1875 - Early Settlers
The settlement, that eventually became known as Mascotte, was known to have residents as early as 1875, though perhaps even earlier as there were known settlers already in the surrounding areas of Slone's Ridge, Tuscanooga, Empire, and Brown's Ford.
These early settlers went by horseback and wagon to Leesburg in order to obtain supplies and food that they were unable to grow, hunt, or make themselves.
The trip to Leesburg being a two or three day trip, they were known to camp overnight at Bugg Spring, near today's Okahumpka.
(Read more about Bugg Spring and Okahumpka.)
Families were mostly self-support-
ing, raising their own vegetables year-round. Hogs,
turkeys, deer, chicken and cattle provided their meat.
Private hand mills ground the corn into grits and meal,
and sugar was ground from sugar cane. Some of the
items were taken on the trip to Leesburg to barter for
flour, clothing and shoes.
Randolf Slone (b. 1878)
was a Mascotte entertainer
at cane grindings and other
social events.
1885 - How Mascotte Got Its Name
There was an influx of several men in 1885,
unmarried at the time, who would become prominent first
settler of Mascotte, would marry and have large families.
In 1885, the steamship SS Mascotte was built by
Henry Plant.
It was named for the operetta La Mascotte by French composer Achille Edmond Audran.
The name comes from the French spelling of the word 'mascot' and means, an animal or thing supposed to bring good luck.
It is thought that J. W. Payne had a financial interest in the ship which made winter runs, among other trips, bringing tobacco from Cuba to Tampa.
The ship also had a role in bringing refugees to the U. S. during the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Many Cuban immigrants arrived in Tampa from Havanna aboard the SS Mascotte.
The S.S. Mascotte also made regular trips from Boston to St. Petersburg.
In 1885, J. W. Payne, who was originally from Baltimore and then St. Petersburg, moved to the area and named the already forming settlement Mascotte.
A picture of the SS Mascotte also became part of the official seals of the cities of Tampa and Mascotte.
Unfortunately, the ship was not as lucky as its name would imply.
It was mined and sunk off the coast of Southwold, England, in 1916, during WW I.
Prior to 1887 and the completion of the Orang Belt Railway, mail had been carried by horseback to and from Leesburg by Mr. William Woods.
On one such trip, Mr. Woods mailed a letter to Washington D.C. petitioning that a Post Office be established in Mascotte.
Mr. William Woods rode horseback to Leesburg to mail
the letter to Washington petitioning that a Post Office be
established and this name given to the town.
In Okahumpka Post offices had existed on and off since 1845.
On August 5,
1884 a permanent Okahumpka Post Office was created with Robert A. Green serving as Post-
master.
Mail was carried from Okahumpka by horseback until the railroad
was completed in 1887, by the Orange Belt Railway
Company.
The following is a complete list of all the
postmasters who have served Mascotte through the years:
Mr. R. T. Ruff from 1890 through July 1897 when Henry
W. Cram was appointed and served until February 28,
1898.
Ebenezer McDonald was Postmaster from March
1, 1989 through September 1902.
On October 1, 1902,
Wheeler McDonald was sworn in as Postmaster and
served through September 30, 1908.
Next was J. W.
Dutton on October 1, 1908 through October 3, 1909 at
... J. H. Tuten was then sworn in as Postmaster
July 1, 1914 and served until July 31, 1916.
G. T.
Watkins was commissioned Postmaster July 20, 1916 and
served from August 1, 1916 until August 1, 1948, retiring
after 32 years of service.
John T. Watkins was appointed
Acting Postmaster August 1, 1948 and was commissioned Postmaster May 3, 1949 serving until his death on
August 3, 196S. Mrs. Betty Watkins served as Clerk-
in-Charge from August 3, 1965 until January 27, 1966.
D. C. McQuaig was appointed Acting Postmaster serving
from January 27, 1966 to March 25, 1966, and served
until October 25, 1968, when Ivey L. Slone was installed
as Postmaster, having been commissioned October 4,
1968. A new Post Office was built in September 1976.
In 2000, the Postmaster was Michael Perham, his assistant
is Ila Mae Thomas.
1885 - More Settlers
Also arriving in 1885 were:
Judge Albert;
Martin Grimes and his brother;
Frank Horton and his brother;
the Langley family;
Dr. John Rosenburg;
Theodore Ruff;
Charles, Frank, and William Tidd, along with their sister and her husband Tom Bradenbaker;
R. H. Whitnall.
All were unmarried men arriving from Ohio.
R. H. Whitnall became the first railroad station agent. Theodore Ruff became the first postmaster on March 30, 1886, and also had the first store in Mascotte.
Judge Laws
Nearby lived Judge E. R. Laws. He was a Captain in the
18th Georgia Regiment during the Civil War. He was a jolly light-
hearted man and an early merchant of Mascotte. When he was
introduced to others he would say,"Why yes, yes, Laws, Laws,
Laws, L-A-W-S". His oldest daughter Sallie was known as a red
haired beauty who married A. R. Gano and raised 10 boys!! They
lived in Villa City when it was a thriving town. Their next home
was in Clermont in what is currently known as the Mullberry Inn,
Bed and Breakfast. In later years they moved to Mascotte area
where he opened a citrus packing house.
1921 - Elder Inman House
1900 - Hurley and Harley Knight's Store and Barber Shop
"In pioneer times, the settlers of Mascotte had to he
self-supporting because there were no supermarkets then.
In his history of Lake County, Professor William
Kennedy says residents raised vegetables and "Killed their hogs in the fall to supply the pork for the winter and also killed turkeys and deer as well, and raised their
own chickens and cattle so that their meat supply was
assured".
Kennedy went on to say the pioneers grew their
own corn and ground it into grits and meal in their own
hand mills. In the fall, those with cane mills ground their
sugar cane and then loaned the mill to their neighbors.
When the grinding was finished each family
loaded its sugar, syrup, cowhides and deer hides into ox
carts or wagons for the long annual journey to Sanford,
where the supplies were bartered for a calico dress, a bar-
rel of flour or a pair of shoes."
-Loiuse Sloan Allen
The Orange Belt
Railroad was the first to come into the area in 1887. It
was originally built with a narrow gauge and was merged
into the Atlantic Coast Line in 1900 and its gauge
widened to standard. In the beginning it ran through
Mascotte from Sanford to St. Petersburg. The engine was
wood burning and the wood rack was located on Slone
Ridge. Two pioneer Slone Ridge men cut the wood. The
first Mascotte station agent was R. H. Whitnall.
Mascotte became a
principal shipping point for watermelons. It was one of the
early sites selected for large citrus planting in Lake
County.
In 1888 Theodore Ruff opened the first store in
Mascotte on the site of the present Shop and Go. When
the railroad came through, he moved his store west about
a block. He built a two story house with living quarters
upstairs and general mercantile downstairs.
Some of the business that have not been men-
tioned are: A. J. Drawdy's and Elmer L. Puryear's store.
Jake Cowart, Howard and Huley Store, Will Dixon and
Purdum Store. H. H. Mallard and Sohn's Garage, Gano's
Packing House and Roper Packing House, managed by
O. F. May.
William Dixon and his wife Mandy lived near Slone's
Ridge. They were happy people as they went about their daily life.
The Dixons has several daughters The friends spent many happy
hours in the Dixon home with dancing and enjoying fiddle music.
The fiddle was played by Joseph Lee. Aunt Mandy Dixon had a
nice home in Mascotte and lived out her elderly years there. Bill
Dixon was their son and so many remember his wife Marion who
taught legions of Mascotte children at the Mascotte schools.
Northeast of what was to become known as the "Friendly
City", lived several oldtime folks that helped pave the way for
other to come.
Along about 1874, the F. M. Woods family drove an
oxcart with all their possessions from Orlando to a location on the
Villa city Road, not far from the present city of Mascotte. They
raised citrus and livestock. Today, most of their kin sleep in a tiny
cemetery along the Villa City Road. There was a brother named
Bill, who served with in the Civil War and carried him off the bat-
tlefield when he was wounded. He had a son, Walter. Walter was
a fine fellow - quite a fiddler. You could ask if he knew a certain
tune and he would say "yes" - but the tune always came out some-
thing like " Turkey in the Straw"!!!
Another of these was William "Uncle Bill" Hart who settled here around 1885. Bill was of Irish
decent, a big man and possessed many talents, including farmer,
stockman, and horsemaster. in addition, he was a Master
Carpenter, who was brought by George King to build the original houses for the settlement.
He also built many other homes and buildings in the area including: E. E. Edge home in Groveland and the Stephen Carter home at Carter's Island.
William originally settled southwest of Villa City, near the northwest corner of today's Villa City and Simon Brown Roads. The nearby lake is knowas Hart lake, as William built his first home on the shore.
He later became the first school "bus" driver for Mascotte, as it was said he was the first person in the area to buy a car.
One son Roy Lester Hart, inherited the old home place, Lester and his wife Lunda had many boys and girls, most of whom lived in the area. Mr. Bill was truly a good Christian man and a member of the
Empire Primitive Baptist Church.
Around 1889, the Taylor Brothers and their workers arrived in Mascotte, with hopes of establishing a turpentine business.
However, they did not receive a warm welcome from Mr. Ruffand were told that their worker would have to live in an area outside of the settlement.
Not wanting to be forced to seperate, they moved further down the railroad tracks, toward the East, and started what would become known as Taylorville.
Other early settlers to Mascotte were:
A man known as Judge Albert
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Bradenbaker
Henry Cram, a blacksmith, who became postmaster in 1897
Martin Grimes from New York and his brother (first name unknown)
Frank Horton and his brother
The Langley family (first name unknown)
Ebenezer McDonald who took over the postmaster position March 1898
Mr. and Mrs. Rabb - arrived around 1898
Several other names were discovered, however, it could not be determined if they arrived in the 1800s or early 1900s and if they lived in Mascotte or one of the nearby areas.
1894-95 - The Great Freeze didn't spare Mascotte.
A letter from Lester Knight to Claudia Cowart
dated October 22, 1979 relates how the
"Great Freeze" affected Mascotte:
"My recollection goes back to the December 1894 freese followed by the
February 1895 freeze when, with rare exceptions,
the
orange and grapefruit
trees were killed to the ground and it was not until 1899 that we were able
to realize any return from citrus.
We were all in such a financial squeeze
that the farmers had to resort to groving long staple cotton, rice, straw-
berries and other produce.
Some of us thought we had a hard time in the
1930s, but those of us with long memories can well remember the hard times
of the late 1890s.
Main Street
The first hotel in Mascotte was the Orange Hotel
owned and operated by Bill Dixon. This was prior to
1907.
The only other hotel in Mascotte was originally built and operated by a Mr. Rabb.
Mr. and Mrs. George
Myers bought it from Mr. Rabb and operated it until W.
H. Schooley acquired it.
He added a third story and hired
A. J. Drawdy to operate it at as a hotel and then a board-
ing house until it was destroyed in the sixties.
There have been four boarding houses including
the one the Weedman's operated: Riley Carter, Mrs. Tom
Smith and A. J. Drawdy answered the. need in the com-
munity.
The oldest structure still standing in Mascotte is
located on Sunset Street about one half mile north of the
enter section of Highway 50 and Sunset Street. This was
originally owned by Judge Albert. Archibald (Archie)
Gano cut the lumber at his mill for this house and it was
built by Bill Hart and George Hope.
The oldest bulding and church in Mascotte was built in 1904 and is the same building now occupied by the Mascotte Methodist Church (corner of West Myers Boulevard and North Bay Lake Ave).
1904 Methodist Church
Mascotte Methodist Church had its beginning at
Slone's Chapel, located on Sloan's Ridge, and was the first organized group in the
Mascotte area. King David Jones was the original pastor of the church. Later on in the 1800's they met in the one-room school in
Mascotte to worship. The congregation was already meeting for Sunday School prior to the construction of the church building. Gabriel Watkins' name appears on a Sunday School roll dated to 1896.
Mascotte Methodist Episcopal Church estab
lished in 1905 when Pastor W. A. Weir moved the twenty-five member Slone Chapel congregation into the new church. The present building got it's start when Mr. and
Mrs. Sheldon W. Fish deeded a plot of land for that purpose.
Mr. J. W. Dutton provided the lumber
and point, and it was brought in by Ed Grow and Bill Hart
on mule powered wagons with help from the men of the
community.
One old timer claimed that a man and his wife are
buried beside each other under the church, but no one can
confirm the story. There are, too, other rumors of things
buried under the church and no one really wants to find out
about them.
In January 1905, W. A. Weir, pastor from Sloan's
Chapel, moved the 25 or so members into the new church.
Actually, services were held once a month because the
building wasn't completed for several years. Sunday
School, however, was held every Sunday, and still is.
The early ministers were circuit riders, serving
several churches in the surrounding area. It was customary
for one of the more prominent families to invite the minis-
ter who presided to Sunday dinner after services.
"After,
all," one lady explained, "they had to come a long way and
needed a good meal and some rest."
By 1921 there were 53 members on the church
roll, and Mascotte Methodist was still the only church in
town. Unfortunately, as the years passed many members
have moved, others have died, and the membership today
is still about the same as in the '20's. And, because of the
small congregation the must continue to share their minis-
ter with Groveland.
"The minister is a wonderful man. He knows the
bible well and he is a human being. Why, he even visits
and not many ministers do that today."
Mrs. Betty
Watkins, the oldest member both by age and length of
membership in the church, said.
Bishop Branston came to Mascotte in the 1950's
and dedicated the Sunday School rooms which had been
added to the rear of the church. A fellowship hall has since
been built along the east side, but the original church still
stands as it always has since 1904, but now shaded by big
beautiful oak trees.
And, oh goodness, the stories it could tell if it
could but talk, of births, weddings, deaths and other
strange and wonderful things.
The Bay Lake Baptist Church located eight miles
south of Mascotte, was attended by many Mascotte peo-
ple as it was the only Baptist Church in the area for
years.
A one room schoolhouse was built, opposite the cemetery.
A Professor Osterhout taught in the school until the late 1890s when a new two-story schoolhouse was built.
The first school was a one-room house located on
the south side of what are now Highway 50 across from
the present clay pit and the Mascotte Cemetery.
A
Professor Osterhout was the first teacher who taught until
the late 1890's . He came from New York where he had
been educated as a priest but decided on the téaching profession because he wanted to marry.
According to Walter
Wood, "He had an awfully pretty wife". He left Mascotte
to serve as principal to Leesburg and was eventually
transferred to Ft. Myers. The next teacher was Mr.
Gregory, who left in an unorthodox manner. According
to history, he made the error of spanking Becky Davis'
boy and when Becky showed up at the one room school
with a shotgun, he escaped through the back window and
was never seen again. Mr. Jesse W. Hunter became the
next teacher and served for three terms. Mr. Hunter later
became States Attorney, and served in that position for
many years. His son Walton B. Hunter, was still a practic-
ing attorney in Tavares in 2000.
According to Lester Knight, who was born in the area,
"The two story schoolhouse was built around 1900 to
replace the one room house on the southside of the road
opposite the claypit.
Professor Osterhout taught in the
original building until the late nineties, when he was
succeeded by a Mr. Gregory. He did not last out the
school vear because after whipping Becky Davis' boy,
Becky showed up with a shotgun and our teacher iumped
from the rear window and was never heard from again. He
was followed by lessee W. Hunter who taught for three
terms before the new school building was completed".
One of the first teachers in this two-story schoolhouse was William Tidd who was one of the original settlers in
Mascotte.(listed earlier).
The first school was a one-room house with Professor Osterhout as the first teacher. It was located on the south side of what is now Highway 50, and across from the Mascotte Cemetery.
A Professor Osterhout was the first teacher and taught in
Mascotte until the late nineties. He came from New York
where he had been educated as a priest, but he decided to
enter the teaching profession instead as he wanted to
marry. According to Walter Woods, "He had an awfully
pretty wife."
He left Mascotte to serve as principal in
Leesburg and was eventually transferred to Ft. Myers.
Osterhout was from New York where he had been educated as a priest before deciding to be a
teacher. He later served as a principal in Leesburg until he was replaced in the late 1890
by Mr. Gregory.
The next teacher was Mr. Gregory, who left in an
unorthodox manner. According to history, he made the
error of spanking Becky Davis' boy, and when Becky
showed up at the one-room school with a shotgun, he
escaped through the back window and was never seen
again.
Local people remember how Gregory made the mistake of spanking a student
whose mother showed up with a shotgun.
The terrified teacher fled out the window never to
be seen again.
The unfortunate Gregory was succeeded by Jesse W. Hunter who later became
a leading Lake County citizen. Mr. Jesse W. Hunter became the next teacher and
served for three terms. His son, Walton B. Hunter, is still a
practicing attorney in Tavares.
In 1900 a two-story schoolhouse was built on the NW
corner where CR North 33 and State Road 5O intersect where Cressey's Trading Post is now located. The first teacher in the two-story school was
William Tidd, who was one of the original settlers in
Mascotte. It
was used as a school until a new Mascotte
Elementary was built in 1924. Then the two-story
building was used as a store. Later it became a boarding
house and then it became a residence. The north section in
the back of the original building, was constructed in 1952.
In the early 1900's Mrs. Marion Dixon was the
teacher during the move from the two story school to the
present Mascotte Elementary and taught until retirement
in 1944.
Vera Sloan Boyett remembers that Mrs. Dixon assembled
the children and they carried their books and walked to
the new Mascotte Elementary School to be among the
first students to attend the school.
Mr. Myers was one of the first principals of the
present school. The school was
organized for grades 1-9. Everyone was proud of the new
school. Firm and dedicated teachers taught the rudiments
of reading, writing, and arithmetic, to the tune of a ruler on
the back of the hand. Students were drilled with the fun-
damentals of the "Baby Ray Reader'. The first grade
teacher, Mrs. Marion Dixon, taught in the present
Mascotte Elementary School from 1922 to 1945. Her
classroom was in the space that is now the office area. The
teachers taught for one month with no pay as there was no
money to operate the school. Miss Claudia Knight
(Cowart), Miss Grace Platt, Miss Jewel Slone, Miss Lucile
Watson (Kimball), Miss Carrie Slone, Mr. Maurice
Brantley(Dr) and Miss Agnes Johnson(Rowe), to name a
few of the teachers that this writer remembers. Each year
the students of the Mascotte Elementary School that
attended that school during the time that Agnes
Johnson Rowe was teaching there, honor her at a
reunion in Mascotte with as many as 100 former students
attending. Some have come from as far as Alaska and
Tacoma, Washington to honor this lady. Dr. Brantley has
not been able to attend due to poor health, but he always
sends a message. This reunion is held at the same time the
Groveland High School Reunion is held, which is in
March of èach year.
Then the two-story building was
used as a store operated by W. H. Mallard and a boarding
house operated by A. J. Drawdy and later a residence.
The original piano from the two-story school-
house was used at the Mascotte Elementary School unit it
was moved to the new Midway Elementary where it was
still in use up to at least 2000.
1930s
The people in Mascotte rode out
the depression of the 1930's well, but the school had finan-
cial problems. The principal, Mrs. Vera Silks, transported
carloads of children throughout the community to take up
collections for books and supplies. They were all sur-
prised when a Mr. Rynearson, who was a hermit and never
came out except at night, gave a donation of $25.00. They
thought the school had struck it rich!
1950s
During the late 1930's and early 1940's, even until
the beginning of the early 1950's, the school was threat-
ened with being closed and consolidated with Groveland
Grades were transferred gradually to Groveland schools
until Mascotte Elementary was structured for grades 1-6.
Citizens were irate at each mention of consolidation, and
they banded together to paint, repair, and raise funds to
keep the school in Mascotte. Around 1952, the east wing,
now building 05, was condemned as the building had to be
propped up to support it. Citizens got together and .rebuilt
the south wall in order to keep the school in Mascotte.
They repaired and painted the entire school.
Mascotte Elementary School has grades 3-5 and a
portable classroom for qualified migrant children who are
four-years old. Tim Hatfield is the principal.
1973 - Midway Elementary
Mascotte community now
has
Midway
Elementary School, which opened its doors in August of
1973. This school is for kindergarten through second
grade, for the Mascotte and Groveland students.
The construction of Midway Elementary School
was completed in August of 1973. It is an open space con-
cept school which serves all the students of the Mascotte-
Groveland area in kindergarten, first and second grade.
Classes began in 1973 with 266 students and 19 teachers.
The staff provided the special services of music, physical
education, library and a migrant tutorial aide program.
Midway Elementary School is a special school in
that there is no other school like it in the county.
The
1979-80 school year began with 314 students.
By
February 5, 512 children were enrolled. During the first
eight month of school 654 students enrolled and there were
185 withdrawals.
The school is composed of 40% migrants
(Mexican-American, black and white) who move in and
out each year. About 60% of our students are year round
residents. About 14% of the permanent residents are
black.
The basic school curriculum
at Midway
Elementary, in both reading and math, consists of a
sequential program using a county adopted text. The Core
of Basic Skills is used as an evaluation and supplemental
tool to insure the child is given a good foundation for fur-
ther educational experiences.
Midway has a staff of 18 classroom teachers with
an average class size of 25 students. There are aides who
work one-half day in each class. Each student has instruc-
tion in library, music, and physical education.
The school provides special instruction to meet the
children's needs. There are three Chapter I reading teach-
ers who assist the students needing extra help in reading.
There is also a migrant tutorial teacher and six aides who
help migrant children. One teacher has instruction for
English as a Second Language. For children with special
problems there are classes for educable mentally handi-
capped students and students with special learning disabil-
ities. There is a speech teacher, a teacher who serves blind
students and a guidance counselor.
In the fall of 1982, the school board approved final
plans for and $800,000 addition at Midway Elementary
School that will include four new classrooms, a lunchroom
and conversion of a multi-purpose room into three class-
rooms.
Gabriel Watkins had a store, which housed the post office. While his store and post office were later torn down, his house still stands between Stuckey and Slone's Ridge.
Mascotte's first physician was Dr. John Rosenberg in 1885 (listed earlier).
Dr. William DeVane came to Mascotte in 1908 and practiced for a number of years.
Dr. Herman Watson was born on a farm in Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia School of Medicine in 1912.
He continued with various postgraduate studies throughout the United States, including Johns Hopkins University, and, after serving in World War I, stayed on in France for a year to further his studies.
In 1919, Dr. Herman Watson came to Mascotte to begin his first medical practice.
He was in practice with Dr. DeVane until he moved to Lakeland in 1920.
He would later become the founder of the
Watson Clinic in Lakeland, Florida, which developed into one of the largest and most respected clinics in the Southeast.
Dr. Mitchell was the last physician to practice in
Mascotte.
One of the first blacksmith shops was opened
before 1900 and operate by a Mr. Cram. When he and his
family moved to New Hampshire, a Mr. Quick took over
as blacksmith. Later a Mr. Tom Smith opened a black-
smith shop on Highway 50 to the east of and across from
the Post Office. The last blacksmith to operate was a J.
W. Jenkins, north of the City Hall.
In 1913
Riley Carter moved from his father's island (Carter's Island) to Mascotte and opened the
"Carter House".
By this time Mascotte had the Gano Citrus Packing House and the Roper Citrus Packing House
There was also a vegetable packing house in town.
The Mascotte First Church of God began with
tent meetings held by Rev. W. O. Moon about 1915. For a
long time, services were held in the Woodman of the
World Lodge Building, and then in the local school
house. For a while, no services were held Rev. Guilford
Carter began again with services in his home until the
present church was build in 1952.
Newer churches to Mascotte are the Hillcrest
Baptist, Midway Baptist, First Baptist Church, Church of
God of Prophecy and Landmark Baptist Church. Anew
church that is under the sponsorship of the First Baotist
Church of Groveland is the Hispanic Church located
within the city limits of Mascotte.
1925 - City of Mascotte Officially Chartered
The City of Mascotte was officially chartered by the State Legislature on November 23, 1925. Thus Mascotte became the only community in the area to join Groveland in becoming an official town.
In 1925, there were three prosperous fruit and vegetable packing houses in Mascotte.
The first sidewalk was built in 1925 or 1926. at
the same time that Highway 50 was paved for the first
time. Highway 50 was once called Lake Street
A brochure
published by W. H. Schooley, General Manager of the
Mascotte Development Company, Inc., in 1925, contained
the following information:
"The report of the Atlantic
Coast Line Railroad for the season of 1924 and first 5
months of 1925, show that the number of cars, both freight
and express shipped from Mascotte during that period were:
cars of citrus fruit, 207; cars of vegetables, 103; cars of
miscellaneous, 67; total cars shipped, 377;
Packages of
express, 7,900;
total cash receipts of freight office,
$81.426.00"
The first Mayor of Mascotte was George M. Myers.
The first Council consisted of:
Council President O. F. May,
Councilmen: H. H. Mallard,
A. J. Drawdy,
C. S. Bragg,
and K. Hankins.
The first Town Clerk was E. C. Sohn.
The first Marshall was C. C. Drawdy.
and the first Town Marshall was C. C. Drawdy.
On December 8, 1927, the P.T.A. was formed in
Máscotte Elementary and has been active ever since, even
thbugh it was changed to P.T.O. Two of the first women
who Berved as presidents were Mr. Leah Knight and Mrs.
T'H' Heard.
Mascotte later built Midway Elementary
School, which opened its doors in August of 1973. This
school was Kindergarten through Second Grade for
Mascotte and Groveland Students.
Through the years, there has been a close connection between the towns of Mascotte and Groveland.
Many of the early settling familes in the area would marry to form strong familial bonds between the two towns and their rural communities.
Since Mascotte did not have a high school, the students of Mascotte would attend Groveland High School.
Many of the residents would go to Groveland to do their shopping.
Even Groveland's Puryear Building was named after former Mascotte mayor (1941-1945) and resident, Elmer L. Puryear, who later moved to Groveland and served there as mayor.
For a time, Mascotte even rented the use of Groveland's jail.
List of Mascotte's Mayors:
1925-1926 - George M. Myers
1927-1928 - Unknown
1929 - G.L. O'Brian
1929-1934 - Unknown
1935 - Dirk Hankins
1936-1940 - Dee Udell
1941-1945 - Elmer L. Puryear (He later purchased the Groveland Auditorium and had it demolished in order to build the current Puryear Building.)
1946-1949 - C.W. Porterfield
1950-1951 - Robert L. Whilhite
1952 - Sam Tulk and Edwin Mattson Jr.
1953-1957 - Edwin Mattson Jr.
1958-1963 - Fred Thomas
1964 - Fred Thomas and R.E.Beekman
1965 - Fred Thomas and Kenneth Waters
1966-1970 - Fred Thomas
1971 - Wayland Divine
1972-1979 - Fred Thomas
1980-87 - William Harb
1988-95 - Josh Thomas
1996 - Stanly Sloan
1975 - The elected officials are: Mayor Fred Thomas,
Council President Leroy Turner, Councilmen Sam Sharpe,
Edward L.
Robbins.
Bernie
Scott
Merritt
and
James Jerry Beard.
1980-1987 - William Harb
1988-1995 - Josh Thomas
1996-2005 - Stanley Sloan
2005-2007 - Jeff Krull
2007-2009 - Feliciano Felix Ramirez
2009-2011 - Jeff Krull
2011-2014 - Tony Rosado
The Mascotte Community Building was built in September 1946 and it was also used as an office for the City
Hall. Later a kitchen was added and still later a one room office.
In August of 1974, the City Hall was remodeled and three more offices added.
The old Mascotte City Hall and Community was burned by a suspected arsonist in December, 1984.
Temporary City Hall was set up in Johnny Stiefel's old building located on Highway 50. The new City Hall today
is located at 529 E. Myers Blvd, which was bought from Duke Crittenden. The move was in March 1985. At
this time a new City Hall is under construction near the Old Mascotte Elementary School on Highway 50.
In
1987 the City of Mascotte received a grant to upgrade their water system. Today the City Government is work-
ing on a sewerage system
Many new subdivisions have been added to the City. Lake Jackson Heights, Bay Ridge, Cardinal Pines,
and Worthington Place. Many new homes have been built in the area that will be serviced by the Mascotte util-
ities.
[Contributors: Ila Mae Jones, Mary Helen Myers, Jason Brown]
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1884 - The King of Villa City
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