Lake County
The region of Central Florida that is now known as Lake County has been
inhabited for thousands of years. For the same reasons that still bring people
to this area, namely mild weather, excellent growing conditions, and an
abundance of fish and game, the Timucuan Indians called this region home.
In 1562 a French Huguenot colony was established at the present site of Astor on
the St. Johns River. The entire colony was wiped out by the Spanish is 1566.
By 1763 when James Spalding established a trading post at Astor, there were few
Indians left in the area.
In 1782, Spain re-occupied Florida and began awarding large tracts of land to
reward favors. In 1819 Moses Levy received such a land grant from the Spanish.
He established a plantation along the St. Johns River in Lake County, which was
to be a settlement for oppressed European Jews. He was the father of David Levy,
who later changed his name to "Yulee." Mr. Yulee was Florida's first senator
after it acquired its statehood. During the first Seminole Indian War, the
Seminole Indians burned the plantation to the ground.
Forts were built throughout the county, known then as Mosquito County, to defend
the settlers against the Seminole Indians. In 1823, at the Treaty of Moultie
Creek, the Seminoles were ordered to live in a reservation, most of which was in
Lake County.
Towns grew and vanished. Other towns took their places. When the Civil War
started in 1861, there were several large plantations and many small farms in
Lake County. Florida became one of the states to secede from the Union.
Lake County became a legal entity on July 27, 1887. It was carved out of
portions of Orange and Sumter counties. The first County Commission meeting was
held in Yalaha.
It was named Lake County because there were over 1400 lakes within its proposed
boundaries. Tavares became the county seat after 3 elections that included
political maneuvering and outright corruption.
As a part of his effort to have Tavares named as County Seat, Major St. Clair
Abrams, who founded Tavares, borrowed $10,000 and built a courthouse, which
later was known as the Pioneer Building. In 1922 the county floated a $250,000
Bond Issue and built a new courthouse which is now known as the Historic
Courthouse.
The first Post Office was established in Okahumpka on January 2, 1845 when
Florida was still a territory. In 1890, the first census was formed and there were 8,034 people in the county.
As of the 1990 census, there were approximately 140,000 people.
Agriculture was the main industry until the freezes of 1983, 1985, and 1989. The
agribusiness figure reached $101 Million dollars.
Walt Disney's parents were married in a small town named Kismet, which no longer
exists, on December 27, 1887. As a child, Walt used to spend vacations visiting
his Aunt Jessie Perkins in Paisley.
Contact Information:
Lake County Board of County Commission
315 West Main St.
P.O. Box 7800
Tavares, Florida 32778
www.lakegovernment.com
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