DeLand, FL

Woodland Boulevard still reflects the educational town Henry Addison DeLand set out to build in 1876. Settlers named the community for him that December, and DeLand Academy opened in 1883 before becoming Stetson University. After an 1886 fire destroyed 22 buildings and 33 businesses, the city required new downtown construction to use masonry; the surviving pattern is preserved in the Downtown DeLand Historic District, while Stetson has its own National Register district north of the center. DeLand is also the Volusia County seat. Present-day community activity runs back and forth among campus, downtown, and city parks. The city's 2025-2027 Sculpture Walk places a dozen new works throughout downtown, and the 2026 MainStreet calendar used Woodland Boulevard and its side streets for a monthly cruise-in, twice-monthly Jazz on the Alley, a two-day craft show, and seasonal street events.

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On Stetson's campus, the Gillespie Museum and Rinker Environmental Learning Center hold monthly public Science Saturdays and Science Cafes; the Nature Nook is open without admission during museum hours. The Charles Paiva Greenway links the campus through Earl Brown Park, where a one-mile walking route, amphitheater, dog park, fitness area, duck pond, and skate-and-bike park share the grounds. A 1.35-mile northward greenway extension opened in 2024, with longer-term plans pointing west toward the DeLand SunRail station. That station, several miles west of downtown, is the northern terminus of the Central Florida commuter line and also connects with Amtrak and local transit.