Town History
By Kathy Dunlop

In the 1800's, the Indian River, on the western boundary of Orchid Island, served as a major 'highway'. Trading schooners were floating general stores and visited settlements along the river on a monthly schedule. According to an article in the March/April 1999 Vero Beach magazine, Orchid “was named for the wild orchids in the trees by Captain Frank Forster, a 29-year-old ship’s captain who came to the Indian River in 1880. He built a house and then started adding more land to his homestead in order to raise the first commercially grown citrus in the area…In 1887 a West Virginian named Stephen Michael arrived on the island and bought five acres from Captain Forster. He then sent for his wife and seven children and started growing bananas. The crop was only moderately successful, however, and he soon switched to citrus, adding more land to the north of his property as his business grew.” A Post Office for the Community of Orchid was established on August 27, 1887 with continuous service until 1921 when the area was assigned to Vero Beach. The Community of Orchid was then unincorporated. In the community, there were a store, a school, and “a number of well-constructed homes.” The primary use of the land was for growing pineapples, bananas and other tropical crops. Game was abundant, including deer, bear, wild turkeys and wild hogs.

The first settlers in the community of Orchid, Stephen Kelita Michael and his wife, Laura Elizabeth Miller Michael, later moved away. One of their children, A.B. Michael, having taken over his father’s groves, had by that time established himself as a businessman in the area. [Different information – from another source - In 1903, A.B. planted the first ten acres of citrus trees while continuing to raise beans and tomatoes as a money crop.] According to the Vero Beach magazine, “In 1912, A.B. sold the groves to Deerfield Groves Company and, a few years later, became manager of the company.”

Vernon Michael, A. B.’s brother, who had left the area for a while, returned to the island. He planted groves in and around what eventually became the Town of Orchid. He died in 1935 at the age of 53 of complications from an appendicitis attack. His brother Claude took his place as manager of the local groves. Decades later, Orchid Island grapefruit became recognized worldwide for producing the finest quality grapefruit.

Numerous descendants of the original settlers continue to live in the area near Orchid. Joe Michael, one of the descendants of the original settlers, “fearing encroachment of development, came up with the idea of reserving a portion of Wabasso Island for a public park.” This is where the Environmental Learning Center now stands. “He also rallied the support of the citrus growers, commercial fishermen and sportsmen in expanding the Pelican Island Wildlife Refuge and served as chairman of the Indian River Preservation League.” And it was he who established the Town of Orchid.

On May 12, 1965, the Community of Orchid was incorporated. There were 17 registered voters. The First organizational meeting for the Town of Orchid was held March 7, 1966. The first Town Council members were elected. They were Mayor George Lier, Council members Mrs. George (Jeannette Michael) Lier, Mr. Joe Michael, Mrs. N. B. Ryall, Sr. and Vice-Mayor Mrs. Joe (Ann) Michael. The council resided in a simple white riverfront cottage for twenty years. The early goal of the Town Council was “to preserve natural beauty” for future generations.” The Town also had a City Clerk, the daughter of Joe Michael and Ann Michael, and the Council retained a local law firm as legal advisors. The Mayor or any three Council members could call council meetings at two hours notice.

After the 1986 purchase of the Town by Deerfield Groves, Joe Michael decided to separate his personal property from the town he and his wife, Annie, had governed with their family for many years. Joe Michael separated his land because he wanted his land to go to the Fish and Wildlife Service for preservation rather than to developers. At that time, Orchid was a community of a handful of households.

Orchid Island Association Limited (Robert Haines III of Avon, CT was a general partner and President of this group) bought the Town in September 1988. When Haines bought the farms, he stated that "Ten grove owners were the only residents of the town on Orchid Island between Windsor and County Road 510, so a single new resident would have raised the population by 10 percent". Part of the deal was to disincorporate a tract on Earring Point so that these grove owners could live outside of the Town of Orchid. So the original residents no longer lived in Orchid.

Mary Jane Vreeland, the current Town Planner, worked as a consultant for Daryl McQueen, engineer of record for the Haines project. Later she was hired by the developer to be a consultant for the Town. A Home Rule Charter of Orchid, FL was adopted on September 20, 1988. The Charter states that “The Town of Orchid in Indian River County, Florida, which was created by the Florida Legislature, shall continue as a municipal corporation with a Council-Manager form of government and with this document as the Charter for the Town.” The Charter called for a five-member board but at that time there were never more than three and all three were appointees. The Mayor was Robert H. Haines IV, the son of the developer.

When the Town needed a Comprehensive Plan, Vreeland “drafted much of the plan,” according to an August 29, 1989 article in the Press-Journal. This plan was completed in 1989. It stated that the “Town of Orchid is a barrier island agricultural community that has not experienced residential development since its incorporation in 1965…The primary economic use of the property in the town is agricultural land, where approximately 72% of the 514 acres of uplands support productive citrus groves … Residential development within the town is limited to 4 single family houses. ” The above-mentioned Press-Journal article went on to say, “Since the town does not have a planning and zoning commission, Mayor Robert Haines IV and councilmen Robert Bradshaw and Wayne Schasane served both functions. The only member of the public to express concern over the plan was Millie Bunnell of the Indian River County Historical Society, who said she wanted to make sure it identified Jungle Trail as being historic.” An amendment to that effect had already been proposed. “According to the plan, the town [was] expected to have 1,343 housing units on 480 acres of developable land for a gross density of 2.79 units per acre.” The 2010 population was projected at 2,801 with 700 of those being full-time residents. At that time, there were “four homes in Orchid. Two [were] mobile homes placed there [by the developer in 1989 and occupied by council members so that they could be legal residents of the town], while the others [were] a $40,000 home built in 1939 and a vacant $40,000 home built in 1980…According to the plan, the only public facility the town expects to build over the 20-year planning period is a Town Hall, which would be built with property taxes.” Source – Press-Journal. “Hutch” Haines IV, Mayor, lived in the old riverfront house.

In October 1990, Ernie Polverari was hired as the first Town Manager. He worked with Vreeland and eventually hired her to work for the Town. According to Bruce Barkett, the Town’s long-time attorney, “Polverari was instrumental in transforming a tiny community that just happened to be incorporated into a real town with a budget and other structures of government,” Polverari served many functions including serving as police chief and building inspector.

Ted Leonsis and his family built a new home in Orchid. At this point in time, Orchid tax rate was “9.5 mills, only half a mill less than the maximum allowed by the law.” When Robert Bradshaw resigned from the Town Council on July 25, 1990, he was replaced by Louis Parente, 23, (Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club’s Assistant Golf Professional). J. Wayne Schasane (an Indian River County firefighter, the husband of Jennifer Schasane who worked for Haines, as secretary to Orchid Golf and Beach Club President Robert Briggs) was another member of the Council.

The Town was home to a very active club with a pool, golf and tennis facilities and an outstanding dining facility at the Beach Club.

In 1991, the newly defined Town of Orchid had a real resident population of nine including Ted and Lynn Leonsis, Lynn and Marilyn Velde, Emily Appleton (McDonough) and Richard and Christine Avery, who built the first oceanfront home. Property owners and club members received a letter dated August 15, informing them that a foreclosure suit had been filed so the face of Orchid changed dramatically as the golf, tennis and beach facilities were closed and a minimum level of security was maintained. In spite of the changes, the Town Council continued to meet on a regular basis. Orchid Mayor, Robert Haines IV, said the town was a separate entity from the developers. “We are here as a town, regardless of (what happens with) the developers and we should keep the town’s staff intact…The town’s property owners would be well advised to keep someone looking out for their holdings.”

In September, the Town Council completed the budget process and voted to reduce the mill rate to 3.5. At the final budget meeting, “virtually all of the comments by the public and town officials were directed at news that Rep. Charles Sembler was considering introducing a bill to abolish Orchid.” (Press-Journal 9/19/91) Sembler wanted to disincorporate the Town because of its developer-controlled Council. He brought this up at a County Commission meeting the week before. Sembler was particularly concerned about those Council members who lived in trailers provided by the developer. Bob Sibson, who, along with his wife Sally, was an early property owner, and Ann Zugelter, who, along with her husband Dan also owned property, began a “Save the Town” mailing/telephone campaign. Property owners responded by contacting Representative Sembler to express their negative reactions to the possibility of abolishing the Town of Orchid. County “Commission Chairman Dick Bird favored keeping Orchid as a municipality because ‘the development can market itself better and the residents can control their own destiny.’”

“The fact the council has never had a property owner on the council since the developers bought the town in 1988 is probably another reason Sembler is considering abolishing Orchid, “ said Leonsis. Therefore it is fitting that Leonsis and Velde were the first residents appointed to the Town Council since developers had purchased the property. Their September 29, 1991 appointments helped Haines meet the mandate in the Town rules that said the Council should be made up of five people. Lynn Velde said he wanted to make the “Town Council responsive to the residents rather than acting as an arm of the developer.” “(Sembler) was not aware of this move from developer to citizen control,” said Bob Sibson, a property owner who made Sembler aware of the change. Ultimately, Sembler’s proposal to the County Commission failed.

In November of 1991, John Kurtz, President of Vista Properties Management, Orchid’s new court-appointed receiver, closed the sales office and began a complete inventory of everything on the property. Also in November, young Haines “raised the ire of Leonsis [now Mayor] and Velde [Vice-Mayor] after failing to attend several Council meetings. Although declared a resident of Orchid, Haines was spending a lot of time with his father’s business in Connecticut. [This led to the request that Haines resign.] About that time, the development’s new receiver [Haines III was facing “a barrage of legal action”] gave Parente and Schasane short notice to sign a lease or vacate the premises.” Parente’s resignation was accepted and Emily Appleton (McDonough), the third property owner in the Town, was appointed in December of 1991 to fill the fourth Council slot. A fifth spot was open at this time as Haines submitted his resignation as well. The Press Journal, in its December 20, 1991 edition, said, “Now that all but one [Schasane] of the developer’s hand-picked councilmen are gone, Orchid, despite its small size, can become a model of democracy, where citizen-lawmakers work to improve their community.”

Eventually Robert Haines III defaulted on more than $50 million in loans and twelve lawsuits were filed. “The doors to the elegant, $8 million West Indian-style Orchid Island Beach Club are locked, the cabanas, dining room and airy terraces visited only by the wind and a security guard. Across State Road A1A, the Arnold Palmer-designed, 18-hole championship golf course sits unused, closed to play with only a skeleton crew to maintain it. A telephone answering machine answers calls to the Orchid Island Golf and Beach administration and sales office with a message saying the office is closed until further notice…Although vastly different in appearance from the citrus groves and pristine oceanfront coastal hammock the 600-acre town replaced over the last three years, the population and activity level are about the same as before development began…Financial difficulties have turned the multi-million dollar exclusive development into a ghost town.”

At First Union’s request, the Town Council wrestled with the idea of having the Town operate the golf course. First Security said that it had no obligation to fund any course maintenance, although it recognized that this might adversely affect sales. The residents clearly indicated that they did not want a municipal course open to the public. “We don’t want that to happen,” explained Orchid Mayor Leonsis. “It would drive down real estate values.”

So the Town Council faced some real challenges as it wondered about the Town’s future. The above-mentioned Council members were appointed to serve until 1992 (Schasane’s resignation was accepted in February of 1992) when the Town held its first real election since 1966. So, in March of 1992, Leonsis, Velde and Appleton were reelected and Ann Zugelter, who had moved in to Orchid in February of 1992, was added to the Council. Later Barbara Greenbaum, who moved in the following July, was also elected to the Council. The Town considered whether to have a five-officer police department. It was decided that this would not be in the Town’s best interest. The 510 property was an issue as well so the Town Council proposed and passed a Code of Ordinances including many restrictions planning and zoning restrictions relating to its future development. The Town also acted to correct discrepancies in zoning and rezoned certain parcels within the town from multi-family to single-family. This was done to “preserve the character of the community.” Another issue that took up a great deal of time was consideration of dredging a canal that would allow for 62 boat docks. There were many issues to be considered.

Ann Zugelter said that Ernie Polverari hasn’t gotten the credit he deserved for his vision for Orchid. He worked with Mary Jane Vreeland, the Town Planner, and, together, they and the Town Council drew up a Master Plan (very unusual for such a small town) and set up a Code of Ordinances to protect the future of the town. These ordinances included planning and zoning restrictions and were a shield that was so restrictive that it prevented the purchase of the property by a CA hotel chain and Mobil Oil, among others. Ernie Polverari, Mary Jane Vreeland and the members of this first real Council deserve a lot of the credit for the Orchid we have today.

Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club began development and continued to guard the deep community pride in the Town of Orchid as the community began to grow. First Union bought the property for the Resolution Trust Company for $19 million in May 1993. By March of 1994, the golf course was back in playing condition. In September, it appeared that the battle for a canal was over. “The canal would have posed too many negative impacts, including poor water quality, dangers to shell fishing and elimination of sea grasses…Key concerns were pollutants from the boats at the 62 docks planned in the canal and storm water discharge within the Orchid township.”

In October of 1994, the property was purchased for $20 million by Torwest, a company controlled by W. Galen Weston. Weston is Chairman and President of George Weston Limited, a broadly based Canadian company which has conducted food processing, food distribution and resource operations in North America since 1882. In 1995, Tom Brown was named President of Orchid Island Properties, Inc. and Kevin Given was named club manager. That same month Orchid’s canal project received its final denial from the state Department of Environmental Protection. At its November 21 meeting, the Town Council swore in Dr. Jim Zickler to replace Barbara Greenbaum who had submitted her resignation. Emily Appleton also began another term in office. Leonsis stepped down as Mayor and Lynn Velde was unanimously approved as the new Mayor. Leonsis would be Vice-Mayor through December and would leave the Council in January since he was moving to Virginia.

In 1995, the first issue of the Orchid News (later known as the Overlook), a newsletter with which we have all become familiar, was put out by the developer. Warren Crandall was elected as member of the Town Council. Later he was chosen as Vice-Mayor. The Town was commended by the Orchid Property Owners’ Association and encouraged to continue to be diligent in thoroughly examining zoning changes and other requests from the developer to be sure these met legal requirements, as well as maintaining the quality and character of Orchid. In March, the Town Council approved the conceptual town plan. One new tract was changed from single- to multi-family zoning. The density was still under one unit per acre. In July, Barbara Greenbaum was re-elected to the Council.

At first home sales were sluggish and by 1996 there were only 34 residents. Town staff included a town manager, town clerk, town attorney and a part-time planner. Terri Pistole, one of the residents, said, “As residents, you feel you have input in how the town in growing. You don’t always have that.” “Residents in the community tend to be more involved and more understanding of local government than others in the county’s larger cities,” Polverari said. That year, the Council approved plans for ocean front apartments.

In 1997, a big issue was the development of Club House Court. This street was not in the original plans and significantly compromised the original plans for the location and size of the golf clubhouse. The residents ultimately lost the fight with the developer and the homes were constructed.

In 1998, the Town Council was comprised of Lynn Velde, Mayor, Warren Crandall, Vice-Mayor, Barbara Greenbaum, Charles Pistole, and James Zickler. Vernon Daniel was appointed to replace Zickler in 1999.

In 2000, the Town Council had changed. Warren Crandall was Mayor and Barbara Greenbaum, Vice-Mayor. Daniel, Pistole, and Velde continued to serve on the Council. Still under consideration were several applications for use of the 510 parcel of land, zoned for commercial use. Polverari felt that when the Town Council gave a project permission to move forward, it would be very well done and tasteful. On March 31, 2000, the Town of Orchid received official recognition from the US Postal Service and Orchid, FL 32963-9504 became an official mailing address.

In January 2001, the Town Council chose Walter Sackville, from a handful of volunteers, to fill the term of Lynn Velde who died of a heart attack. Later that year, the first Town Manager, Polverari, also died. In the fall of 2001, Torwest purchased the 510 property.

In 2002, the Town made overtures to Galen Weston to see if he would sell the 510 property to the Town. Weston declined the offer.

The second Town Manager, David Jakubiak was hired in February 2003.

In March of 2004, Orchid again had an election, as there were five candidates for two vacant seats on the Council. Richard Dunlop was elected and Warren Crandall was re-elected. The Council chose Crandall to serve as Mayor and Sackville to serve as Vice-Mayor.

In July of 2004, Chuck Pistole resigned from the Council and, at the regular Council meeting on July 7, John Brehmer was appointed to fulfill the term.

Soon, Orchid will reach its maximum size of 377 homes. The Town of Orchid has certainly grown from a population of 7 and is one of Florida’s most scenic and desirable places to live.

Sources – club website, personal interviews, Ann Zugelter, Emily McDonough, Barbara Greenbaum’s files, the Town Archives (including a Press Journal article on Indian River County History dated November 19, 2000). I also plan to talk to Ann Michael and will continue to update and add to the Town history as I get additional information.