The Harlan House Hotel in Lake Helen, Florida. The hotel was owned by Henry A. DeLand and named for his son Harlan. The Town of Lake Helen was named after his daughter Helen. By 1884, the whole area was surveyed, streets were laid out, many large homes were erected, and the Harlan-in-the-Pines hotel in Lake Helen opened its doors on Thanksgiving night. The hotel was a two-story structure with a high tower and wide verandas overlooking the Lake Helen Lake. Right from the start, it was a popular social center. It had a billiards parlor and hosted euchre and whist card parties, dances, “tableaux” (dramatic scenes where a picturesquely dressed group of people are frozen in position on stage), masquerades and musicals. Outdoor recreation included tennis and croquet, as well as horse and boat races. Once again, Henry DeLand’s genius for business sales proved wildly successful. According to the memoirs of one longtime resident, “All of the millionaires would come down in the winter to stay at the Harlan Hotel.” The hotel would remain a popular winter destination until 1922, when it burned down on Halloween night.