The fact that Stuart, Florida was named after Homer is confirmed by correspondence between Homer and his brother Inglis, Florida East Coast Railway material in the archives at Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, land records and newspaper articles published when the Stuart name referred to the settlement on the north side of the St. Lucie River. Homer built a bungalow on the north side of the St. Lucie River and commenced to grow pineapples as everyone else in the area was doing. Letters he wrote to his future wife Margaret from November 1886 to May 1887 have been preserved and donated to the Historical Society of Martin County. Homer Sr. died in 1885 and his widow came to visit Homer Jr. in Florida the following fall. It was during and immediately following his mother's visit that the surviving letters were written. They reveal a son's love and admiration for his mother's spunk, and tell of the trials and tribulations of pioneer life, especially in regard to getting mail from the outside world. A great deal is said about the pioneer bill of fare. When his mother arrived she was greeted with gifts of pineapples, oranges, lemons and a green turtle. Later they dined on such things as dove, sand hill crane, and opossum. Homer's fiancee declined his invitation to come to Florida and soon Homer gave up pioneering and returned north. After marrying they moved to Philadelphia where ha managed a division of the Fairbanks Company, a scale manufacturer. After retiring in 1910, the Stuarts lived in Beacon, N.Y. where Homer served as a trustee for a local savings bank and was president of the school board
The fact that Stuart, Florida was named after Homer is confirmed by correspondence between Homer and his brother Inglis, Florida East Coast Railway material in the archives at Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, land records and newspaper articles published when the Stuart name referred to the settlement on the north side of the St. Lucie River. Homer built a bungalow on the north side of the St. Lucie River and commenced to grow pineapples as everyone else in the area was doing. Letters he wrote to his future wife Margaret from November 1886 to May 1887 have been preserved and donated to the Historical Society of Martin County. Homer Sr. died in 1885 and his widow came to visit Homer Jr. in Florida the following fall. It was during and immediately following his mother's visit that the surviving letters were written. They reveal a son's love and admiration for his mother's spunk, and tell of the trials and tribulations of pioneer life, especially in regard to getting mail from the outside world. A great deal is said about the pioneer bill of fare. When his mother arrived she was greeted with gifts of pineapples, oranges, lemons and a green turtle. Later they dined on such things as dove, sand hill crane, and opossum. Homer's fiancee declined his invitation to come to Florida and soon Homer gave up pioneering and returned north. After marrying they moved to Philadelphia where ha managed a division of the Fairbanks Company, a scale manufacturer. After retiring in 1910, the Stuarts lived in Beacon, N.Y. where Homer served as a trustee for a local savings bank and was president of the school board
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