Royal R. Thayer

Carpenter, contractor and postmaster in early Winter Park.

The Thayer family were among the first settlers of Winter Park, living on Lake Mizell when the area was still part of the town of Osceola. Royal Rollin Thayer was a carpenter and contractor. He built the first W.C. Comstock home on Interlachen Avenue, as well as the Methodist Church. He constructed a house of his own around 1885 at the corner of Park and New England. Two children were born there: Mabel Ella Thayer (February 18, 1887, her father's birthday) and Keith Irving Thayer (March 27, 1891, Good Friday). Thayer was appointed postmaster of Winter Park in 1889 and started a home bakery in 1895.

This article was written by former archivist, Barbara White, MLIS.