Strawn's then — This photo of Theodore Strawn's packinghouse at DeLeon Springs was taken in the mid-1920s, a few years after the distinctive building was constructed.

PHOTO COURTESY RIVER OF LAKES HERITAGE CORRIDOR


Strawn's now — River of Lakes Heritage Corridor provided these labels, recovered from Theodore Strawn's packinghouse. Strawn used a number of different labels. His Bob White brand of oranges was sold internationally.

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD


Published 12-03-2007

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

Commercial citrus groves are mostly gone now, from West Volusia.

As the subdivisions were built and the population grew, commercial groves disappeared, as did other agriculture. The freezes of the mid-1980s killed off most of what was left of the commercial citrus groves.

Remnants of that history in West Volusia are crumbling into dust. Preservation groups like River of Lakes Heritage Corridor struggle to keep what remains.

The group hopes to preserve the Strawn Historic Citrus Packing House on the north side of DeLeon Springs, at Lake Winona Road and U.S. Highway 17. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, but has been threatened with demolition in recent years.

"It's a shame," said Renee Tallevast, executive director of River of Lakes Heritage Corridor.

Her organization is beginning a fundraising drive to purchase the historic packinghouse.

Theodore Strawn of Illinois settled in West Volusia and began his family orange-packing operation in 1882.

The original packinghouse burned, and he replaced it in 1921 with what was then a state-of-the-art metal building with a saw-tooth roof. The walls were made of stamped copper-alloy steel panels. The building was designed to be fireproof.

The orginal conveyor and sorting equipment still stand inside the plant.

Strawn developed the Bob White variety of oranges, which gained an international reputation.

Now, few people know about the Bob White orange, Theodore Strawn, or the vital citrus industry played so great a role in shaping West Volusia's culture and history.

Perhaps preservation efforts will change that.

For more information, call River of Lakes Heritage Corridor in DeLand at (386) 734-0162. Visit the Web site at www.riveroflakesheritagecorridor.com.

- PAt@beacononlinenews.com