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 The history of Spruce Creek Fly-In actually extends past the actual
construction of the runways and the conversion to a residential airpark. The aerial photograph to the right shows the as it was over 35 years ago.
The community’s history can be seen today, in part, at the cemetery that lies in the heart of the community. With graves that date back to the late 1800's, there are a
few interesting stories here. Ken Renner's Grandmother, Eunice Lewis, tells the tale about the Army Air Corps having to get her father's signature, as well that of
others who had loved ones buried there, acknowledging that for the duration of the war (W.W.II) he would not be able to visit the graves of his parents.
In another case, Mrs. Lewis explained the very large family plot dating from the late 1880's to the mid 1910's with the crypts of a father and mother. To the left of
the parents are buried six children who died before adulthood. To the right are the twelve stillborn infants. She does not recall how many children in the family
attaining adulthood, but she says that there are no longer any of them alive.
During World War II, the airfield was built as a practice landing facility. There were never any aircraft or personnel stationed here. T-6's flew in from Sanford,
DeLand, Pinecastle, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and dozens of other fields in the area.
After the war, it was decommissioned and turned over to the City of Daytona Beach. Since Daytona already had a fine airport, it began looking for uses for the
"Samsula Airport." Locals did not wait long before finding uses of their own - Hot Rodding, Drag Racing, camping, a place to go "parking" and even fishing.
During the sixties, fences and other obstructions were erected to discourage these uses and the search began in earnest to find a lucrative use.
The State of Florida considered locating a state university there, but decided to go elsewhere. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University was offered the facility for
virtually nothing, but decided to move to Daytona's municipal field, reasoning if the owned their own airport, they would have to maintain it, but
at the municipal field they wouldn't.
In the late sixties and early seventies, a group of men from the Atlanta took a look at Samsula Airport and saw a revolutionary possibility: an airpark with
everything - residential areas with taxiway access to the homes (that was the revolutionary part), a country club, and a commercial area. Areas were
designated for schools, churches and sports fields. The ideal resident might be the owner of an aviation related business that could be moved to the commercial
area just a short distance from his home. The airport facilities would benefit the business and the owner by providing personal and corporate air service and maybe even cargo flights.
This led to the design and development of Spruce Creek Fly-In. Bill Slaughter, today one of our Broker/Associates, was a part of the development from early on
until he decided that there was an unfilled need for a Real Estate office to handle resales of existing properties. He established Spruce Creek Fly-In Realty.
This is, of course, the short version of Spruce Creek's history. Someday soon, there will be a book available containing the full story. When it becomes
available, we will let you know.
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