Henry DeLand's daughter Helen was in town on the night of the fire. She described how firefighters saved the building on this corner, which had Dreka's Department Store on the ground floor and hotel rooms on the upper floors.
“They hung wet blankets from the verandahs, then enveloped themselves in blankets ... they went up and down to a tank on the roof for water which they kept pouring on the flames whenever they blazed up. As the men became exhausted, others took their places, until the fire sank into ashes.”
Later, the building they saved was moved down the street, and the current one was built in its place. For years, the Dreka store remained the biggest, most respected store in West Volusia County.
Today, it’s a restaurant and a bar, because city officials made saloons legal again when Prohibition was rescinded in the 1930s. There's no better spot to sit back and commune with the spirits of Crawford Wilcox, Charlie Miller, and George Dreka, three DeLand businessmen who deserve to be remembered.
Next location: Let's cross New York Avenue and stand in front of the old Dreka store, so you can get a good look at the First National Bank building.
