The New Smyrna Beach Historic District, situated along the west bank of the North Indian River in the city of New Smyrna, encompasses the site of a failed British colonial settlement from the 1760s. Attempts were made to settle the site during the second Spanish colonial period (1784-1821), mostly by immigrants from the United States. Between 1800 and 1809, approximately 400 people moved to the area. Stone ruins located in Old Fort Park are believed to be from this era. After the United States acquired Florida in 1821, settlement increased until the Second Seminole War (1835-1842), when nearly every settlement along the coast of Florida south of St. Augustine was destroyed. The townsite of New Smyrna remained essentially uninhabited until the end of the Civil War. The arrival of promoter Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway in 1892 induced development as New Smyrna Beach became a summer and winter resort. Its principal economic resources were citrus production, commercial fishing, and tourism. The 1920s marked Florida's boom period--the boom was short lived, however, as Florida entered an era of depression in 1926, several years before the rest of the country. Buildings with architectural styles such as Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Bungalow, Beaux Arts and Mediterranean Revival, are all represented in the district.
The district is roughly bounded by Riverside Drive, US 1, Ronnoc Landing, and Smith Street and is situated along the west bank of the North Indian River in the city of New Smyrna.
The New Smyrna Beach Historic District, situated along the west bank of the North Indian River in the city of New Smyrna, encompasses the site of a failed British colonial settlement from the 1760s. Attempts were made to settle the site during the second Spanish colonial period (1784-1821), mostly by immigrants from the United States. Between 1800 and 1809, approximately 400 people moved to the area. Stone ruins located in Old Fort Park are believed to be from this era. After the United States acquired Florida in 1821, settlement increased until the Second Seminole War (1835-1842), when nearly every settlement along the coast of Florida south of St. Augustine was destroyed. The townsite of New Smyrna remained essentially uninhabited until the end of the Civil War. The arrival of promoter Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway in 1892 induced development as New Smyrna Beach became a summer and winter resort. Its principal economic resources were citrus production, commercial fishing, and tourism. The 1920s marked Florida's boom period--the boom was short lived, however, as Florida entered an era of depression in 1926, several years before the rest of the country. Buildings with architectural styles such as Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Bungalow, Beaux Arts and Mediterranean Revival, are all represented in the district.
The district is roughly bounded by Riverside Drive, US 1, Ronnoc Landing, and Smith Street and is situated along the west bank of the North Indian River in the city of New Smyrna.