PHIL ESCHBACH

Phil Eschbach is a ninth generation Floridian who has lived in Winter Park for 45 years.  His family first arrived in Florida in 1776.

Phil Eschbach

He is a graduate of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and is a retired commercial photographer who specialized in architecture and travel and maintained a studio in Winter Park for many years.

He has exhibited widely in Central Florida, using images from his travels for both work and pleasure, collected with an eye for architectural detail.

Phil has served the Winter Park community on many civic boards, including Parks and Recreation which he chaired for 3 of his 12 years of service, the Winter Park Public Library.

He also served as president of the Winter Park Historical Association for two years.

Other organizations he served include Keep Winter Park Beautiful, Tree Preservation, and the Casa Feliz Foundation, an historic preservation association, in addition to his work with several city task forces.

In retirement he is devoting his time to writing and travel. He continues to write articles for several historical journals.

He has published two travel photography books, one on Egypt and one on Jordan.

He has recently published a non-fiction book, Pioneers of Florida, which is an overview of the involvement of his ancestors the British loyalist Williams family in the development of Florida.

His book covers the British Period (1763-1783), the Second Spanish Period (1783-1821), and the Territorial Period (1821-1845-statehood), including accounts of relevant events occurring during these eras.

He is currently involved in the writing of a book describing the history and architecture of the last remaining Carpenter Gothic Episcopal churches constructed before 1900 in Florida, due to be published in early 2023.

Phil continues to enjoy tennis, Florida history, horses and collecting postal history of Florida.