From the Wekiva Wilderness Trust
Wekiva Wilderness Trust (WWT), an Apopka-based non-profit supporting the Wekiva River Basin State Parks, is co-hosting a Heritage Festival this Saturday, March 22 from 10am to 4pm, at Rock Springs Run State Reserve in Sorrento highlighting Ethel, a township lost to history.
Heather, a volunteer, works to waterproof some of the outdoor pieces for the town of Ethel.
Ethel, which sprang up after the Civil War, disappeared almost without a trace in the 1920s.
Soon WWT will start work on two 19th century homesteaders log cabins as part of a project to recreate Ethel.
Jim, another industrious volunteer at the state park workshop, is building one of the tombstones that will be unveiled at the festival.
The 10’ x 12’ cabins will be replicas of one built by Finley Click in 1888 and based on historic photographs taken at the time. Click, his wife, and their three children all lived in that small space. When completed, one of the cabins will be used as a small museum and the other will be sparsely furnished as it would have been back then.
Kelly, volunteering on the Ethel project, adds a faux finish to the front of the monument at the entrance to the park.
Before the Civil War, Rock Springs (now Kelly Park) was the site of the largest plantation in the area. It was owned by William Delk, a Union supporter, who in 1863 freed his slaves and went off to work with the Union army. After the war he returned to reclaim his property. Some of his freed slaves and other homesteaders moved into the area and Ethel was born.
Volunteers created the crypt base that the stone-like statue of the woman will rest upon. This memorial represents and honors The Women of Ethel Township.
After more than 15 years of research, we now know the names of most of the people who lived in Ethel over the years, the location of their homesteads, and much about their daily lives from vintage photos, letters, and postcards written at the time. Ethel had a store, post office, a one-room school, train station, and cemetery. In its heyday, Ethel boasted a population of about 250.
Tombstones made from wood share details of real people who were buried in the Ethel cemetery, and whose actual tombstone’s are no longer on the property. Volunteers added, aging, and other paint techniques to give them a weathered look.
Last year the Historic Ethel Trail was opened, a 1.5-mile wheelchair accessible loop through what would have been the center of the township. Twelve interpretive panels along the route describe what life was like back then. There are guided walks every month, and a self-guiding brochure at the trailhead for those who want to explore by themselves.
Volunteers work together to create the "statue" that represents all the "Beloved women of Ethel Township." It was a team effort. The dress used is an historic artifact donated to the park for this purpose.
A professional cultural resources survey last spring located the sites of many cabins, found 594 artifacts, and identified promising areas for future investigation.
The Ethel Book, based on all the research, is available as a free downloadable eBook from www.wwt-cso.com.
The next step is to create the Ethel Village, a collection of cabins and kitchen gardens as a living history site. The village will feature crops that would have been grown back then, using heirloom seeds. Era-appropriate agricultural tools and methods will be used. The aim is to have crafters use the cabins at weekend and special events to display their crafts such as weaving, spinning, carpentry, and more — all the day-to-day activities Ethel residents would have done.
Now in its 11th year, The East Lake Heritage Festival is co-organized by the East Lake Historical Society (ELHS), and Friends of Ethel. Exhibitors, artisans, crafters, and volunteers will demonstrate what life was like back in the late-1800s. Visitors will enjoy live music, entertainment, children’s activities, and more. Festival food will be available for purchase.
For more information on this event and volunteer opportunities, contact Don Philpott, President, Wekiva Wilderness Trust, 321-277-8442.
