The Colorful History of the Leu House at Leu Gardens in Orlando, Florida

Harry P. Leu Gardens is located in the heart of Orlando, Florida. Leu Gardens is a beautiful attraction which sits on the peaceful shores of the Lake Rowena river. Much as one would expect, Leu Gardens offers its visitors an opportunity to spend an afternoon in a lushly designed landscape full of tropical, and sub tropical flowers and plants. But, there is much more to Leu Gardens than one would guess. Although the City of Orlando currently holds the deed to the property on which Leu Gardens now stands, there is a great deal of interesting history to be learned about its former occupants.

The stunningly beautiful gardens are a backdrop to the historic and majestic Leu House. The Leu House has currently been painstakingly restored to its original charm. Past residents of the Leu House have included an ill-fated Orange County Sheriff, an ancestor of the man who instituted the largest education grant in the history of the country and his scandalous wife, and finally, an adventurous couple who extensively traveled the world over.

The Leu House was originally deeded to David and Angeline Mizell through the Homestead Act of 1862. David Mizell was an Orange County (Orlando) Sheriff who was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1870 over a cattle dispute. Sheriff Mizell remains the only Orange County Sheriff to have died in office. David and Angeline's son, Thomas Mizell, decided to build a house on the property in 1888, his construction was a five room, two story frame structure.

The second owner of the Leu House was Duncan Clarkston Pell. Pell was a New Yorker who had purchased large amounts of land in Florida in 1902. Pell was a member of a very wealthy family with strong political ties. One of his descendants was Rhode Island Senator Clairborne Pell, the force behind an education grant which would eventually become known as the Pell Grant. Duncan Clarkston Pell would eventually piece together most of the acreage of Leu Gardens that is visible today. Duncan Clarkston Pell's time at the Leu House was colorful to say the least. When Pell came to Orlando from New York, he was married to Anna Ogden Pell. He supposedly secured a divorce in Florida, to which Anna apparently decided was not legal, or simply ignored.

Anna Ogden Pell sued Duncan Clarkston Pell for divorce citing that he had abandoned her, and taken up with another woman. The other woman, was Helen Gardner, a then current silent film star with a somewhat tarnished reputation. Helen Gardner shocked the country with her sexually alluring personality, and vampish on-screen persona. As history reflects, Theda Bara would eventually outshine Gardner, but Helen Gardner was the original silent film vamp. The affair between Pell and Gardner brought even more scandal to the Leu House when it was discovered that the two had been legally married. Duncan and Helen lived out their lives happily, lavishly, and together, regardless of the gossip and ill thoughts from many. It was Duncan Clarkston Pell who brought the first significant landscaping activity to the property; he planted an orange grove soon after he moved in

After the Pell's time in the Leu House came to an end, it was purchased by a man named Joseph H. Woodward. Woodward and his wife lived in the house uneventfully, but he is credited with having completed the Leu House as it stands today. After their time had come to an end, the house became a rental property until 1936, when it was purchased by its final individual owner, Harry P. Leu.

Harry P. Leu was a member of a rare group of people, an Orlando native. He owned a successful industrial supply company in Orlando, and he was a great proponent of the Central Florida area. Leu and his wife Mary Jane could best be described as being avant garde travelers. The two would frequently travel to far off locations, and bring back with them many beautiful foreign objects. Harry P. Leu was most ardent about collecting exotic plants, and he would bring them back home to be planted in his gardens. Those gardens would eventually become large enough to dwarf his palatial home. Eventually, Harry P. and Mary Jane Leu would create a 50 acre garden which flanked their beautiful home on the shores of Lake Rowena. Because of the love that Harry P. Leu had for Central Florida, he donated his home, and the surrounding gardens to the City of Orlando in 1961.

* Sheriff David Mizell
* Anna Ogden Pell's lawsuit against Duncan Clarkston Pell
* Senator Clairborne Pell