If you would like to share your memories or photographs of the Groveland Area and its Families, please contact us!
We are currently working on updating the history of the Groveland area, so check back periodically for new and expanded articles and photographs.
Many of the people and events of early Florida are connected with or affected the area of today's South Lake County and Groveland, so much of them are included in these early sections.
For information concerning those that directly contributed to the founding of Groveland,
you can skip to the below section: 1850s - 1880s: EARLY GROVELAND AREA.
Pre 1700s:
NATIVE TIMUCUA AND EARLY EUROPEAN EXPLORERS
1400s and Before - The Timucua Tribe in Lake County
1492-1562 - Early Spanish and French Explorers
1565-1763 - The Spanish Takes Back Control of Florida
1700s - The Formation of the Seminole Tribe
1754-1763 - French and Indian War
1783-1821 - The Return of the Spanish
1816-1819 - The First Seminole War
1819 - The United States Receives the Florida Territory from Spain
1830s-1870s - The Swamp Fox of Okahumpka and Bugg Spring
1835-1842 - The Second Seminole War
1845 - Florida Becomes a State
1840s - Anchors Away and All Aboard! - First Stop: Umatilla
1850s - 1880s: EARLY GROVELAND AREA
Long before the City of Groveland was incorporated, many pioneers were already arriving
and establishing rural settlements.
While many of these early settlements disappeared and others never flourished,
they all contributed in some way to the founding and success of Groveland.
Since many of the people living in the rural areas outside of Groveland contributed to the city
throughout the years and are kin to many of the original families, their histories are also a part of Groveland's history.
Many of our rural neighbors would go to Groveland to work, shop, and eventually go to school,
so while they might not live within the city limits, they have always considered Groveland their hometown.
1851 - Tuscanooga and Slone Ridge - William Slone and Daniel Sloan
1855-1858 - The Third Seminole War
1861-1865 - The War of Northern Aggression (Civil War)
1867-1899 - Brown's Ford Schoolhouse - Simon T. Brown and The Daniels
1867 - The Lost City of Eva - John Judy
1871 - Empire and the First Church of South Lake - James Knight
1870s - The Turpentine Industry Comes to South Lake
1875-1885 - Mascotte - J. W. Payne
1880s - The King of Villa City
1880s - 1900s: TAYLORVILLE (PRE-GROVELAND)
1885-1889 - The Orange Belt Railway Comes to Towns
1887 - The Formation of Lake County
1880s-1940s - A History of Citrus Labels
1880s - Oak Tree Union Cemetery
1890 - The Taylor Brothers and Taylorville
1895 - Oak Hill Baptist Church
1895 - The Great Florida Freeze
1898 - The Spanish-American War
1900s - Citrus and Celebrities - The Kurharske Family of Bay Lake
1904 - The Second Church and School of Taylorville
1906 - Everett and Cora Sampey - Sampey Road
1909 - History of the Methodist Church
1910s - 1980s: EARLY GROVELAND
1911-1922 - The Beginnings of Groveland and the End of Taylorville - John W. Beach
1916-1941 - Life of a Salesman - J. Ray Arnold and The Saw Mill
1917 - Charles Anderson - The Accidental Real Estate Mogul
1918 - Groveland's Third School is The Best of The Best
1920 - Sherman Drawdy and the Groveland Bank
1920s-1979 - Albert Blue and the Edgewood School
1922 - The Town of Groveland Becomes Incorporated
1922 - First Baptist Church of Groveland
1923 - L. D. Edge becomes the youngest Speaker of the House of Florida
1923-1926 - Tried and Failed Businesses
1923-1986 - Groveland High School Photos
1935 - There's No Oil in Them Swamps
1937-1993 - Groveland High School - New and Improved
1938 - Edmond "Darrel" Cashwell and the Manhattan Project
1950s - New Roads Lead to Home
1953-1984 - Campbell's Bait Farm
1958-1989 - Fire Chief Willie Morgan
1980s - 2020s: MODERN GROVELAND
1984-1994 - The Return of the Freezes
1993 - The End of an Era - South Lake High School
2001 - September 11th and the Watson Brothers
2002 - Hope International Church
2004 - A Flip of the Coin - Sloan VS. Flynn
2007 - The Groveland Historical Society and Museum - Marilyn Gammon Smith
2010-Present - It's Growing Out of Control!
2011 - Miniature of the 1937 GHS - Dan Michelle
2011 - Councilman Allan Sherrod Breaks SCUBA Record at Lake David
2021, August 13th and 14th - An Artist Returns - David Campos
Notable Figures
L. Day Edge was Groveland's first mayor and the youngest Florida Speaker of the House in 1923, while residing in Groveland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Speakers_of_the_Florida_House_of_Representatives
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jett_Noland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Heyman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Demps
Thank you for your interest in Groveland's history!
For more details, come visit us at the Groveland Historical Museum!
The Groveland Historical Museum is operated by a partnership of the City of Groveland and the Groveland Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency.