WASHINGTON OAKS GARDENS

Part of a Spanish land grant to Bautista Don Juan Ferreira in 1815. Developed as a plantation by General Joseph Hernandez, early Florida planter. George Washington, related to our first president, married Hernandez' daughter, Louisa, in 1844. They were given this land by Hernandez and remained here until 1856, developing the plantation and starting an orange grove. Louisa died in 1859, and George left, but returned in 1886, to live here the rest of his life. Purchased in 1936, by Mr. and Mrs. Owen D. Young, the gardens, groves, and plantings were expanded. In 1964, after Mr. Young's death, Mrs. Young gave the property to the State.