CityofDeltona history

After Florida became a state in 1845, steamboats began to make regular trips up the St Johns River to Lake Monroe.

In the 1850’s, George and Adeline Sauls settled two miles west of here on a stage road.

Called Enterprise, the little town soon boasted a schoolhouse (built in 1863) and two churches.

In 1871, DeBary built a winter home where he entertained such notables as Presidents Grant and Cleveland and members of Europe's royalty.

In 1884, Sauls family members denoted this burial ground, along with an African American graveyard to the west.

Baron DeBary died in 1898 at the age of 84.

In 1908, the Florida Methodist United Children's Home was founded.

The Sauls home, along with 15,000 acres of land, was eventually sold to the Deltona Corporation in the 1950’s.

Things were rather quiet in southwestern Volusia from those early years of the century until 1962, when the Mackle Brothers brought 17,203 acres, filed a planned unit development for a community of 35,143 lots, and named the area Deltona.

Work began almost immediately, and the first Deltonans took up residence in April of 1963.

On April 4th, 1976 more than 100 people including the remaining Sauls descendants, county officials and historical society members gathered at the site of the burned home.

However, in 1981 the Deltona Corporation sold the land, who in turn sold the land again to developer who built a house on the site, completely disregarding the historical plaque resting on the lot.

The Volusian, “George Sauls, one of the earliest settlers in the Osteen area,” May 1990

The growth of the community continued at the amazing rate of about 130 new families per month to reach more than 52,000 people in 1991, and all indications are that this growth will hold steady for the foreseeable future.

A seven-member Commission was elected and as of December 31, 1995, the City of Deltona became official.

In July 1996, the City Commission hired its first full-time City Manager, Harold Emrich, and first City Attorney, James "Skip" Fowler.

“Osteen History,” notes retyped in 1999 — Enterprise Museum

Deltona has had steady growth since the city’s small beginnings and was named the most populous city in Volusia County in 2000.

The Deltona massacre (commonly referred to as the " Xbox Murders ") was a residential murder which occurred on August 6, 2004 in a home on Telford Lane in Deltona, Florida, United States.

Volusia County Council, 2006