Elizabeth Evans Park

In the heart of Florida, an accumulation of lakes that connected into the St. Johns River, a small settlement found its origins nestled at the edge of one of the largest lakes amongst the area. According to local legend, the small established town was visited by federal surveyors down on their luck and was given hospitality by a woman by the name of Ms. Dora Ann Drawdy. In return for her hospitality, the surveyors named the lake the town was off of Lake Dora. By 1983, the growing town aside Lake Dora known as Royellou, named after the children of a prominent businessman, had it’s name changed to Mount Dora. In changing the name from Royelluo, the town was able to further from commemorated the hospitality and effort that had been given by Ms. Drawdy, whilst also acknowledging the strange plateau it was on hence the name Mount Dora.

Shortly after receiving the charter for the city of Mount Dora in 1910, the community began taking initiatives that would make Mount Dora more than just a port town in the middle of the Harris Chain of Lakes. One such policy was to create natural parks within the city of Mount Dora to garner more tourism and help exemplify the beauty of both the natural surroundings of the lake and the hustle and bustle of the city of Mount Dora. This policy gave Mount Dora its' first two parks Gilbert Park and Donnelly Park.

Typically, the namesakes of the parks were given in response to their contribution of the land that they provided to the City of Mount Dora, this is true for Gilbert Park and Donnelly Park. Wealthy members of the community had given some of their property for the betterment of Mount Dora. A great thing about Mount Dora is that even in the early days of the town expansion some families of color were able to also build and expand into communities relatively well and create a business in the heart of the town.

Although Elizabeth Evans Park was not one of the first parks created in Mount Dora, Elizabeth Evans Park was made in the honor of Mrs. Elizabeth Evans who became a staple in the Mount Dora Community and the help that she had done in establishing the other parks, as well as the Library, had garnered her notoriety and her actions to help the denizens of Mount Dora were acknowledged and awarded.

After her passing, some 16 years later of the park being established, the news of her death was widely distributed through Central Florida through the Orlando Sentinel on February 16, 1940. The short obituary highlights a few of her work in the community and even mentions her help in establishing the parks in Mount Dora.

The Elizabeth Evans park today sits at the bottom of Donnelly St. adjacent to Lake Dora. Here events are held either separately from the city of Mount Dora, i.e., Mount Dora Freedom, the day preceding Independence Day, or events that occur throughout all of Mount Dora like the Art Festival or the Annual Bicycle Festival. Although the majority of the time, Elizabeth Evans Park remains a great place to get away from all the people, relax and look at the waterfront.

“History of Mount Dora: Mount Dora, FL - Official Website.” History of Mount Dora | Mount Dora, FL - Official Website, City Of Mount Dora, 2017, www.cityofmountdora.com/317/History-of-Mount-Dora.

A brief article on the history of Mount Dora from early settlement to current times. Main focus being the time after 1910, when Mount Dora received their charter, to about 1950's when Mount Dora began to garner national attention. More specifically the initiatives that were taken in the 1920s to create more parks to increase tourism and promote natural beauty within the town.

Llamas, Judy. “Elizabeth Lemert Evans (1871-1940) - Find A Grave...” Find a Grave, Find a Grave, 2007, www.findagrave.com/memorial/17854003/elizabeth-evans.

This website lets you find graves stones as well as newspaper articles from the times of death that are either obituaries or simply a notice of service and when they are going to held said services. For Mrs. Elizabeth Evans they are spoken with high regard and is even called a "Leader in the Mount Dora Community".

Kamp, Diane D. “Mount Dora, Florida: A Short History.” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 82, no. 1, July 2003, pp. 107–109. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=45810403&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Book About the history of Mount Dora and The ties it has to it African American settlers as well as snippets of Mount Dora's troubled past with the KKK.

Kemp, Diane. “Mount Dora: The Rest of the Story, Plus!” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 79, no. 1, July 2001, pp. 136–137. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=46896270&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

In the similar vain of the first book but specifically the story of a Veteran that left in the 1950's and returned 30 years later. Goes more indepth with the troubled past of Mount Dora and the "Groveland 3"

City Of Mount Dora, Mount Dora Historical Society. "Mount Dora Archives." BiblioBoard. https://library.biblioboard.com/anthology/39012b91-d8de-4704-a73f-a9a1611c8263.