When Henry A. DeLand sat down to plan a town in the summer of 1876, he envisioned a place that would become "a religious, educational, business, and social center"--the Athens of Florida. He made his dream a reality by investing his livelihood in the town that would be named for him. DeLand donated the land for the first municipal building that doubled as a church and school and funded the school that would become Stetson University. Ever since, the city of DeLand has had an interesting and rich history. Much of this unique history has been captured and preserved in postcards published throughout the past hundred-plus years.

Author and Haunted DeLand tour guide Dusty Smith recounts a century of ghostly history in the bustling historic community of DeLand, the Athens of Florida. Specters include those of Jeannette Barnhill, whose ghost drove her real estate mogul widower mad by standing behind him to keep a constant watch on his accounting books, and of the guest killed in the 1917 Putnam Hotel fire who leaves the smell of burnt wood and flesh in the air. Forlorn lovers Ruby and Joshua, a freed slave and a plantation foreman, and Suzanna Brown, who jumped to her death with unrequited love for a Stetson professor, are included, as well as the ghostly horse-drawn hearse that has been seen parked alongside what was once the Old Casket Company. From steamboat captains to Spiritualist camp residents, DeLand's ghosts are sure to delight visitors and residents alike in this stirring account of the area's historic haunts.

Author and Haunted DeLand tour guide Dusty Smith recounts a century of ghostly history in the bustling historic community of DeLand, the Athens of Florida. Specters include those of Jeannette Barnhill, whose ghost drove her real estate mogul widower mad by standing behind him to keep a constant watch on his accounting books, and of the guest killed in the 1917 Putnam Hotel fire who leaves the smell of burnt wood and flesh in the air. Forlorn lovers Ruby and Joshua, a freed slave and a plantation foreman, and Suzanna Brown, who jumped to her death with unrequited love for a Stetson professor, are included, as well as the ghostly horse-drawn hearse that has been seen parked alongside what was once the Old Casket Company. From steamboat captains to Spiritualist camp residents, DeLands ghosts are sure to delight visitors and residents alike in this stirring account of the areas historic haunts.

A hundred years ago, Margaret Deland was a top American author on par with Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, or Thomas Hardy. She rubbed elbows with presidents and became a prominent member of Boston Society. But she is also a study in contradictions and almost unknown today. This Civil War era orphan raised by old school Presbyterians became an independent, self-made woman during Victorian times. She captures the struggles of nineteenth century women in her novels; she took unwed mothers into her home but declined to join the suffragette movement. Her literary success did not deter her from assisting soldiers in Europe during World War I or mingling with persons of very diverse backgrounds and faiths. But beneath an interesting life and career is a deep study and questioning of beliefs. A quest for objective confirmation of an afterlife-especially after the death of her beloved husband Lorin-led her into contact with mediums, psychical research and spiritualism. This in-depth and very personal biography reveals how relevant Margaret's life, work, and ultimate insights are to our own.

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