FORSYTH Villa of East Crooked Lake
Forsyth
Villa of East Crooked Lake
“Atop the terraced green today
The villa stands alone….”
Herbert Greenlee of Eustis, Florida,
September 1945
That a residence is known
too by a name all its own is not that uncommon. Homeowners have named their homeplaces
throughout history. Presidents Washington and Jefferson, for example, selected Mount
Vernon and Monticello as monikers for their homeplaces. A 19th
century Orange County city was named Pine Castle for the name of the Lake
Conway residence of author and correspondent Will Wallace Harney. Then too
there was Errol Ranch of Plymouth, named for the Scottish birthplace of
John & Sarah (Carson) Pirie.
Lake County too has its share of named homeplaces, but
it is rare to encounter a residence such as Forsyth Villa, a historic
residence having both a name and its very own poetic verse.
“The villa, though, is not the same,
There is a certain lack,
And will be – until you proclaim,
That you are coming back.
Eustis Lake Region
newspaper of September 14, 1945 published the Forsyth Villa poem,
verse written by Herbert Greenlee (1909-1987), portions of which are included
above. A local resident, Herbert Greenlee was paying tribute to a unique winter
cottage, a villa built circa 1924 southeast of Eustis and overlooking East
Crooked Lake.
Greenlee’s reference to “coming back” however,
in my opinion, had been wishful thinking. The poet had to have known the beloved
occupants of the villa, William & Edna Forsyth, would not be returning. Not
together! A romantic at heart, Greenlee had to have known this chapter in the fascinating
story of the sentinel of East Crooked Lake was nearing its end.
Forsyth Villa,
now nearly a century since William & Edna first moved in, still sits pretty
on its terraced green. And the villa has indeed enjoyed additional chapters during
its 100 years, but this blog will be a celebration of the villa’s first chapter
– that time period poet Greenlee desperately wanted preserved.
Who amongst us today recalls the early 20th
century dreams and aspirations of those who formed Lake County Country Club
in 1921? Who recalls that the player some refer to as “PGA’s first Super Star
of Golf”, came to Eustis to play 18 rounds of golf on the shore of East Crooked
Lake? Walter Hagan (1892-1969), “four times winner of the British Open,” played
golf at Lake County Country Club in February 1937, and the Eustis Lake
Region reported: “he was both pleased and surprised with the unusual
course.”
“Built about 1921,” related the Eustis Lake Region,
“it has become recognized as one of the finest and sportiest 18-hole golf
courses in Florida.” Today, if it were not for “Country Club Road” and “Fairway
Avenue,” one could find it a stretch to believe a golf course ever existed
here, or that this golf course had been the impetus for development on East
Crooked Lake.
1941 Aerial: Forsyth Villa (circled);
East Crooked Lake (A); Lake Alfred (B), now Hidden Waters Preserve; Number 1
Green and Fairway (1); Number 9 Green and Fairway (2); Clubhouse (3)
The 1921 Lake County Country Club encouraged developer
William H. Goulding, on August 22, 1922, to acquire acreage fronting the
previously little-known East Crooked Lake. On that land, Goulding built
a cottage that was to become the Forsyth Villa.
Prior to the 1920s, West Crooked Lake had long-been
popular with pioneers. Frank Savage, after first exploring this far corner of then
Orange County in 1876, filed a homestead claim on West Crooked Lake and built a
residence. In 1881, Colonel Gould H. Norton (see Lake County Home #9) homesteaded
on the north shore. But not until the “Roaring Twenties” did East Crooked Lake
begin to catch the eye of developers. And it was the Lake County Country Club
that encouraged this further development.
(Lake County Country Club
was built on the west half of the original Alexander St. Clair-Abrams homestead
of 1875 as detailed in Chapter 1, The Grand Celebration, of my book, Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake
County. Lake Alfred, named by St. Clair-Abrams for his son Alfred, was
part of the golf course. Today, Lake Alfred is the home of Hidden Waters
Preserve).
Eustis Lake Region
newspaper, throughout 1924, reported on the surge of housing construction “along
the thoroughfare leading to the Country Club, and along the shore of East
Crooked Lake.” In June 1925, the same newspaper reported a record $2,500 per
acre was paid for 10 acres on East Crooked Lake. William H. Goulding began advertising
in March 1924 the availability of an “East Crooked Lake Bungalow at the Country
Club,” (circled in red on aerial above). Goulding found a buyer by year’s end: “Chicago
Capitalist buys Goulding Home,” the headline of January 1, 1925 stated. “W. B. Forsyth
purchases a winter home overlooking East Crooked Lake in the Country Club
section.”
William B. Forsyth,
said Eustis Lake Region, was “President and Treasurer of C. H. Berry
Co., of Chicago.” A manufacturer and distributor of female beauty products, the
Chicago Examiner had reported March 28, 1909 that C. H. Berry “has made
a very rapid growth since Mr. Forsyth acquired control.” Berry Company management
then expanded when William married Dr. Edna M. (Dolson) Wellwood-Thompson
in 1911.
C. H. Berry Advertisement, William
B. and Edna M. Forsyth
The winter home on East Crooked lake was in
fact acquired by Edna Forsyth, and the local paper later reported the couple
had moved into the home May 13, 1925. William obviously approved of his wife’s selection
of their winter cottage, for four months later, on September 24, 1925, the Eustis
Lake Region published a letter to the editor under the heading “Forsyth
Villa.”
Signed “W. B. Forsyth of East Crooked Lake”, the
snowbird from Chicago wrote to the editor about the need for better roads in
Lake County, citing too the advantages if locals would greet visitors with “a
warmer welcome.”
Lake County Country Club and adjacent Forsyth Villa
became regular gathering places. Forsyth Villa even became a place to worship
one day each week. Seventh Day Adventists worshipped at the Forsyth’s home each
Sabbath. William and Edna were both civic minded, and entertained at their home
and, on occasion, at local schools: “Mr. W. B. Forsyth,” reported Eustis
Lake Region of December 21, 1939 of local fourth grade festivities, “who
passed 91 Christmases, entertained the children with songs.”
Forsyth Villa, "atop the terraced green".
The same newspaper delivered the sad news of the death
of W. B. Forsyth eleven months later. William died at Chicago at age of 92. “He
is survived,” the newspaper reported, “by his wife, Dr. Edna M. Forsyth.” Edna did
return to Forsyth Villa on East Crooked Lake occasionally, such as during the
census of 1945, when Dr. Edna Forsyth was recorded as residing at the villa. But
the 1945 census was also the last recorded presence of Dr. Edna Forsyth in Lake
County. And that September, Herbert Greenlee penned his poem Forsyth
Villa.
“The villa, though, is not the same,
There is a certain lack,
And will be – until you proclaim,
That you are coming back.
Edna Agnes Maud Dolson, born November 22, 1871 at
Ontario, Canada, married first at the age of 15. Leopold A. Wellwood, her first
husband, was a law student. Edna (Dolson) Wellwood then married a second time
in 1892. Fletcher H. Thompson, her second husband, was a dentist. Edna also
became a dentist, and in 1900, the Thompson’s were residing in Chicago, where
her future husband, William B. Forsyth, was managing the C. H. Berry Company. Edna
was listed as a dentist in Chicago’s 1910 Directory, and the following year, she
and William Forsyth married.
The Forsyth’s were in possession of the villa on East
Crooked Lake a total of 34 years. Widow Edna Forsyth conveyed the Forsyth Villa
deed to the Seventh Day Adventists in 1947, but the terms of her deed allowed
her to retain possession of the villa until her death.
Edna Agnes Maud (Dolson) Wellwood – Thompson – Forsyth
died at the age of 87 in 1958.
“Across the winding road are seen,
The placid waters fair,
As painted on a liquid screen
Are heaven’s pictures there,
For western lights are sweeter when
They rise again on high,
Where evergreen’s wave back again,
Their greetings to the sky.
Forsyth Villa is once again in good hands, and I do believe, somewhere here in Lake County, another poet is now itching to spread their wings.
Only a portion of the information above - the history prior to the 20th century - is borrowed from my book, Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County.
5 Stars: "A well-written book, heavily based on government records of land transactions. Very interesting and informative. Highly recommended for the locals and those with a family history in Lake County."
5 Stars: "Excellent book! Thank you so much for sharing your passion for local history and your exhaustive research on Lake County."
5 Stars: "Great book. Lots of research went into it. Highly recommended."
TAVARES: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County
BUY IT NOW at Amazon, simply click on the book cover!
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