History of Mount Dora

Chronological History of Mount Dora

1846 - Lake Dora is named for Dora Ann Drawdy.  She and her husband homesteaded two miles south of Mount Dora.

1874 - David M. Simpson, his wife and two children were the first to homestead in what is now Mount Dora.

1880 - The town’s first name was Royellou, named after the three children of Postmaster R. C. Tremain--Roy, Ella, and Louis.

1882 - The first school in Mount Dora was established.

1883 - The town was renamed Mount Dora.

1886 - Mount Dora’s first newspaper was published, a copy of which is on display in the Royellou Museum in town.  There were 174 residents in the community.

1887 - The first railroad service through Mount Dora began and by 1915 there were two passenger trains daily in each direction.

1893 - The Donnelly House was built.  It is now the home of  Mount Dora Lodge 238, F.& A.M.

1910 - The town of Mount Dora was incorporated, and J. P. Donnelly was elected the first mayor.  At that time there were no paved streets or sidewalks.

1915 - The railroad depot was built.  It is now the Chamber of Commerce office.

1924 - Donnelly Park was created in the center of the city on land obtained from J. P. Donnelly for $45,000.

1930 - President Calvin Coolidge and his wife spent the month of February vacationing at the Lakeside Inn.

Mount Dora is situated in a county that has 1400 named lakes, and its elevation of 184 feet above sea level qualifies it as a Mount in the State of Florida.  At one time citrus was the major industry in the area, with a great deal shipped from Mount Dora.