A Brief History of the Groveland Area

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.

EARLY FLORIDA

1400s and Before - The Timucua Tribe in Lake County

1492-1562 - France Claims Florida

1566 - Spanish Arrival

1700s - Seminole Tribe

1763 - British Occupation

1783 - Return of the Spanish

1816-1819 - First Seminole War

1819 - The United States Receives the Florida Territory from Spain

1830 - Indian Removal Act

1835-1842 - Second Seminole War

EARLY GROVELAND AREA

(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.)

1851 - Tuscanooga and Slone Ridge - William Slone and Daniel Sloan

1855-1858 - Third Seminole War

1862 - The Homestead Act

1867-1899 - Brown's Ford Schoolhouse - Simon T. Brown and The Daniels

1867 - The Lost City of Eva - John Judy

1868-1894 - Bay Lake

1869 - Carter's Island

1871 - Empire and the First Church of South Lake - James Knight

1874-1888 - Monte Vista

1875-1885 - J. W. Payne and Mascotte

1880s - The King of Villa City

1885 - A. L. Stuckey

TAYLORVILLE (EARLY GROVELAND)

1887 - The Formation of Lake County

1888 - The Orange Belt Railway Comes to Town

1890 - The Taylor Brothers and Taylorville

1895 - The Great Florida Freeze

1899 - A New Era - E. E. Edge

1900 - Citrus and Celebrities - The Kurharske Family

1904 - Groveland's First Church and Second School

1906 - Everett and Cora Sampey - Sampey Road

GROVELAND

1911-1922 - The Beginnings of Groveland and the End of Taylorville - John W. Beach

1916-1941 - The Lumber Mill - J. Ray Arnold

1918 - Groveland's Third School

1920 - Sherman Drawdy and Groveland Bank

1920s-1979 - Albert Blue and the Edgewood School

1922 - The City of Groveland Becomes Incorporated.

1923 - L. D. Edge becomes the youngest Speaker of the House of Florida

1923-1926 - Tried and Failed Businesses

1929 - The Great Depression

1935 - Oil and Water Don't Mix

1937 - Groveland High School - The Best of the Best

1940s - World War II

1940s-1980s - Citrus Was King

1945 - The African Community and Willis McCall

1950s - New Roads Lead to Home

1958-1989 - Fire Chief Willie Morgan

1984-1994 - The Return of the Freeze

2001 - September 11th and the Watson Brothers

2004 - A Flip of the Coin - Sloan VS. Flynn

2010-Present - It's Growing Out of Control!

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!