Palmer Avenue is named for General John B. Palmer of Columbia, South Carolina. Palmer's wife Frances and son Edmund bought 80 acres of groves in Winter Park in 1879. General and Mrs. Palmer later moved there and built a home on the property, near the corner of what is now Palmer and Alabama avenues. The couple played a prominent role in the Winter Park social scene, and General Palmer was instrumental in the construction of the depot for the South Florida Railroad.
These photographs of Palmer Avenue were taken around the 1880's near the canal connecting Lakes Osceola and Maitland. It was known as Palmer Brook, Maitland Run, and most recently Venetian Canal.
Palmer Avenue featured numerous famous historical homes, including Mi E Taw, or "Big Tree" (1880's or 1890's); Greyacres (1907), the home of Robert Dhu Macdonald; Carlova (1915), the Caldwell-Strong house; and Temple Grove (1910's or 1920's).
