History of Groveland
Donating Memorabilia
Officers / Board Members
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
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!
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.
Copyright © 2021 Groveland Historical Society. All rights reserved.