WINDERMERE
Lakefront Living A
lthough many people — especially in the Horizon West area — have Windermere addresses, the town of Windermere proper spans just 2.2 square miles. Centuries before the town of Windermere was incorporated, the Timucua Indians inhabited the land until the 1500s. In 1564, the Spanish began to settle in the area. After Florida became the 27th state of the Union in 1845, the U.S. government gave 160 acres of land to anyone willing to cultivate five acres and build a cabin. That’s when more people began settling in Windermere. The town was founded in 1887 when two Englishmen, the Rev. Joseph Hill Scott and his son, Dr. Stanley Scott, started their settlement. Dr. Scott built his home on the shore of Lake Butler, and most believe he named the town after England’s famous Lake Windermere. Another English native, John Dawe, built the Florida Midland
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Railroad through the community in 1889. A post office opened in 1888, closed in 1901 and reopened in 1911. The town was established as a residential development in 1889, but it wasn’t until 1925 that it was incorporated by Cal Palmer, J. Howard Johnson and Howard Lyon. The first mayor was John Jaquith, who served from 1925 to 1927. Cal Palmer served as the second mayor, from 1928 to 1929. Johnson was the fifth, and Lyon was the seventh. In fact, Cal Palmer’s office building — which was completed in 1911 — still stands today, as does the historic 1887 Schoolhouse, which was the first school in town. Johnson and Palmer founded the Windermere Improvement Company in 1910 and together formed the town’s foundation. In 1922, settlers formed a Chamber of Commerce, and the Windermere Improvement Company gave land to the Womans’ Club and Union Church. Over the years, the town began
to take shape. New buildings — including a clubhouse, more school rooms, a library and a renovated town hall — were constructed. Most recently, the town celebrated the opening of its new town facilities buildings, which include new buildings for the police, administrative and public works departments. Along with an abundance of trees, one of the town’s hallmarks is its location along the Butler Chain of Lakes. The Butler Chain has more than 5,000 acres in surface water among the 13 lakes: Down (900 acres), Little Lake Down (23 acres), Wauseon Bay (100 acres), Butler (1,600 acres), Louise (140 acres), Isleworth (86 acres), Blanche (21 acres), Chase (135 acres), Tibet-Butler (1,200 acres), Sheen (656 acres), Pocket (126 acres), Fish (23 acres) and a 14-acre unnamed lake. The system also has a total of 32 navigable canals.
LOCAL MOTION 2022
