Motorists traveling along Aloma Ave. (SR 426) between Winter Park and Oviedo, just northeast of Orlando, Florida, might notice the two green-and-white D.O.T. signs about a mile apart, each containing only the single word "Slavia". In the early 1900s, A number of immigrants from Slovakia felt uncomfortable in their occupations as workers in an industrial society. They wanted their children to grow up on farms where there would be less temptation and wickedness of the large cities. In 1911, members of the Holy Trinity Slovak Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio, in October, they bought 1,200 acres near Oviedo from D.W. Currie for $17,400. While the land was being readied for buildings, the settlers lived in the old shacks. On March 17, 1912, the settlers formed St. Luke the Evangelizer Church with Andrew Duda, Sr. as its president. Early services were held in one of the pre-Slavia worker's shacks. That building has been modified several times over the years, including being covered with aluminum siding, and was used for decades for storage and allowed to deteriorate. The building is located on the edge of the cemetery, where it was moved to during the late 1990s. Some of the men living in Slavia worked in Henry Overstreet's shingle mill in Oviedo. Others worked at the citrus packing plant, which by the 1920s employed most of the population of Slavia. Children attended school in Oviedo, and financial help came from stockholders in Cleveland and from Slovak religious organizations throughout the country. The Slavia Colony Company dissolved in 1928, and the remaining four stockholders divided the last 785 acres among themselves. In 1915, the company had offered ten acres adjacent to the church for use as a cemetery. Because the road to it was in poor repair, it was relocated to the south, where it sits today. The first person buried there, on February 9, 1933, was John Mikler, the 11-year-old son of Joseph and Katarina Mikler. For more information regarding Slavia, see Like a Mustard Seed by Paul Wehr (The Mickler House 1982). Much of the above material comes from that book. (copied) Submitted by: Mike Woodfin

Original 1926 picture of the Depot with Stanko's Store in the background.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

The same spot today.  The RR track is now a "Rails to Trails" and the depot is gone.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

abandoned foundation
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Abandoned Home
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Abandoned Home
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Abandoned Home
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Water Tower
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Part of the Duda Sod Farm
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

This was originally one of the pre-Slavia worker shacks that was used as the first 1912 St. Lukes Lutheran Church.  It has been renovated several times and still sits on the cemetery property.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Inside looking at the old alter.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Looking toward the front door.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Front of 1912 Church
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Front gate of old Slavia Cemetery
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

John and Mary Stanko Headstone
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Lukas Headstone
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Founders Michael & Maria Mickler
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Andrew Duda, Sr., who had settled in Cleveland in 1909, moved to Florida in 1912.  Soon after, his wife Katarina an their children arrived from Austria-Hungary.  He unsuccessfully attempted to grow celery in 1913, and moved back to Cleveland 3 years later. In 1926 he returned and with his three sons produced a successful celery crop.  Their family farm business grew into one the largest in the U.S.  In 1967 they switched to sod and A. Duda and Sons, Inc. remains a large thriving business today.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

Joseph Mikler was the first settler to arrive in early 1912.  The only buildings were a few wooden shacks remaining from the black turpentine and sawmill workers who had worked the land before.  Mikler built the first new house in 1913.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin

1926 Picture of the Martin Stano Store with many pioneers in front.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin