1921 ON DECEMBER 15, THE DELAND DAILY NEWS published the first in a series of articles describing the development of the LAKE WINNEMISSETT CIRCLE community. Written by GEORGE W. MORSE, the community’s unofficial mayor, the articles described a building boom that commenced after Mr. and Mrs. N. R. Roberts built a 28 x 28 ft. two-story house on a tract of land with a lake view. 

The series introduced some colorful pioneer settlers, including CAPT. JOHN DONAGHY, an artist who moved to Lake Winnemissett in 1890. Then in his 50s, he bought 12 acres with lush citrus trees and a large grape arbor, where he loved to relax in the shade when the fruit was ripe. He built a studio with a lake view balcony under wide spreading oaks, ideal for painting the oil portraits for which he was known and the Florida landscapes that delighted him. Sporting a beard and rakish beret, and devoted to the simple life, he was the perfect picture of a romantic artist.

He lived in a comfortable cottage but built a unique boat and bathhouse over the lake. Perched a few feet above the water, it had storage for his rowboat, as well as a roofless solarium. There he and his friends sunbathed privately, sitting on comfortable benches.

Its most unusual feature was a kitchen with a trap door over a fishing hole. For a fish dinner, he only needed to open the door in the floor, throw in a few crumbs, drop a baited hook, and soon he was frying fresh fish in the kitchen.

Born in Pennsylvania, he left the Pittsburgh art scene to enlist in the Union Army in 1861. Commissioned a captain, he was captured and escaped — twice — and published sketches of Civil War life in many newspapers. After the war, he lived in New York City and Pittsburgh, selling illustrations to major newspapers and magazines — and painting portraits. In 1926, he published an illustrated book, Civil War Experiences, Capt. John Donaghy, 103rd Pennsylvania Volunteers.

SOURCE: THE DELAND DAILY NEWS, Dec. 15, 17 & 22, 1921. The photo of Capt. Donaghy (seated right with two friends) is from the Dreggors Collection in the WVHS Archives.