The Beauty of Orlando: Gertrude Sweet

Gertrude Sweet Newell, sister of Charles Sweet, the former mayor of Orlando and surveyor of Orlando’s street network, was an accomplished pianist who played in The Orlando Band with her husband, Henry Newell. Gertrude was known as the most beautiful woman in Orange County, with Gertrude Street even being street named for her. Today’s Gertrude’s Walk in downtown Orlando is reminiscent of the former glory of Gertrude Street and the fascinating woman it is named after. 

Gertrude Sweet was born on July 17, 1862, in New Orleans, Louisiana.¹ Her father, Charles Sweet, was a Confederate soldier in the New Orleans Fire Regiment and later a state tax collector.² She had five siblings, three brothers and two sisters.³ Not much is known about her childhood other than her father’s death in May 1874.⁴ After her father’s death, Sweet’s brother, Charles moved to Orlando where he started his career as a painter and would later become mayor of Orlando in 1881.⁵ Charles Sweet surveyed Orlando’s street network when the city was incorporated.⁶ In 1875, he named two important streets in Orlando after himself and his sister.⁷ Sweet Street, now known as Colonial Drive, was over 100 feet wide and was designed to be Orlando’s main road. Gertrude Street ran north/south; however, in the late 1880s, the South Florida Railroad arrived in Orlando to build a railroad to the Atlantic Coast, taking much of Gertrude Street for the railroad.⁸ 

Sweet met her future husband, Henry Newell, in Orlando. Newell was a music teacher, the organizer of the local music ensemble, “The Orlando Band,” and the bell ringer for Orlando’s courthouse.⁹ Sweet, an accomplished pianist, was also a member of the band, which performed at community events and parades.¹⁰ They married on February 13, 1883, and in that same year welcomed their first daughter, Agnes, on December 17th.¹¹ A son, McFadden, was born two years later on October 30, 1885, and a second daughter, Mildred, was born on January 11, 1890.¹² Sadly, Mildred passed away of tuberculosis on May 2, 1914.¹³  

Gertrude became known as “the most beautiful woman in Orange County.”¹⁴ On November 11, 1918, Henry had the honor of ringing the Orange County courthouse bell, which was heard for over three miles, signifying the end of the World War I.¹⁵ He died of heart disease on May 15, 1940.¹⁶ Six years later, Gertrude passed away of a cerebral hemorrhage on February 12, 1946, one day short of what would have been her 57^th wedding anniversary.¹⁷  

Gertrude Sweet’s legacy in Orlando has persisted in the form of a shortened segment of Gertrude Street and Gertrude’s Walk, a trail along the railroad tracks. On March 3, 1980, Gertrude’s Walk was commemorated in Gertrude’s honor, with the installation of a bronze plaque and general improvements to the trail. In 2010, the pathway was repaved and widened, and the lighting was upgraded.¹⁸ In 2017, the City of Orlando commissioned the creation of Gertrude’s Walks’ mural.¹⁹ Today, Gertrude’s Walk runs through downtown Orlando, connecting to the Orlando Urban Trail.²⁰ It is a beautiful walk with over three hundred plants that serves to preserve Orlando’s history and Gertrude Sweet Newell’s memory. 

1. “1900 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry, entry for Gertrude Sweet, accessed November 11, 2023, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/455301:7602

2. “Soldier Details – Sweet, C.L.,” The Civil War, U.S. National Park Service, accessed November 16, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers-detail.htm?soldierId=B51757D7-DC7A-DF11-BF36-B8AC6F5D926A

3. “1870 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry.com, entry for Charles L Sweet, accessed November 11, 2023, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4269441_00371

4. “Died,” New Orleans Bulletin, May 19, 1874, 3.

5. “1880 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry, entry for Charles D. Sweet, accessed March 21, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5097497:6742; E. H. Gore, "From Florida sand to “The City Beautiful”: a historical record of Orlando, Florida" (1951), Text Materials of Central Florida, 251, accessed March 21, 2024, https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cfm-texts/954

6. “1880 Census,” Ancestry, entry for Charles D. Sweet.; Gore, “From Florida sand,” 251.

7. “On the Town,” The Orlando Evening Star, 10 June 1958, 15.

8. Gore, “From Florida sand,” 251.

9. Brendan O’Connor, “Did You Know-Town: Gertrude’s Walk Was Named after a Real Person?” Bungalower, April 24, 2017, https://bungalower.com/2015/07/01/know-town-gertrudes-walk-named-real-person/

10. Brendan O’Connor, “Did You Know-Town: Gertrude Sweet Was Part of a Band,” Bungalower, October 14, 2020, https://bungalower.com/2020/10/13/did-you-know-town-gertrude-sweet-was-part-of-a-band/

11. “Florida, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1823-1982,” database with images, Ancestry.com, entry for Gertrude Sweet, accessed November 13, 2023, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/901389940:61369

12. “1900 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry.com, entry for Gertrude Sweet, accessed November 13, 2023, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4120050_00042

13. Carey Hand Funeral Home, "Newell, Mildred" (1914), Carey Hand Undertaker's Memoranda 1914 50, https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cfm-ch-memoranda-1914/50

14. “Gertrude’s Walk,” City District Orlando, accessed November 11, 2023, https://citydistrictorlando.com/gertrudes-walk/

15. O’Connor, “Real Person,” Bungalower.

16. Carey Hand Funeral Home, "Newell, Harry" (1940), Carey Hand Undertaker's Memoranda 1940, 340, https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cfm-ch-memoranda-1940/340

17. Carey Hand Funeral Home, "Newell, Gertrude S." (1946), Carey Hand Undertaker's Memoranda 1946, 110, https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cfm-ch-memoranda-1946/110

18. “Gertrude’s Walk,” City District Orlando.

19. O’Connor, “Real Person,” Bungalower.

20. “Gertrude’s Walk,” City District Orlando.