1926 Stoltz Map of Daytona Shores, Florida

This is a c. 1926 J. Perry Stoltz map of the Fleetwood Section of Daytona Shores, Florida. Situated on a peninsula between the Tomoka River and the Halifax River, this planned neighborhood was never actually built: Tomoka State Park north of Daytona Beach now occupies the land. At the tip of the peninsula, the proposed Fleetwood Hotel, illustrated in profile, towers above the point. The rest of the area is divided into lots, zoned for homes, apartments, and businesses. Streets are labeled, including the Dixie Highway to St. Augustine and Jacksonville.

Daytona Shores

Daytona Shores was proposed by the wealthy hotelier and land speculator 'Commodore' J. Perry Stultz. Stultz saw the development as an opportunity to expand his network of luxury hotels. His newest hotel, known as 'The Fleetwood of Daytona Shores' was set to be the subdivision's focal point:

The Fleetwood with its 300 rooms will measure 241 feet front by 78 feet in depth; it will be larger than the Miami Fleetwood, known as the rendezvous of the smart set of Miami - although the latter has 350 rooms…Prominent in the imposing lobby will be a striking two-story fireplace 24 feet in height, elsewhere on the main floor will be sixteen shops for barbers, beauty parlor, dentist, doctor, modiste, milliner, etc. - in other words, the hotel will be self-contained, even to the operation of its own electric power and refrigerating plants.

Daytona Shores was subdivided into hundreds of lots for homes (all of which are identified here) and miles of streets were laid out. In September 1926, Stoltz's Miami property was destroyed by a hurricane. By this time over $87 million had been invested in Daytona Shores, leaving him in dire straits. It appears Stoltz's ambitious plans were blown away by that hurricane as well. Between that disaster, the end of the Florida land boom, and the Great Depression, Stoltz was ruined. Moreover, conservationists and environmentalists opposed Stoltz's plan, even in the 1920s, and had petitioned the state of Florida to create a state park in the area.

Florida Land Booms

In the second half of the 19th and throughout the early 20th century, Florida experienced a series of land booms and crashes. The first followed the Second Seminole War (1835 - 1842), when the government offered homesteaders who agreed to stay five years 160 acres of free land. The second boom followed the arrival of the railroads to central Florida, leading to nearly 15 years of prospered and economic growth - mostly revolving around the booming citrus industry. New settlements sprang up throughout the northern half of the state, many owned by absentee inventors who never personally visited Florida. The boom collapsed in 1894-95 when a series of historic freezes wiped out the citrus harvest. Property depreciation following the freezes allowed Henry Flagler (1830 - 1913) to develop the Florida East Coast Railway. This, and the arrival of the highway system in the 1920s, led to the third Florida land boom - represented here - from 1920 to the stock-market crash of 1929.

Publication History and Census

This map was published by J. Perry Stoltz c. 1926 to promote his Daytona Shores subdivision and his new Fleetwood Hotel. An OCLC record exists for a 'brochure' with the title 'Fairyland Point Fleetwood Section Daytona Shores' and identifies eighteen copies in institutional collections. We have found no other instances of the present map or brochure appearing on the private market.