submitted by Donna Digannaro, Clermont Historical Society
Are you looking for the perfect little gift and not yet ready to go to one of the big shopping malls? Clermont’s own Historic Village may just have the perfect answer for you! The Village has a number of interesting, one of a kind items for sale that are just perfect for your favorite history buff or someone who takes pride in Clermont and Lake County. Pictured above are cork coasters. They sell for only $5.00 for a set of 4. Slate coasters with the same design are also available for $5.00 each or a set of 4 for $18.00. Other items include but are not limited to wooden spoon & fork sets, wooden refrigerator magnets, decorative license plates, and wooden train whistles. Beautiful, hand-tooled, refillable heart of pine ballpoint pens in their own wooden cases are available for only $45.00 and are the perfect gift for a busy executive. For a permanent memorial for someone special consider an engraved, personalized brick for only $50.00.
The Historic Village is open every Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 PM for tours of its 5 historic buildings and 2 replicas. Admission to the Village is always free however, a donation of $5.00 per person over 12 is requested. The Village is located at 490 on West Avenue which is currently undergoing major reconstruction. There are actually two ways to get to the Village during the construction. There is a grass parking lot off of West Minneola Avenue right behind the Village Schoolhouse. You can park there and walk up the slight incline. Or, you can park in the Village parking lot. All you have to do is drive west on Osceola Street past Lily’s on the Lake. Just before the road curves onto West Avenue you will see a “Road Closed” sign. Carefully drive around that sign. Thanks to the kind efforts of the men working on the road construction, West Avenue is opened as far as the Historic Village.
Once you are on the grounds of the Village, all visitors are asked to report directly to the pavilion to sign our guest book and for a brief explanation of the changes that have been made to our procedures. The changes are: only one group at a time will be permitted in each building. One volunteer will be stationed where (s)he can see the entrances to all the buildings to ensure this. No volunteers will go on tours with guests. There will be signs inside the buildings asking people to not touch the display items. We will wipe down knobs, railings, and buttons after people leave each building. Some rooms will be roped off from the public. And, finally, all volunteers will wear masks.
If you are interested in the history of Clermont or in history in general, why don’t you consider joining the Clermont Historical Society? Membership is just $25.00 per person or $35.00 for a couple annually. At this time, the Historical Society is not holding membership meetings each month. The board of directors is meeting at 6:00 PM on the second Monday of each month and members are invited to join via Zoom. Opportunities for rentals of the grounds and buildings will have to wait for phase 3 of reopening by the state. In the meantime, you can see lots of pictures and information about the Village on our Facebook page. A new website will be launching soon. For questions or further information please call 352-242-7734. We hope to see you all now that the Village is reopened. Stay hopeful and safe!
