- July 14, 2026
Local history, postmarked and delivered.
The Ormond Beach Historical Society and The Casements Guild have collectively mailed over 300 postcards this year. The Casements has mailed over 200 and the Historical Society recently sent out its 100th.
"They're going all around the world," said Jayne Fifer, president of the Historical Society. "A part of Ormond Beach is just going to different countries and different states and cities."
The idea for complimentary postcards for those who visit The Casements, 25 Riverside Drive, and the Stout-MacDonald House, 38 E. Granada Blvd., came from Christine Davenport, an immediate past president of the Guild and member of the Historical Society.
Davenport is an avid traveler, and she always mails postcards. While on a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska, she discovered that the city's Chamber of Commerce mails free postcards for visitors.
"I'm one of probably the last remaining people that sends postcards, and when I got back here, I thought this would be an absolutely perfect way — inexpensive way — to get the word of Ormond Beach out into the country," Davenport said.
Postcards have been mailed all over the United States and as far as Canada and Germany.
"I'm pleased as punch," Davenport said with a laugh. "... I'm really pleased to get the word out because I love Ormond Beach."
As a docent of the Guild, Davenport regularly gives tours of The Casements. She's encountered many people who have lived in Ormond Beach for decades and never stepped foot in The Casements. So getting the word out, she said, makes a difference.
The reception surrounding the postcards has been very positive, Davenport said.
"One little girl said, 'I'm going to send this to myself because I never get any mail,'" Davenport recalled. "Which is fine because she got it at home and probably told her friends about it."
Jayde Lyle, president of The Casements Guild, said she had a couple from Melbourne on a tour this past Saturday. The wife and her sister come every fall to visit Ormond, but they had never visited The Casements.
"She filled out a postcard to send her sister that says, 'This is our stop when you come,' because she was excited about it," Lyle said. "So now it gives her sister something to look forward to, and maybe even do a little research before she gets there."
At The Casements, visitors can mail a postcard of the historic home, which identifies it as John D. Rockefeller's winter home from 1918 to 1937. The Historical Society has a variety of postcards available.
Fifer's favorite? The one of the Anderson-Price Memorial Building.
Knowing so many postcards have been mailed makes the Historical Society happy, Fifer said. The purpose of the organization is to preserve, educate and share Ormond's story.
"I believe that the whole town of Ormond Beach is a museum because we have so many things, from the Indian Mound to the Anderson-Price to the Nathan Cobb to the Cupola to the Ames House," Fifer said. "All over the place, it's nothing but history, and that's what makes this a charming town."
The Casements Guild is also getting ready for its annual Christmas Gala. This year's theme is "Home for the Holidays" and the Guild is asking locals to provide a holiday family photo from any year to display inside the historic home.
