Seat of Volusia County since 1888, De Land, Florida lies about 25 miles inland (southwest) of Daytona Beach, just east of the St. Johns River. The first inhabitants of the area, the Timucua, were driven away by the Creek (their traditional foes) and the British in the mid-18th century. A hundred years later, a Henry DeLand of New York planted water oak trees there and founded a settlement. With the help of John Stetson, a Philadelphia hat maker, he established an academy there that was renamed Stetson University in 1889.

The community of De Land thus evolved first as a college town. Thanks to Lue Gim Gong, a Chinese horticulturalist who developed new varieties of both grapefruit and orange there toward the end of the 19th century, De Land also became the center of the surrounding citrus-growing region. While citrus crops are still important, the economy today owes more to industry and tourism.

With Hontoon Island State Park and Ocala National Forest to the west, and Blue Spring State Park to the southwest, De Land has much to offer outdoor enthusiasts, hikers, bicyclists, birdwatchers, and naturalists. And with museums dedicated to minerals and to African American art, it has just as much of interest to culture buffs. Sports fans have just as much at their disposal as well. Golf in the immediate area--and there are 30 first-rate courses in Volusia County--include Cypress Point, Pelican Bay, Sugar Mill, and River Bend, to name just a few.

The Numbers on De Land Homes

As far as finding a home in De Land goes, you're looking at a suburban community of approximately 27,000 residents. De Land proper, according to the last census, has some 8,500 residential dwellings. Real estate is appreciating at 17.9 percent, versus the national average is 7.7 percent, yet the median home value of $126,000 is well below the national average of $170,000. Nearly 70 percent of homes in De Land are owner occupied.