Withers-Maguire House

The house as built by General William T. Withers in 1888 and sold by his widow, Martha, in 1910 to David Maguire. Withers lived for most of his life in Kentucky. He practiced law in the 1850s before serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, where he rose to the rank of Brigadier General. Before that he also served in the Mexican-American war, where he suffered a wound at the Battle of Buena Vista. That would affected him for the rest of his life, and his doctor encouraged him to spend winters in Florida. He and his wife started to do so in Ocoee in 1884. Withers dove into the citrus industry, buying up citrus groves and learning how to grow fruit. Hired hands managed and worked on his land while he was back in Kentucky. He died there in 1889.

Maguire bought the house in 1910 and it remained his the family until 1979, when his only daughter died. He was a successful farmer and also became active local politics. He helped organize a local people's party and was a democrat. His fourth son became mayor in 1923.