Ruth Downs Akright

Eustis Ruth Downs Akright

Eustis, the Queen City by the Unsalted Sea, had her earliest beginnings when Lake Eustis first appeared on surveyor Horatio Dexter's 1823 map. Gen. Abraham Eustis, the lake's namesake and Seminole War hero, arrived in 1836 to eradicate the remaining Seminoles and open the area for settlement. Federal land agent John A. MacDonald arrived in Eustis in 1875 along with seven entrepreneurs, who established a small community on the lakeshore that continues to grow today. The easy access by steamboat and railroad, temperate climate, citrus and agricultural industries, and outdoor activities soon made Eustis a thriving resort for winter tourists and new residents. The Washington Birthday Celebration, which began in 1902 as a celebration of booming tourism, remains the longest-running festival in the nation. Eustis was home to notables such as archaeologist Edgar Banks (Eustis's own Indiana Jones), NAACP past president Tom Poole, and astronaut David Walker.