Ormond Beach property & accommodation

Bulow Plantation Ruins State Historic Site

The site is part of the 4,675 acres of land adjacent to a creek that Major Charles Bulow bought in 1821. His slaves cleared half this area and planted cotton as well as sugar cane.

Today, Bulow Creek is a state canoe trail, and you can rent canoes to explore this lovely backwater. On its banks are the foundations of the plantation house, and from here its a ten minute stroll through the forest to a clearing where the ruins of the old sugar mill still stand. These resemble the mysterious remains of some long-lost ancient South American temple.



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One of the earliest winter resorts on Henry Flagler's railroad

Ormond beach

No longer standing, his fashionable Ormond Hotel boasted a star-studded guest list including Henry Ford and John D Rockefeller.

Rockefeller bought a house just across the street from the hotel in 1918 - prompted by overhearing that another guest was paying less; despite his immense wealth, the millionaire chief of Standard Oil guarded his money closely. HIs winter home, The Casements has been restored and today functions as a museum and cultural centre. Inside are examples of Rockefeller-era memorabilia, which include the great man's high-sided wicker beach chair with glazed port-holes.

A short walk from The Casements, the Ormond Memorial Art Museum is set in a small but charming tropical garden. Shady paths wind around lily ponds inhabited by basking turtles and flanked by stands of bamboo and lush vegetation. The museum itself hosts frequently changing exhibitions of works by comtemporary Florida artists.


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