This page is dedicated to Florida historical markers near Port Orange The Roof. There are many historical markers in Florida. This marker in Volusia County is an excellent example.
The Roof
This Florida Historical Marker is entitled The Roof , and is located in Port Orange in Volusia County, Florida. The location is 950 Old Sugar Mill Road. Marker can be reached from Old Sugar Mill Road east of Herbert Street, on the left when traveling east.
Inscription on the Marker
The inscription reads:
The Roof. . Dunlawton’s new metal roof protects stonework and machinery. But it also makes an important point. Though not a replica of the wooden roof that protected it, this shelter reminds us that a large, enclosed factory once stood here., Dunlawton’s combustible structures burned in the 1830s when Seminoles sacked the Anderson plantation. That meant the next owner had to cover and essential space. “The frame of the sugar house is nearly ready for raising,” John Marshall wrote in an 1849 progress report to his son. “We are now framing the roof, and I will try to have the engine room shingled in a few weeks.”
Marshall’s finished building measured nearly 180 feet in length, with interior columns helping to support the non-trussed roof. This giant structure stood for decades, finally collapsing about 1900. What remained (after salvagers had done their work) was a curious site with machinery and stone ruins sitting out in the open., [ Photo ] , More than thirty years after its sugar-making days, Dunlawton’s sturdy building probably was used in cattle ranching and farming. While old photographs often show north views of the structure, park visitors now approach the ruins from the south. , Photo courtesy of the Port Orange Historical Trust/Harold and Priscilla Cardwell., [ Photo ] , Decades of Florida weather finally brought down Dunlawton’s shingled roof. In time, people forgot about the site’s frame building. , Early twentieth-century photo by S. Shear, courtesy of the Halifax Historical Museum, Daytona Beach., Special thanks to preservation architect Herschel E. Shepard, Jr. – a student of Dunlawton who long advocated sheltering its resources.
Marker Sponsor and Install Date for The Roof
Placed by Volusia County and the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
Maps & Location Views
Using mapping services from Google, we can show detailed location maps and street views if they are available.
Sometimes you will be able to see the The Roof Marker in Google Maps. A 360-degree view of the area near the marker is available on the link below. You can see the marker or monument and read it in many cases.
The History of Port Orange

More than a century before the Pilgrims set foot at Plymouth Rock, in 1513, Florida began its modern-day history, of which Orlando is a part.
During this period, Florida was still part of the United States Territory and not yet a state; therefore, many Native American tribes occupied land throughout Central Florida, including Seminole Indians who had migrated there from Georgia during the First Seminole War (1817-1818).
In 1838, the U.S. Army built Fort Gatlin south of the present-day Orlando City limits to protect settlers from attacks by Indians during the Second Seminole War. During the Civil War, Orlando’s role included supplying the Confederacy with food, cattle, and horses from the vast plantations in the region.
Today Orlando is recognized as a global tourist attraction and entertainment city.
About the Florida Historical Marker Program
One of the most well-known and noticeable public history initiatives of the Division of Historical Resources is the Florida Historical Marker Program. It is intended to increase residents’ and visitors’ enjoyment of Florida’s historic places and to increase public knowledge of the state’s rich cultural past.
About Floridamarkers.com & Florida Historical Markers Near Port Orange The Roof
This experimental site tests the functionality and capabilities of Programmatic SEO. This site is attempting a new method that helps to improve search engine visibility by creating dedicated landing pages at a large scale. Thumbwind Publications LLC owns this site.