A new addition to Shady Park will honor four Hannibal Square residents whose contributions shaped the history of Winter Park.
The Shady Park Pioneer Memorial will include busts of Ideal Womans’ Club founder Mary Lee DePugh (1878-1949), activist and founder of the Winter Park Advocate newspaper Gustavus Christopher “Gus” Henderson (1862-1917), and the first Black men elected to Winter Park government office: Frank R. Israel (1848-1925) and Walter B. Simpson (1859-1915).
Work on the memorial began in 2022 after the decision to remove the splash pad at Winter Park Community Center was approved. Conversations with residents helped to guide the purpose and design of what was to take its place. “We had meetings for public input and discussions with the Parks & Recreation Department and the CRA,” Hannibal Square resident and community leader Mary Daniels told the32789. “Our goals were, and are, to preserve history and to recognize the significance of the Hannibal Square community and these four key pioneers of many.”
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