Dade City’s “Family Tree” Is In The Works
By JOE POTTER
The home of the late Bill Dayton, a well-known historian and attorney who passed away on Jan. 5, is in the process of becoming what could be considered Dade City’s “Family Tree,” according to Joy Lynn. Dayton, who was a Dade City native, was widely known for being very knowledgeable about the city’s history and enjoyed sharing information about it on many different occasions.
He was a member of Dade City’s Historic Advisory Committee for many years, was interested in world and national history, and was a longtime member of the Dade City Kiwanis Club. He also practiced law in Dade City for several decades.
His home’s future was in the hands of the Probate Court because Dayton hadn’t prepared a Last Will and Testament. His sole survivor, Beverly Dayton, had considered having the home at 37701 Meridian Avenue demolished and having two smaller homes constructed on that property. That estimate came in at approx. $235,000 for that project, according to Joy Lynn.
“I told her I thought that I could fundraise and build sponsorships to meet the amount that the contractor had given her,” Lynn told Commissioners.
Joy desired to make the residence into “a dedication or memorial home,” which would be about people who have made Dade City important.
“Think of it as a Dade City’s Family Tree,” Lynn told Commissioners.
Lynn added that she didn’t necessarily mean going back to the 1800s.
“We have many people today who make Dade City important and valuable,” Lynn said.
Portions of the home could be dedicated “to family members and to people who have founded our community and things like that,” Lynn told Commissioners.
“She agreed and told me that her loved ones were rolling over in their graves, smiling at the idea,” Lynn said.
Therefore, the project was taken on with the intent of creating what would be known as the Dade City Historic Center at Dayton’s former residence,” Lynn said.
This is a separate thing from the Dade City Heritage Museum, which receives funding from the City.
“The house is in beautiful condition,” Lynn said.
However, a new roof needs to be installed on it, which will be done this coming January, according to Lynn. Borregard Construction, Inc. and its construction team are helping with work on the house. Pasco-Hernando State College is also assisting with this project.
“They are building an actual curriculum around this house. They want to do a drone program that will fly over the house from start to finish,” she said. PHSC is also designing a preservation program so that interns can come out and keep records, archives, and reports of Dade City, and work on preservation work on the house.
“We have people from the (Dade City) Garden Club working with us. We also have Cindy Gandolfi from Cindy’s Secret Place on the Farm working in our gardens with multiple volunteers.
“Our sponsorship program is going well so far – we’re raising the funds,” Lynn said.
Seth Mann is their operating attorney and CPA. Hettie Spencer, who was Dade City’s first postmistress, had a family home moved from Lake Pasadena around the turn of the last century to the site where Dayton’s former home is located. That was done so Spencer wouldn’t have to keep traveling back and forth from Lake Pasadena via horse and carriage to do her work for the U.S. Postal Service.
