[Ashokan]

A relative touring TV was surprised by all the "historical" markers in the town squares, in that they are very specific with photos, dates of birth and death, geographic locations, etc., yet are entirely made up. He gets it that most TV'ers have either not bothered to read them or if they have, couldn't care less. He has an academic curiosity about the practice. This post is NOT seeking opinions, but instead more factual info.

1) Is there precedent for this type of thing? Are they placed in other Florida locations?
2) Is there any book or collection of these plaques? How were the historical names chosen?
3) Is there a go-to person in TV to find out more about how they all started?

[mulligan]

The granddaughter of the developer was a designer for Disney. She and the rest of the design team made all those up. The plaques and faded signage on the buildings are all fictional ambiance builders.

[graciegirl]

The only persons who really could tell you with authority are the owners of this development.


So I will repeat hearsay. The developers consulted the design people at Disney to build the first town center. (Think of the plaques outside the Haunted House at Disney) Gary Morse was the son of Harold Schwartz, the original developer and Gary Morse has three children who are still working every day here on site and live here. Tracy Matthews is in charge of design. Jennifer Parr is in charge of sales and Mark is in charge of building. This is the first I've heard that Tracy worked for Disney. I know that the CDD concept is based on Disney.


My OPINION is that all three town centers are all whimsy and based on themes and very well done.


No other part of Florida would have this, this is THE VILLAGES. There is no place like this anywhere in the world.

This has been updated. Read this;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Villages,_Florida


Thank you Morses.

[Taltarzac725]

Ulster artist's fake 'historic markers' make you think - News - recordonline.com - Middletown, NY

Fake historical markers may have more of a history. Some of us should do some research. https://books.google.com/books?id=dX...0texas&f=false Amarillo, TX - Huge Pair of Legs

I remember once when I got curious about Plaque on the magician throwing the playing card into the ceiling at the Old Mill Playhouse and asked an usher where this had been and almost got shown the Exit Door. This was back around 2005 right after they opened. Probably this was about the same time Andrew D. Blechman was seeing King Kong in Auditorium One at the Old Mill Playhouse and wondering about the private viewing room in there.

[circletrack]

Originally Posted by Ashokan

A relative touring TV was surprised by all the "historical" markers in the town squares, in that they are very specific with photos, dates of birth and death, geographic locations, etc., yet are entirely made up. He gets it that most TV'ers have either not bothered to read them or if they have, couldn't care less. He has an academic curiosity about the practice. This post is NOT seeking opinions, but instead more factual info.

1) Is there precedent for this type of thing? Are they placed in other Florida locations?
2) Is there any book or collection of these plaques? How were the historical names chosen?
3) Is there a go-to person in TV to find out more about how they all started?

Many of the names on the buildings have some connection to the family.

For example, there is a "Mathews & Mathews" store front in Spanish Springs.

And I've actually seen a printed version of the "Spanish Springs Gazette," a fictional newspaper that plays into the history of the town.
It also has a sign in SS on one of the buildings that houses the Daily Sun.

[LittleDog]

I was under the impression that the designer of Spanish Springs worked for Universal, not Disney.

John

[rustyp]

Fact - FORREC a design firm out of Toronto Canada designed Spanish Springs. This firm did extensive work on street scenes for Universal Studios.

I have a original copy of a news letter from Mark Morse to "Fellow Employees" The Villages 1988 a year in review. It was the 5th anniversary of Orange Blossom Gardens and the year building started across Rt 441.
Did you know that Harold donated a million dollars of his own money (not the corporation or bonds) to building the Town Square.

Attached to this news letter is an 18 page document titled "Spanish Springs, Florida: A Fictional History". It goes into great detail how the Morse family decided on the Spanish Springs theme. It details the names of each establishment in SS, the associated family ancestry behind the establishment and how each business fit into 1787-1812 time frame of SS.

This document generated by the Morse family was insisted upon by FORREC before they would "lift a pencil" to start the design. The Morse family got together every evening after work in their conference room. The news letter said "we set a bottle of whiskey and a case of beer on the table and with tongue and cheek, started talking about Ponce de Leon finding our Spanish Springs during his search for the Fountain of Youth".

Did you know:
- Katie Belle's is named after Mark Morse's great grandmother Katie Belle Schwartz.
- Van Patton is also a Morse family name
- Banner Tailoring Company actually did belong to great granddad "Papa" Schwartz until the Great Depression
- Okie Peterson was the Constable of Ellsworth, Michigan who used to chase Mark around when he was "a rambunctious youth"

Enjoy - no I won't let this document out of my sight.