by Chuck Seaver, South Lake Tablet
Clermont and the surrounding areas hold deep treasurers of history dating back to a time when Seminole and Timucuan Native Americans ruled the land and called these “Gem of the Hills” home. At the end of the Second Seminole War in 1842, the United States Government started surveying the area. According to historical documents, the surveyors, in all probability, were the first white men to visit the area when they began their work in 1843.
Little is known about the earliest settlers to the South Lake County area before the Civil War. When Florida entered the Union in 1845, South Lake County was a part of the area designated as “swamp and overflowed” lands by the United States Government. By 1852, settlers were beginning to migrate to the area from southern parts of Georgia.
The first permanent settler in the portion of South Lake County dubbed “the Clermont area” was James Anderson from Georgia in 1853. James’ daughter married the son of William Slone, another early settler of what is now known as the Slone’s Ridge area, located west of Mascotte.
These names and the names of other early settlers and their descendants would eventually become a part of timeless history that includes the pathways for our day-to-day travels in the South Lake area. From small cul-de-sac streets to main thoroughfares through our community, many of the streets and roadways that we travel daily have historical significance that is slowly fading.
In a time when the early settlers of Clermont had not yet seen a motor vehicle, the early streets used by pioneers in the area were merely trails blazed by the settlers. The first system of county roads established in the community was in 1889 when Robert Hooks contracted with the county for $1,000 to open 38 miles of pine straw roads in South Lake County. The process was slow, but the idea of pine straw would lead to the success of easier travel by oxcart and horse-powered carriages and eventually automobiles. The first hard-surfaced county road, made of slag and tar, in South Lake County was Highway 561 built in 1925.
As the area continued to grow and pine straw would eventually be replaced by brick, clay or packed gravel, the trails would be identified by the names of property owners, businesspeople, or simple nicknames that stuck. Cars and trucks would eventually take the place of cattle drives and wagons while roadways would become identifying marks for travel directions.
Although numerous streets in the community are named after early families or possess other historical significance, we chose several that are either tucked away in residential areas or have become common routes in today’s travel. Below you will see a list of some of those names and a brief description of the legacy that is attached to each.
Anderson Street and Anderson Hill Road – located in Clermont, both streets are named after Ulysses Grant Anderson. Anderson, originally from Huntington, West Virginia, relocated to the area in 1913 as a business partner to Stuart Bowman. Together, they purchased 10,000 acres of land in the Clermont and Minneola area. They subdivided the acreage into tracts of ten acres for the primary use of citrus groves. Another section of the land was laid out as a residential section named “Clermont Heights.” Clermont Heights includes the area of the present-day Winn-Dixie Shopping Center on State Road 50 at Bloxam Avenue and the neighboring residential areas of Highland Avenue.
Bowman Street – located in Clermont off State Road 50 near the Sunnyside Plaza. It was named after Stuart H. Bowman who founded the Lake Highlands Land Development Company (LHLDC) in 1913. The original site of the LHLDC is now an assisted living facility located at the corner of Minnehaha Avenue and East Avenue.
Carolyn Drive (including Dianna Place and Fran Mar Court Neighborhood) – located in Clermont off 12th Street, near West Beach. The small three-street subdivision was wetland and lake before it became a developed subdivision in the late 1950’s with homes being built in 1960. The sand was dredged to create peninsulas with canals that allowed the residents easy access to nearby Lake Hiawatha. The subdivision was developed by the Oswalt family with the streets named after Victor Oswalt’s daughters and wife, Carolyn, Dianna and wife, Frances.
Disston Avenue – located in Clermont, Disston Avenue crosses State Road 50 and continues to Minnehaha Avenue, while traveling north to North Street in the Edgewood subdivision. Disston Street is believed to have been named in the early 1900s when the Highlands Land Company was coming to fruition. An American industrialist and real estate developer, Hamilton Disston purchased 4 million acres of Florida land in 1881. The purchase was reportedly the largest land purchase by a single person in world history at the time. Although Disston was never a permanent resident of Clermont, his appeal for development in the area was noticed by developers associated with the Highlands Land Company. Hamilton’s investments were directly responsible for creating the towns of Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Gulfport, and Tarpon Springs and indirectly aided the rapid growth of St. Petersburg.
Hooks Street – located in Clermont from Lakeshore Drive to Hancock Road. The Hooks family were early settlers of the area dating back to 1874 when Herring Hooks travelled to the area from his homestead near Yalaha. Hooks and five other settlers traveled by horse-drawn wagon when the group wandered into this hill and lake section that we now call Clermont. Hooks purchased 157 acres in an area of Lake Minnehaha that included property that is now home to the residents of the Margaree Gardens subdivision on Lakeshore Drive, nicknamed for decades as “Hooks Point”.
Hull Road – located in unincorporated south Clermont, off South Lakeshore Drive. The Hull family joins the list of settlers that moved to the area with dreams of starting a new life in a promising time when land was plentiful, and natural resources provided the opportunity for sustaining young families. George W. Hull and his wife Alice made the long trek to what is now known as the City of Minneola from the Duluth, Minnesota area. George was the postmaster for the Monte Vista Post Office and had a store on what is now Oswalt Road. He also donated the land for the present-day Liberty Baptist Church, cemetery and school located off South Lakeshore Drive. Descendants of the Hull family settled and occupied property on Hull Road near the current Palatlakaha River boat ramp for decades.
Jalarmy Road – located north of Lake Minneola in the unincorporated area of the city of Minneola. Jalarmy Road and the current-day Palisades Subdivision have a unique relationship dating back to the late 1920s when the Palisades Country Club and Golf Course was established on 190 acres of property. The clubhouse was a large frame two-story multi-gabled building with 12-foot-wide verandas on all four sides. All was well with the clubhouse and golf course until financial hard times hit the state of Florida in the early 1930s. The club owners and investors got into financial problems that were common during the time. The property began to deteriorate and was placed for sale. Purchased by Hal Adkinson in 1934, the clubhouse received a major remodel that would become the Adkinson home. Hal increased grove holdings surrounding the home to 400 acres and affectionately named the acreage Ja-lar-my for his children James, Larry and Myra. The property remained in the family until it was sold around 1976.
Log House Road – located south of Clermont intersecting Oswalt Road and South Lakeshore Drive. Hattie Daggett Millholland, 23 years of age, arrived in Clermont in June of 1888 by way of the Orange Belt noon train at the Clermont Train Station near West Avenue. Hattie wasted no time in becoming involved with the development of the area but dreamed of a place that she could work from and live in. In 1896, Hattie’s dreams began to take shape with the construction of a three-story log home on the south shore of Crescent Lake. Hattie admired the area while taking a tour shortly after her arrival to Clermont. Upon completion of the landmark home in 1905, the massive log home would also serve as a sheltered place for members of five land companies that had taken shape in the South Lake area. The stately cabin stood in place for 54 years before being torn down in 1959.
Max Hooks Road– located west of Clermont on State Road 50, north to County Road 565A. Max Hooks, a grandson of early pioneers Herring and Mary Hooks, lived in the Clermont area for most of his life before passing away at 103 years old in 1996. Max once owned and resided on the property along the west side of Max Hooks Road that is presently owned by Green Valley Country Club. During Max’s tenure on the land, he raised dairy cattle, beehives and orange groves. Max processed the milk from his dairy cattle and provided home delivery service to the area for many years. Max also worked as a pharmacist at the Clermont Medical Center with long-time resident and pharmacist Will Drogee.
Millholland Drive – located off State Road 50, between Minnehaha Avenue and Almond Street, Clermont. Captain Robert D. Millholland was the man who possibly voiced the first environmental concerns for the marshland area located on State Road 50, just west of the Palatlakaha River and encompasses what is present-day Waterside Pointe subdivision. In 1917, a plan was underway to lower the water levels sufficiently so the marsh could be developed into muck farms like those at the Zellwood Farms on Lake Apopka. Robert, who had been responsible for the digging of the Lake Apopka-Beauclair Canal, was aware of the consequences the proposal would have if it were carried out. The battle continued with special elections, legislative actions, and boards of oversight formed through 1923. It is not clear in the pages of history as to the finale of the debate. However, if you were an area resident between the 1960s and 1970s, you likely have memories of the lush green corn stalks that grew annually on the north side of State Road 50 in the deep, rich soil of the wetlands.
Oakley Seaver Drive – located in Clermont from Hancock Road, west and south to Hooks Street. Oakley, a direct descendant of the Hooks family, was a son of Percy and Winnie (Hooks) Seaver. Born in 1916, Oakley was a lifelong resident of Clermont and served 32 years as Clermont’s postmaster after returning from the South Pacific during World War II. He also served on the South Lake Hospital Board for 50 years, the Kiwanis Club of Clermont for 59 years, was a charter member of the South Lake Chamber of Commerce, and Founder of the Jaycees – an organization that established Jaycee Beach, the current location of Waterfront Park. Oakley was also the founder of Friends of the Library at Cooper Memorial Library. Oakley was well known throughout the community as “Mr. Clermont,” a title that was earned not only for his deep devotion to the welfare of Clermont but also for his keen knowledge of local history.
We at the South Lake Tablet acknowledge that there are numerous street names, community names, and business locations throughout the South Lake Community that have historical significance, and we wish to outline those sites or names in future articles. Please email Chuck.Seaver@SLTablet.com, if you have descendant connections or knowledge of any historical landmark relevant to our community.
