|
A Brief
History of Lake Alfred
Lake Alfred, officially
the geographic center of Florida, covers over 5 square miles
and has a population of around 4,000.
The city lies 50 miles SW of
Orlando, on US highways 17/92, between the lakes Rochelle, Haines
and Alfred. There are also two connected lakes within the
city's boundaries.
Established in 1915, Lake Alfred
was originally the site of the military outpost Fort Cummings
which was built in 1839 and remained operational until the end
of the second Seminole Indian war in mid-1840.
The area was settled once again
in 1887 after the construction of the Tampa-Sanford railroad,
part of the rail system built by William Van Fleet, at which
time a lumber mill and turpentine still were built by what
became the Lake Alfred Lumber Company.
The area was logged by Armenian
workers who, in 1907, moved on to log unforested areas after
the arrival of the J.C. Cox family, who acquired two 40 acre
tracts of citrus groves. This marked the beginning of growth for the
city as well as the start of the area's citrus age.
The Florida Fruitlands Company
was formed in 1910 by Frank C. Gardner of Fargo North Dakota
and his partners who acquired large tracts of land and planted
citrus.
The city's first Presbyterian
church was built in 1912 by Fruitlands president Frank
Gardner.
The area had many names,
including
New Armenia, Wahnetta, Bartow Junction and Chubb before
being incorporated in 1913 as Fargo. The city was finally
renamed Lake Alfred in 1915.
Fruitlands built a hotel in the
1920's attracting more investors to Lake Alfred which began to
grow quickly as stores and citrus packing plants were built.
Building in the city stopped during the Depression years as
street lights were turned off due to lack of funds.
|
