The City of DeBary is a safe and active community that provides cultural, educational and recreational opportunities for all of it’s residents. It is the gateway to southwestern Volusia County, with direct access to I-4 and Highway 17-92. Located on the northern shore of the beautiful St. Johns River, DeBary is known as The River City and has been incorporated since December 1993. It serves as a corridor between Orlando, Sanford and Daytona Beach. The population is over 12,000 within an area of 25 square miles. City government welcomes new businesses to locate within its city limits and even offers financial incentives to encourage commercial growth. DeBary enjoys the lowest ad valorem tax rate in Volusia County and has a reserve amounting to 25% of the yearly budget. The City contracts for public works, police, fire, growth management, and other services, which keeps costs low while providing a high level of service. DeBary offers a diversity of lifestyles, which include upscale country clubs and championship golf courses, rural acreage with horses, and riverside homes. The new DeBary library opened in July, 1998 and is part of the county library system. The area is serviced by three hospitals providing almost 500 beds. State of the art medical care is available within minutes from any location in the DeBary area. There are over 40 churches in and around the DeBary area representing more than 30 denominations including Methodist, Baptist, Christian, United Lutheran, Catholic, Christian Science, Presbyterian, Jewish, and Trinity Assembly of God - just to name a few.

DeBary has 12 parks which vary from small playgrounds and baseball parks to a large 208 acre park. Gemini Springs County Park has full recreational activities with swimming, canoeing, horseback riding, picnic areas, and miles of interesting nature trails with educational themed signs. The park is named for its free-flowing twin springs and is a haven of archaeological treasures with a shell and bone midden and shoreline habitat. The newest park is Memorial Park, a 2.5 acre site, in which local individuals and groups may be remembered with memorials. The park will include an F-15 airplane and a 9-ton ship anchor.

DeBary Hall, a 20 room southern plantation house has been on the National Register since 1972. Built in 1871 by Frederick deBary, the first settler in this region, the mansion is an excellent example of southern architecture of the mid 19^th century. Using the St. John’s River as a highway, deBary’s steamship line cargoed oranges downstream to market in Jacksonville. The Spring Festival at DeBary Hall is a step back in time with DeBarians dressing in period costumes, demonstrating early settler crafts, displays of Indian dancing, and live music. The popular weekend festival draws visitors from all parts of Florida and other states.