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There is beauty all around at Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens. The location is a blend of a botanical garden, ruins of an old sugar mill and several large concrete...
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There is beauty all around at Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens. The location is a blend of a botanical garden, ruins of an old sugar mill and several large concrete dinosaurs.

The mill and gardens are located on a 10 acre portion of a 995 acre land grant awarded to Patrick Dean on August 31st 1804. Dean grew sugar cane, cotton, and rice, and possibly indigo.

Through the years, the land passed through several families. In the 1940s and 50s owner J. Saxton Lloyd leased the property to Dr. Perry Sperber who created an amusement park called Bongoland. Dr. Sperber commissioned “Manny” Lawrence to build the concrete dinosaurs found there today. Bongoland also featured an indian village, animals, a train to ride around the paths and a monkey named Bongo. Once Bongoland closed, the property sat neglected, before it was bequeathed to Volusia County in 1963.

Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens is free to the public and a beautiful place to wander through. It seems like there is a new and interesting find around every bend in the path.
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