| WILLIAM T. WITHERS |
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Looking for a place in Florida to build a retirement home, William T. Withers bought a plot
of land next to Starke Lake and constructed a two-story house. A veteran of the Mexican and Civil
War, General Withers was very involved in the Christian faith throughout his life. Every Sunday he
had a carriage sent into Orlando to bring the preacher to Ocoee. Services were held in the front
room of his home. With Bluford Sims donating the land and Withers providing the building materials,
they built the Christian Church in Ocoee, the oldest Christian church still in use in Florida. Withers
died in 1889. His wife and family remained in the house until 1910 when they sold it to another early
settler, David O. Maguire.
Maguire and his brother James did much to cultivate the citrus industry in central Florida by encouraging
friends and family to the area. Families such as the Minors, the Seegars, and the Eckles came to Florida
at the bidding of the Maguires. After Maguire past away a few years later, his wife Margaret lived there
until her death in 1943. The City of Ocoee acquired the Withers-Maguire House in 1984, and three years
later it was listed in the National Register.
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