Who Was William Dean Howells? Former Resident of 246 St. George Street, Famous Author, Neglected by 450th

o American Abolitionist, Mark Twain's closest friend and editor, Abe Lincoln's campaign biographer, former U.S. consul to Venice -- lived and partied here at 246 St. George Street.
o Progressive, anti-racist, feminist, pro-union, anti-imperialist, William Dean Howells was President of American Institute of Arts and Letters and the leading literary figure in America for decades.
o Co-recipient with Twain of honorary Ph.D. from Yale (called each other "doc").
o Helped inspire startup of NAACP
o Helped inspired generations of writers, including Nobel laureate writer Sinclair Lewis (whom he encouraged partied with here), Stephen Crane, Frank Norris and Jewish Daily Forward editor Abraham Cahan and African-American poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Friends with Henry James
o Called St. Augustine a "dear old town." Said "when I get fairly lauchned on new novel, I shall be quite young again."
o Wrote here A CONFESSION OF ST. AUGUSTINE and THE HOME-TOWNERS. He wrote lyrically of St. Augustine's nature, peach trees, mockingbirds. Mocked cult of Spanish concquerors, stating of the 1565 killing of French Protestant prisoners, "To spare their feelings," they were "stabbed in the back."
o "Stabbed in the back" by Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences, which used his home for offices, then sold the entire $2 million state grant funded Dow Museum of Historic Homes to speculator DAVID BARTON CORNEAL.
o Now CORNEAL wants to rent out William Dean Howells' home to rich people, carve it into "suites" and charge $500/night per suite.
o No PUD. And the State of Florida must exercise its rights on the $2 million.