Mr. Henck's Story

Edward W. Henck came down to Longwood from Sanford in November of 1873. He resided in Boston but came down frequently from, this time discovering the now city of Longwood. Upon finding present-day Longwood, he thought of his neighborhood in Boston and named the city so. By 1876, homestead settlers arrived rapidly and the once vacant land was now mostly full. A few years later, around 1880, Henck built a large and impressive railroad connecting Sanford to Orlando. At the time, Orlando was just a large trading post. Gradually it became a large commercial city as we know it today. This railroad he built was remodeled and expanded and is now the Sunrail Railroad, that extends over Seminole and Orange County. 

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Henck received his first house in Longwood from a land grant, "The Homestead Act". He lived in this house until 1895, when "The Great Freeze" hit Longwood and Central Florida. He headed back up north to escape this agriculture destroyer and returned in 1914. He moved back into his house and lived peacefully until his wife's death in 1926, and his own in 1930. While the house has been owned by others since his death, it still stands today located at Palmetto Avenue.