Benson Junction, Florida

Benson Junction is an unincorporated community located in southwest Volusia County, Florida, within the city limits of DeBary. It is the former location of the Ox Fibre Brush Company and presently an industrial location.[2] Benson Junction is located just west of U.S. Highway 17-92 (Charles Richard Beall Blvd.), along Benson Junction Road.

• 
  Ox Fibre Brush Company in 1930
• 
  Former location of Ox Fibre Brush Company
• 
  Astec asphalt plant at Benson Junction

Benson Junction
Unincorporated community
Benson Junction viewed from the intersection of Benson Junction Road and Shell Road
Benson Junction
Coordinates: 28°51′55″N 081°19′46″W
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Volusia
Elevation	26 ft (8 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
enter ZIP code	32713
Area code(s)	386
GNIS feature ID	295127[1]

History

In 1885 Benson Junction was known as Enterprise Junction.[3] By 1918, it became known as Benson Junction.[4] The area consisted primarily of a railroad junction of the Indian River Division, owned by Luther Caldwell and Elijah Watson. The Enterprise Branch consisted of a 3.9 mile stretch of railroad between Enterprise and Enterprise Junction. The railroad continued to Titusville.[5][6] Through consolidation, the railroad became part of the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway.[7] In 1970, the tracks were removed.[8]

1905 Advertisement from the Ox Fibre Brush Company

The Ox Fibre Brush Company was founded in Sanford in 1884 by John K. Robinson. Brushes were made from the fibers of the native cabbage (sabal) palms, which are both strong and flexible. The palms were harvested from a 500–600-acre plot of land owned by the company in what is now the Orlandia Heights subdivision.[9] A few years later, the plant was moved to Jacksonville, Florida. On May 3, 1901, a fire in the plant destroyed the plant as well as a significant portion of Jacksonville. The plant was rebuilt in Sanford, Florida, and in 1925, it was moved to a 40-acre site at Benson Junction, where brooms and brushes were produced until the plant closed in the 1970s.[2]

During the prominence of the Ox Fibre Brush Company at Benson Junction, the area also had a post office and a grocery store.[9]

Benson Junction was included in the boundaries of DeBary, when DeBary incorporated as a city in 1993.

References

1. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
2. Poertner, Bo (1 July 1994). "Time to Brush up on DeBary History". Orlando Sentinel.
3. Jacksonville Board of Trade (1885). Jacksonville, Florida - A descriptive and Statistical Report. Jacksonville, FL: The Times Union Book and Job-Printing House. p. 41.
4. Florida East Coast Railway Annual Report. Florida East Coast Railway. 1918.
5. Annual Report of the State Corporation Commission of Virginia ..., Volume 2. Virginia State Corporation Commission. p. 34.
6. Davidson, James Wood (1889). The Florida of to-day: a guide for tourists and settlers. New York: D. Appleton and Company. p. 230.
7. Poor, Henry Varnum (1894). Manual of the Railroads of the United States. 27. p. 157.
8. "DeBary Historic Trail". Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
9. Franke, Arthur E., Jr. (1986). Volusia: The West Side. DeLand, Florida: West Volusia Historical Society. pp. 384–386.