VOLUSIA COUNTY’SHISTORIC

COURT HOUSE

Volusia County was created by an act of the Florida Legislature in December 1854...

…to date four courthouses have served the county...

…and the fifth Volusia County Courthouse is currently in use.

The town of Enterprise served as the Volusia

County seat from

1854-1888...

Second Courthouse in Enterprise

circa 1880

…at the time Enterprise was a thriving steamship

port and tourist destination on the St. Johns River.

Vote CountVote CountDeLand: 1,003

Enterprise: 439

Lake Helen 251

DeLeon Springs: 84

Orange City 80

Daytona 3

Port Orange 2

New Smyrna 1

Ormond 1

The county seat was moved to DeLand in 1888 after the town received the most votes in a countywide referendum held that year..

One advantage that the City of DeLand

had over other communities was the

pledge from

John B. Stetson and Henry A. DeLand to

donate land and money for

construction of a courthouse...

First courthouse in DeLand

In 1925 work began on the design of a new courthouse. W. D.

Harper & Co. of Daytona Beach was selected as the

project architect and Arthur Meyers of Fort Pierce as the project engineer. They were

directed to build “a state-of-the-art facility with all modern conveniences…”

Public architecture from this era was typically designed in a grand manner using architectural

traditions of classical origin.

Many elements of the courthouse reflect this rich

architectural heritage.

Art glass dome in the rotunda.

View from new courthouse site.

Insert photo

Interior Corinthian terra cotta columns, two

stories in height, supporting vaulted arches in rotunda.

Exterior fluted Corinthian columns

supporting the elaborate terra cotta

entablature and balustrade.

The copper-clad dome and belfry house the

stain glass dome, the mechanism for the 4 clock faces and the 4 cast bronze bells.

Early 20th Century Hand-colored

Postcard of the Historic Courthouse

After considerable delays in

construction, the building was dedicated on

November 18, 1929 with much fanfare

including a barbecue, musical

performances, circus acts and a grand

floral display in the rotunda. Over 3,000

Volusia citizens were in attendance.

• A four-phase restoration of the historic courthouse was started in 1994 and will be completed this year

• Funding is provided through a partnership between the County of Volusia and Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources with assistance from the Florida Historic Preservation Advisory Council.

Historic Courthouse Restoration

Using a “top down” approach to restoration, the first phase included extensive repair of the copper dome, turret, clock faces and clock

mechanism.

Phase I

Historic Courthouse Restoration

Phase II

Restoration of the north façade involved removal of concrete stucco from original brick and terra cotta surfaces, repair and reinstallation of the

original light fixtures and replacement of deteriorated metal

windows.

Historic Courthouse Restoration

Phase III

Exterior restoration began during 2000

and included removal of the stucco coating on the west side and complete restoration of the south facade.

Historic Courthouse Restoration

Phase IV

Also during the year 2000 design work began and a funding strategy

was developed for restoration of the

building’s interior.

The Historic Court House contains 60,323 square feet which encompasses four floors...

First Floor: 19,181 sq.ft.

Second Floor: 17,600 sq. ft.

Third Floor: 4,295 sq. ft.

Basement: 19,247 sq. ft.

VOLUSIA COUNTY’SHISTORIC

COURT HOUSE