Seminole Woods Community Assoc., Inc

Many residents have asked me how Seminole Woods was developed and how it became the community it is today. Several suggested that, for the benefit of all the new residents, I share some of this history.

With compromise, the Deltona Corp. agreed to build its own water plant which is located on Lot 263 if you have never seen it. Our water is drawn from the same Geneva Bubble, and because we own our own water plant facility, we fall under the jurisdiction of the St. John's Water Management District (You'll notice them on your property tax bill). We are regulated by St. John's just like any city government or other municipal water supply system. They monitor things such as water quality and especially usage.

Initially, the entire development was run on one 4" well with a 7500 gallon tank. Today we have, as I recall, 3, 9 or 10" wells that supply a 100,000 gallon tank. If you have never seen it, you should. It costs the Association plenty each year to keep up.

The Deltona Corp. finally was able to begin construction in about 1978. The first roads were the entrance road to just past Pine Hills Blvd., Pine Hills Blvd. from Seminole Woods Blvd. to Woodridge Dr., Woodridge Dr. to Seminole Woods Blvd. and part of Valley Stream Drive. The balance of the road system was not completed until October of 1984. The first home built in Seminole Woods is the current home of Dan and Patsy Barr on Pine Hills Blvd. It was built as the Deltona Corp. model home and sales center. To my knowledge, Deltona Corp. never built another home in Seminole Woods. They sold off all of the lots to mostly foreign investors, many that still own their property to this day. The residents that have lived in their original home the longest are Rod and Ginger Henry. Ted Allen has lived here a little longer than the Henry's, and is in his third home in Seminole Woods. Mary, I, and our family have lived here since July, 1985.

When I moved here the Deltona Corp. was still in charge of the Association. They formally turned it over to the residents, I believe, in January, 1986. At that time, three board members were elected and the Seminole Woods Community Association began. There were no gates, a lousy entrance sign, no scheduled maintenance, nothing at the park, the water plant still consisted of the one 4" well and 7500 gallon tank, and there were no fire hydrants.

With three board members, two of which, at the time, did not even live in Seminole Woods, board meetings were held in Winter Park at 2:00 in the afternoon. Bill Carthen was elected our president. Eventually, the membership increased the board to five members, where it is today.

One of our biggest fights was against the building of a federal prison outside our back gates. Seminole Woods joined with the Geneva Community Association and Bill Carthen, Lee Voorhees and I fought successfully to stop the building of the prison.

When the Deltona Corp. designed and built Seminole Woods they purchased the land just across what is known as Cochran Rd. As this road dissected, or separated, several lots from the main body of Seminole Woods, the Deltona Corp. granted the residents outside of Seminole Woods an easement to cross over what now known as Tallapoosa Drive. Once our roads were completed the Cochran Road residents felt it OK for them to use them as a shortcut to Oviedo. Otherwise, it is a five mile extra drive for them. Well, the residents of Seminole Woods did not like this extra traffic and decided to construct gates at the entrances front and back. The front gates were built 100 feet closer to SR 426 and looked just like the back gates do today. As the development grew, residents wanted a nicer entrance.

Ted Allen solicited the help of Dan Delong, an architect who still lives in Seminole Woods, to draw new plans. We presented them to the membership at the next annual meeting and everyone voted for it. The total construction cost each member a $100 special assessment.

Initially, we did not have a gate attendant. The construction activity created a need to hire a daytime attendant who literally sat in a chair at Pine Hills Blvd. and Seminole Woods Blvd.. to regulate the entrance of construction workers. His name was "Old Joe." I heard a couple months ago that he is still living and is retired somewhere in Central Florida. We had a construction entrance at the south end of Pine Hills. For history buffs, Pine Hills Blvd. was originally a railroad line that ran from Chuluota down Pine Hills Blvd. through Geneva and out to Osceola. Later, when the new entrance and gate attendant house were constructed, we went to 16 hour-a-day service. Although we have gone through several security companies, "Ed" remained with us for several years and worked in that position the longest. Cranky at times, and you could never get him to work on a Saturday or Sunday, Ed was a mainstay, and a valued first impression for those who enter Seminole Woods.

As best as can be discovered, there used to be an old drainage ditch that allowed the lake to reach a peak and then drain off in a culvert under SR 426 and eventually to the Econ River. Apparently, over the years, different land owners outside of Seminole Woods filled in the dry ditch thus stopping up the overflow from getting out. This created terrible problems for our park -- not to mention the lake's neighbors. Tropical storm Gordon was the major cause of rain that raised the lake and ruined it. During the next two years, Jim Bowers and his committee oversaw a program to raise the road in the park and make improvements. This involved a lot of time and hard work. The problem was, the lake kept rising and has now peaked at its highest level ever.

Our resident Dick Creedon has been working and monitoring this situation with the county and, last reported, the county should be providing a permanent solution to the lake level as early as May (1998), but no later than November. At that time, we all need to pull together to restore our park to the beautiful place it once was.

Julie McLean organized what I think was the best event of all, the Halloween Hayride for the children. In all my years of living in Seminole Woods, the children seemed to love this the most. So do the adults, and I personally hope that Julie will do it again! Later, Judy Stevenson and others organized the Ladies' Day Out, Friday Night Get-Togethers, and the New Residents' Welcoming. All have been highly successful and a great way to meet your neighbors.

That brings to mind the 1993 "Storm of the Century." During that storm I think every tree that could fall on a road or driveway did. Ted Allen and Jim Bull organized the forces and equipment, and in a matter of a few days we were back to normal. As I recall, power in some places was out for two days. Everyone who had a chain saw or truck pitched in to help their neighbors.

In 1991 we resurfaced the original roads of Pine Hills, Woodridge, and most of Valley Stream Drive. If you feel the roads need help now, just ask Walton and Nancy Sapp, Bill and Marcia Pearson, or Gretchen Hobby and Rollin Patrick just how bad the roads were.

We are currently experimenting with the road shoulders on Seminole Woods Blvd. to see if we can preserve them until Seminole Woods is built out. Appearance, in my opinion, is what makes Seminole Woods special.