Melissa Dickinson - Orange City, Florida, USA - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com

The Dickinson family played an important role in the cultural development of Orange City during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Native to Massachusetts, the family moved to Chicago in the 1850s, where Albert F. Dickinson established a large produce and grain company. In the1870s, three of his children, Albert, Charlie, and Melissa, assumed control of the business. Products of the Dickinson Seed Company, reportedly the nation's largest seed distributor between the 1860s and 1920s, included Pine Tree Brand grass seed and Timewell Sack Filling and Sewing Machines.

In 1883, Melissa, who never married, and her brother, Albert, visited Orange City. Captivated by Florida's moderate climate and the small settlement, they became seasonal residents. In 1911, Albert married Emma Benham, a noted Chicago physician and eye surgeon promoted medical advancements and technology at the Chicago World’s Fair of1893. Emma also found Orange City a delightful retreat from hectic city life and became involved with several local charitable organizations, contributing time and money to improving the quality of life in the community. Successful in their financial endeavors, the Dickinsons made several generous donations of land and buildings to organizations in Orange City, including the Library Association.

Albert and Emma Dickinson initiated plans to develop a new permanent, fireproof library immediately south of the park, in memory of Melissa Dickinson, who had died in 1910. The memorial plaque honoring Melissa reads as follows: “Memorial Library Erected by Albert Dickinson A.D. 1918 In Memory of His Sister Melissa Dickinson Born at Stockbridge, Mass 1839 Died at Orange City, FLA. 1910”. The plaque is located to the left of the main entrance doors.

Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: [Web Link] Location: Dickinson Memorial Library

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/13/2020 hart612 visited it