Clay Henderson Discusses History of Friends of Canaveral

New Smyrna Beach native Clay Henderson, has a deep appreciation for Florida history and conservation and has been involved in the state on many levels, ranging from serving as president of Florida Audubon to working as an environmental lawyer and writing environmental/conservation policy affecting the entire state.

Author of the book, Forces of Nature: A History of Florida Land Conservation, Henderson shared his thoughts below with Friends of Canaveral President Lisa Mickey about the formative years of Friends of Canaveral, which he helped get started. Here’s what he had to say:

Who were the original people involved with forming Friends of Canaveral?

Friends of Canaveral was originally started by artist Doris “Doc” Leeper, who lived in Eldora and is generally recognized as the driving force behind establishing Canaveral National Seashore. Congress established the Seashore in 1975, and Leeper loosely organized Friends as an advocacy group to promote protection of the important environmental attributes of the barrier island and lagoon. When Leeper was appointed to the Canaveral National Seashore Advisory Commission, Friends of Canaveral became an umbrella  group for many environmental activists to support Leeper’s push to have most of the Seashore designated as wilderness.

What was your role?

I arrived back home from law school in 1980, and met Leeper shortly thereafter. She was still a member of the Advisory Commission and talked with me about attending committee meetings on behalf of Friends of Canaveral. At this point, Friends was still a loose organization of “friends of Doc." The Advisory Commission was disbanded in 1985 after 10 years.

Why was Friends of Canaveral formed?

In 1981, Interior Secretary James Watt sought to open the entire Florida coastline to offshore oil drilling. This posed an existential threat to Canaveral National Seashore. Park rangers thought we needed to formally establish Friends of Canaveral to take the lead in advocacy. The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) reached out to us to formalize an arrangement between Friends and NPCA to raise grassroots opposition to the drilling plan. We drew up a contract and charter and established a bank account and received grants from NPCA. The original organizers were Doc Leeper, Jay Urban, Richard Hanks and myself. Urban was an ally with Leeper in establishing Atlantic Center for the Arts and Hanks was the chief ranger at Canaveral.  The documents were signed in Urban’s house in New Smyrna Beach. Friends became the major point of contact between NPCA, the Park Service and Governor Graham’s office to exchange information and get in the record. Ultimately, Congressman Bill Nelson led Congress to ban the drilling effort. 

Was the original mission specifically to restore the Eldora House or for general historical preservation of the Eldora community?

When Canaveral National Seashore was established, there were still some residents in the small village of Eldora. Residents had a choice to remain for 15 years or to keep a life estate. By 1989, most of the local residents had abandoned their homes and the Park Service needed a plan for deciding which dwellings should be protected. Of special importance was the Eldora Hotel, which was built in the 1880s and was in much disrepair. It was demolished. [Editor’s note: Canaveral records show guestbooks from a rooming house located on that site called “The Homeplace.”] As of that time, the Park Service had not completed a historical resources study. Once the study was developed, it urged that the State House and the Leeper House be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building that was restored was then called the State House. It was never a “public building,” but was called that because it was a getaway house for the State Attorney at the time. Jim Jones, editor of the former New Smyrna Beach Observer, ran a series of stories on the importance of Eldora and the need to protect some of the historic structures. Jones and park superintendent Art Graham formed a small group to discuss how to decide which structures should be protected and through what means. It was decided that the old informal “Friends of Canaveral” needed to be formally organized as a not-for profit corporation and it needed to sign a contract with the Park Service to become the official support organization for Canaveral National Seashore. I prepared the formal documents and Jones, Sid Corhern and T.C. Wilder were named early Friends of Canaveral officers. I was chairman of the Volusia County Council at that time and decided I could be more help by not having an official role. Also, by this time, Doc Leeper was more focused on the Atlantic Center for the Arts [which she also started].  

Why was preservation of these old structures important?

Sid Corhern’s involvement was crucial, as he was an experienced historic preservation architect. It was decided that Eldora Hotel was beyond salvage, as it had severe water damage. Art Graham and I were probably the last persons in the “widow’s walk” of the hotel when we crashed through the roof. It was decided that all efforts needed to go into protection of the “[Eldora] State House,” as it was representative of what had been this small thriving community. Later, the Park Service completed its historical resource study and placed the State House on the National Register of Historic Places. [Editor’s note: On the National Historic Register, the State House, now called Eldora House, is named the “Moulton-Wells House” for the families that had lived there. The house’s current exhibits were created by park ranger Reid Miller in 1999.]

How did you do all of the fundraising to restore Eldora House? And how big of an undertaking was it?

By formalizing Friends of Canaveral, we were able to receive historic preservation grants from the state and the National Park Service. All of the start-up funds came this way and were matched by people in the community. The project was completed with a federal grant secured by Congressman John Mica. 

How much physical labor was undertaken by this group?

In the early days there, Friends of Canaveral organized volunteer efforts that cleaned, repaired and painted much of the old State House.   

What happened to the other buildings located on the premises?

Nearly all of the other structures in Eldora were demolished. Only the Doc Leeper House remained. It was later restored by the Park Service and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.   

Canaveral National Seashore attracts some 2 million visitors a year, many of whom visit Eldora House. How does it make you feel that this structure is still standing to give them historical perspective?

It seems hard to believe, but Eldora was once a thriving community. It had a post office, hotel, restaurant and businesses associated with citrus and palmetto berries. During the days of steamboats, it was a required stopover along the inland waterway. At the time Canaveral National Seashore was established, there were still several families there and I knew many of them. Saving the State House was important to preserve a remnant of what was once there, including the pioneers who lived along the banks of the lagoon.

Why is the Friends group important now to our local national park?

National Parks belong to all of us, and nearly all of our great national parks have citizen support organizations who provide important resources for the park as volunteers. They also provide an important connection to the local community. Friends of Canaveral helped stop offshore drilling, advocated for protection of the natural resources of the area instead of being just another recreational beach, protected important historic resources, and it continues to engage people in citizen science and protection of rare species.