Happy 150th Birthday Daytona!

On July 26, 1876, the early pioneers on the Halifax met at William Jackson's general store (at Beach Street and Orange Avenue) and voted to incorporate their town, naming it Daytona. Exactly fifty years later on July 26, 1926, the town was expanded to include the newer settlements of Seabreeze and Daytona Beach. The consolidated town was renamed Daytona Beach, creating the community we know and love today.

Summer is in full swing, bringing sunshine, warm weather, and a great excuse to step inside our museum and explore local history.

I'm excited to introduce our newest exhibit, Southern Rock & the Sounds of Daytona. This exhibit celebrates the artists, performances, and musical traditions that left their mark on Daytona Beach. Whether you're a lifelong music fan or simply enjoy a good story, I think you'll find something to interest you. Be sure to read more about the exhibit below.

Every month, I'm reminded how fortunate we are to live in a place with such a rich and colorful history. Thank you for supporting us and helping to preserve these stories.

See you at the museum!

P.S. We appreciate donations of original photos, postcards, old letters and news articles. If our newsletter reminds you of relevant items saved by your family, please contact us. We may use them in a future newsletter or exhibit!

Email your answer to July Photo Contest.

The first three people with correct answers will win. Winners will be mentioned in our newsletter and awarded a prize!

Answers must be received by July 31

Many people know little about Warren Harding except that he was considered one of our worst presidents. Warren and Florence Harding were a colorful couple whose lives are a scandalous drama. Researching Harding’s connection to Daytona Beach has been an eye-opener. It would make a binge-worthy Netflix series.

Amos Kling (Warren Harding’s father-in-law) was the couple's connection to Daytona Beach. Kling, a widower for many years after Florence’s mother died, married Caroline Beatty Denman in 1906. She was 38 years his junior. Kling who had been coming to Florida from Ohio in the winter decided to build a summer home on 220 Magnolia Avenue in 1907. 

Florence and Warren Harding

Amos Kling

Amos Kling died in 1913 of kidney disease. There had been animosity for years between Harding and Kling who both lived in Marion, Ohio. Harding, normally a people pleaser, used the newspaper he owned and operated to discredit Kling, a prominent local banker, accusing him of corrupt business practices.

It became Kling's worst nightmare when his own daughter Florence agreed to marry Harding. Florence had divorced her first husband, causing a scandal for the family. Kling was so opposed to the marriage he threatened to shoot Harding at the ceremony. Later when Kling spread rumors about Harding’s black ancestry Harding threatened to beat him up. The men exchanged insults for years and did everything within their power to ruin one another's reputation. However, Florence’s mother secretly attended her daughter’s wedding in 1891 after which Amos cut off all ties with the couple for 15 years.

Around 1906 Amos softened and wrote a letter of apology to Harding. Things got better and Harding even visited his father-in-law on his sick bed. Kling never actually cut his daughter out of his will as he had threatened.

The Hardings visited Daytona Beach more frequently in the last years of Amos’s life and came after his death to visit Amos's widow, Caroline, whom they both liked. Caroline and Florence had a falling out after Harding’s death in 1923.

Ianthe Bond Hebel, educator and historian who spearheaded the establishment of this museum, writes about how the Hardings always came to services at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church when visiting Caroline Kling at the Magnolia Street house. Hebel said she sat in a pew up front and directly behind Warren Harding. “He had a pleasant odor of fine tobacco and good whiskey.” 

Hebel wrote that Harding was also seen at the Halifax Yacht Club spending long hours at the card tables. Even though Warren Harding passed the Prohibition Act he never stopped drinking. It is said he stocked the cellar of the Magnolia house with liquor as well as the White House. Florence supported prohibition because her first husband was an alcoholic. 

Part of the house at 220 Magnolia Avenue is currently a fine-dining restaurant called The Cellar which operates in the basement. The rest of the house is utilized for other purposes. Over the years the house has had various functions, including offices for professionals and apartments. The house is two and a half stories and has an irregular floor plan. The frame structural system is finished on all elevations with weatherboard siding. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1993.

Next month’s Beach Street and Beyond will feature Warren Harding’s two river cruises and the Halifax River Yacht Club. The article following that will be about the Warren Harding Building built by David Sholtz around 1920. Sholtz became governor of Florida. Look for a future article on Ianthe Bond Hebel who was a significant historical figure in her own right.

Walter LeGrande, a pharmacist, brought his business to Beach Street via Orange Avenue, moving twice before settling at 246 S. Beach Street.

His pharmacy was just south of the tiny Ivy Lane, running east and west from Beach Street. It was a pharmacy in the true sense of the word, dispensing drugs, not greeting cards and candy.

The native Floridian studied pharmacy at the University of Florida in his hometown of Gainesville before coming to Daytona Beach in 1930.

He first worked at a pharmacy, then opened his own business in the Osborne Hotel on Orange Avenue in 1932. In 1938, he moved to 242A S. Beach, then ultimately in 1946 he purchased the building at 246 S. Beach.

1945 Advertisement

In 1974, LeGrande sold the pharmacy but continued to work there part-time. It is now home to Ichi Ni San, an Asian fusion restaurant.

LeGrande dispensed drugs from his tiny shop but his legacy in his adopted hometown was established when the longtime Rotarian mounted a campaign to expand Rotary's "Four-Way Test."

"If it works for Rotary, I thought it might work if it were distributed around the community regardless of a business' affiliation with the community," he said in an interview. He got permission to use the copyrighted test, a 24-word ethical guide for personal and professional relationships, adopted by Rotary in 1943, that asked four questions: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Walter LeGrande serving neighbors his special Bourbon Cake in 1974

Rotary's Four-Way Test

LeGrande immersed himself in the community by joining civic groups, taking leading roles in the Chamber of Commerce, United Way, American College of Apothecaries, Halifax Historical Society, and the Central Baptist Church.

LeGrande died in 1983 at 76, leaving behind a legacy of good deeds.

Feel the rhythm of a city shaped by sound. Southern Rock & the Sounds of Daytona explores the musical legacy of Daytona Beach - from legendary performances by Southern rock icons to the venues, festivals, and local musicians who helped define the area's soundtrack. Discover the stories behind the music through photographs, concert posters, and historical artifacts that celebrate Daytona's rich musical heritage.

Click here to learn more

Stephen Crane survived a dramatic shipwreck off the coast of what is now Ponce Inlet and washed ashore in Daytona Beach. Drawing from this harrowing experience, Crane transformed his newspaper account into The Open Boat, one of most celebrated short stories in American literature.

Join us as John Mann, lead docent at the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Museum, explores the true story behind the shipwreck, Crane's remarkable life, and the enduring impact of a literary masterpiece inspired by events that unfolded just off our local coast.

Click here to learn more

Reubin Askew was elected Governor of Florida primarily on a platform of tax reform. His tenure from 1971-1979 was truly a golden age of Florida politics, achieving judicial reform, redistricting, busing and desegregation, enacting the Sunshine Amendment, and much more.

Free with Membership or Admission.

Call (386) 255-6976 or click here for more information.

The Florida Vistas Book Club is fortunate that over the next several months we will have three different local authors join us to discuss their books. It's a great opportunity for all of us to read, enjoy, and learn from the authors themselves about their books.

Spread the word to friends and family and let's show these authors how much we appreciate them.

252 S. Beach Street, Daytona Beach, FL 32114

(386) 255-6976

Tuesday-Saturday 10am - 4pm

$10 per person

Children 12 & under FREE

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.