Lake Helen is a small city in west Volusia County, Florida, just east of DeLand, the county seat, and part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropolitan area. It sits among the lakes and high pine woods of Florida's ridge country, within easy reach of Interstate 4. The city's origins are tied to Henry DeLand, the entrepreneur who also founded the neighboring city that bears his name. In the 1880s, DeLand assembled roughly a thousand acres and laid out a new town, which he named for his daughter, Helen. Lake Helen incorporated in 1888, and early residents farmed citrus and timber in the surrounding countryside. Lake Helen's defining asset is its history. The Lake Helen Historic District spans about 350 acres and encompasses 71 protected buildings, a concentration of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century architecture that is among the best preserved in the region. Victorian and other period homes line the town's tree-shaded streets, and landmarks such as Hopkins Hall, built in 1897 as a community center and library, speak to the town's early civic life. The city deliberately keeps its historic character, going so far as to maintain no traffic lights and asking drivers to yield to pedestrians and horseback riders. Today Lake Helen is a quiet, residential community of roughly 2,800 people that prizes its small-town feel. Volusia Pines Elementary School serves local children within Volusia County Schools, and the adjacent spiritualist community of Cassadaga adds a distinctive regional note. Residents commute to DeLand, Daytona Beach, and the Orlando area, while enjoying a pace and streetscape that feel far removed from Central Florida's growth corridors. Lake Helen suits history lovers, families, and anyone seeking an older, calmer Florida town.