the stories that built our city and continue to inspire our community today.
See you at the museum!
Kristine
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Volunteer Appreciation Day!
One Volunteer’s Notes
| | | | I attended a party for volunteers on St. Patrick’s Day at the Halifax Historic Museum and came away thinking this place has all the attributes of a good community. The old Merchants Bank was the backdrop for a plethora of green, Irish trinkets, and tasty refreshments. The volunteers ranged from those with years of service to the recently added, like me. There’s no distinction in terms of friendly acceptance. The museum director, board members, and volunteers welcome everyone. They care about the wellbeing of one another. | | |
The volunteers are encouraged to find their own niche among the jobs needing to be done. Being able to choose an area of interest creates a passion for the work. During the party, people began to show one another their projects. This helped us get a view of what goes on behind the scenes. There’s a map room, a clothing area, newspaper articles and letters and photographs. Volunteers help with museum tours, special exhibits, a book group, topical presentations, and a monthly newsletter. There are other areas of importance not mentioned here. The museum staff helps new people make a match.
In a time when many are lonely, our community museum offers connection. It’s the best kind of coming together because we all want to feel useful. History plays a role, because the old bank building and its artifacts draw us in.
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Beach Street & Beyond
By Victoria Bennett
One Hundred Years and Still Counting —
Angell & Phelps Chocolates
| | Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory — currently located at 154 South Beach Street — is a 100-year-old business. Ridell Angell and Cora Phelps started this chocolate store on Mackinac Island, Michigan in 1925. Mackinac Island was a well established Victorian-era resort town reachable only by ferry. In 1925, candy businesses on the island were booming. The women initially brought the Michigan business to Daytona Beach in the winter months and returned to Mackinac Island in the summer. Eventually they moved to Daytona Beach permanently at the start of World War II. | | Riddell Angell and Cora Phelps | |  | | Their first shop here was located across the street from the Halifax River Yacht Club at 332 South Beach Street. The women had to innovate without air-conditioning because the summer climate here was a huge challenge to a chocolate business. They used blocks of ice and large fans to cool things down.
Many of us who grew up in Daytona Beach bought chocolate at this location. I remember a jingling bell as we entered and a sensory experience of wafting chocolate. The children could use what little money they had to buy a chunk of weighed chocolate. Those of us who attended the YWCA Camp nearby went on a field trip every summer to watch chocolates being hand dipped. Edward Reisinger—who bought the business from the women in 1953—was the store’s owner at this time. | | 1927 Christmas Advertisement | | | | Dr. Alvin Smith bought the historic business in 1983 and moved it to the former Dunn Hardware and Toy Store Building in 1994. Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory is still at 154 South Beach Street—only half a mile from its original location and still being run by members of the Smith family.
Children in Daytona loved Dunn Brothers because while your parents shopped for hardware they could run upstairs and play with the most amazing toys. There was a giant stuffed giraffe named Jeffery that children delighted in seeing. Today Jeffery is housed at the Museum and you can visit him there. | | | |
Two remarkable women started a business in their kitchen in 1925 that has lasted one hundred years. Some of their original recipes are still being used, along with a copper kettle and marble slab they brought here from Michigan.
Due to legal restrictions and cultural stigma at the time, female businesses were rare. It would be many decades before things changed. Imagine these brave women starting a business in 1925 and moving to Florida!
Visit Angell & Phelps (www.angellandphelps.com) for a delightful experience. You can buy quality candy and watch it being made in this historic building. The owners cherish the shop’s legacy and have photos of the early days on their walls.
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John Van, the Rhyming Man
Most towns have a quirky resident who earns a reputation for outlandish appearance or personality.
Daytona Beach is no different. John Van, a name believed to have been shortened from Vanvalkenburg gained notoriety in these parts variously by being a notorious pirate or simply a “town character."
In 1944, Charles Nusbaum, a Daytona Beach resident, claimed in an interview with the Daytona Beach News-Journal that Van was a noted pirate who “with his crew of cutthroats captured the cruiser Isidore Cohen just off the east point of the Ponce Inlet.”
After putting the crew overboard in lifeboats, the story said, they “beached the cruiser and carried all the loot into the sand dunes.”
Nusbaum said the man’s entire name was John Vanvalkenburg. Why he was writing about the case 21 years after the man’s death is unknown. He claimed to have the “correct version” of the incident that occurred in the 1880s.
The newspaper story quoted Nusbaum as “the informant” who said Van later came to Daytona Beach, where he lived in a houseboat alone with a dozen or more cats” north of what is now the Tom Staed Memorial Bridge on City Island.
In Daytona Beach, he became what is known as a town character, Mary McLemore, wife of News-Journal columnist Henry McLemore, wrote a column for her husband in 1945 while he was overseas in the Army. She encountered John Van while he distributed handbills. “John would never say a word unless he could make a rhyme out of what he was saying.”
Recalled Mary: “I had very golden hair as a child, and his greeting to me as we used to follow him and tease him as kind-hearted little cherubs would do: ‘Your hair is so bright, it looks a sight.’
John’s death, at 69, was noted in a roundup of the week’s news that appeared Dec. 2, 1923.
“He was a member of the First Baptist Church and to that organization left the savings he had accumulated for many years,” said the story. The sum was not disclosed. It also noted he had no living relatives.
Van was buried in historic Pinewood Cemetery on Main Street. Records from the burial identified him as John D. Vann. The discrepancy in the spelling of his last name was not explained.
This trip back into Daytona Beach history was prompted by the donation of a photo of Vann to the Halifax Historical Society by Michelle Grogan from her mother’s collection. Writing on the back of the photo identifies him as the “town character” whose formal name was John Van Valkenburg, but who was known around town as “John Van Mockingbird.”
| | | Back side of Van’s Photo (above) identifying him as the “Town Character” | | Excerpt from Van’s 1909 response to a derogatory poem about Daytona published in St. Augustine Record | |
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Storefront Stories –
Businesses That Build Daytona Beach
April 1 – June 30, 2026
Step into a downtown rich with heritage and hustle. Storefront Stories explores Daytona Beach’s commercial past through the lens of its most iconic businesses—from Dunn Hardware and Ivey's Department Store, to Angell & Phelps Candy Store, mom-and-pop diners, and the evolving storefronts of Beach Street.
Through historic photographs, artifacts, and personal recollections, the exhibit reveals how these businesses shaped daily life in Daytona Beach. Shoppers browsed bustling department store, neighbors gathered over coffee at local diners, and generations picked up sweet treats at beloved candy counters. Each storefront tells a story not only of commerce, but of community—places where friendships were formed, traditions began, and the character of the city took shape.
From long-time family enterprises to businesses that adapted as the city grew, Storefront Stories traces the evolution of downtown commerce across decades of change. Visitors will discover how these establishments reflected the spirit, resilience, and entrepreneurial drive that helped build Daytona Beach into the vibrant community it is today.
Click Here to Learn More
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Teller Talk Tuesday
April 7th, 2:00pm
An Afternoon with Jim McCarty
Longtime showman and professional banjo player, Jim McCarty is now a member of the Museum’s Board and a permanent resident of Daytona.
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Jim is currently finishing a biography of Charles Burgoyne and promises an afternoon filled with fun facts and memorable stories. Jim makes history not only matter but also entertaining. Don’t miss it!
Click Here to Learn More.
| | April 18th – Florida Vistas Book Club - 2:00pm | | |
Palmetto-Leaves by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Palmetto-Leaves is a memoir and travel guide by the author about her winters spent in the Florida village of Mandarin. Stowe relocated to Florida following the American Civil War. This book is noteworthy as one of the first travel guides dedicated to Florida. It played a pivotal role in stimulating the state’s initial tourist and residential surge during the 1880s.
Free with your Membership or Admission.
Please call (386) 255-6976 for more information.
Click Here For More Information
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Scam School - Tuesday, April 21, 2:00pm - Join us for a practical class on how to recognize and avoid common scams. We’ll discuss the tactics scammers use—through phone calls, emails, texts, and online messages—and share simple tips to help you protect your personal and financial information.
Sip & Paint - May 1, 5:30pm - Sip, Paint & Make a Little History
Join us during First Friday ArtWalk on May 1 at 5:00 PM to paint your own wineglass at the museum. $25 for one glass, $10 for each additional glass. A creative evening inspired by art, history, and good company.
Teller Talk Tuesday - May 5, 2:00pm - Victoria and Chesley Bennett
Florida Vistas Book Club - May 21, 2:00pm - In the Land of Good Living - Kent Russell
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Our upcoming What’s In a Picture?
brings back to life the tether car
racetrack that flourished on City
Island in the prewar years.
At the height of the “spindizzy”
craze, crowds gathered around the
track to see competitors race their
model cars at speeds of up to 90
mph.
It’s coming mid-month. Watch out
for it!
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(Photo courtesy of the
Halifax Historical Museum)
| | This publication is made possible in part with funding from the Cultural Council of Volusia County (volusia.org), Florida Humanities, State of Florida, City of Daytona Beach, and Halifax Historical Society membership. | | | | |
