Homes on tree lined streets. Golf carts cruising by. Neighbors mingling in the town squares. Balmy nights at a concert. Sound too good to be true? From homes to healthcare, sports to shopping, recreation to restaurants, The Villages offers its residents an active adult lifestyle with numerous recreational options.
The Villages is an amazing, vibrant over 55 active adult golf cart community located just 90 minutes North of Orlando in central Florida not far from Ocala. The Florida grasslands were not only abundant but also a bargain for the times. Schwartz like other developers bought huge parcels of land with the hope of attracting Northern retirees to the lush Florida paradise.
His vision came to fruition when he and his partner Al Tarrson opened a trailer park, Orange Blossom Gardens, on the present site of The Villages. Schwartz eventually bought out his partner and brought in his son Gary Morse. Orange Blossom Gardens grew and grew until in it was renamed The Villages.
The rest, as they say, is history. Today The Villages has a population of over , residents. It encompasses 3 counties, mainly Sumter but also parts of Lake and Marion Counties. It boasts 50 golf courses, clubs and activities, and 3 town squares.
Curious about life in the Villages? Check out the popular forum Talkofthevillages. There are hundreds of retail stores from arts and crafts to clothing, furniture and department stores. As for dining, the choices are endless. There are so many great restaurants that even the most seasoned diner will be hard pressed to make a choice! There are also excellent local restaurants serving everything from seafood and Italian to Mexican and Asian cuisine.
It is a spectacular two-story western style club located in the Town Square. Rumor has it that even Lady Gaga performed here!! I have not researched this either in person or on line. Some of the local Floridians who lived in Sumter, Lake and Marion counties before The Villages was developed have a real love-hate relationship with the community.
They love the jobs and money that it brings into their lives, but they feel slighted and discriminated against by the residents of The Villages.
There are some Florida Crackers who insist that most of the residents of The Villages would like the entire place to be a gated community to keep "outsiders" like them from coming in.
For what it's worth, during my more than 60 years in Florida I have observed that people who already live here resent it when other people move in. It seems to be true whether they are Florida natives or recent transplants from the north.
Many Villagers, in fact, are upset that the community is growing so fast. Many people want to slam the door shut after they've moved to Florida, and I totally understand the sentiment but also realize it's impossible. A bit further away, but within an easy drive are Mount Dora , Gainesville and several other towns with plenty of lodging. The map below is from The Villages Florida website.
If you click on it you can zoom in and look at the individual villages and other features. This link takes you to one of our web pages that has dozens of suggestions for entertaining and relaxing day trips from your base at The Villages.
Our Facebook page has more than , followers who love off the beaten path Florida: towns, tourist attractions, maps, lodging, food, festivals, scenic road trips, day trips, history, culture, nostalgia, and more.
We post articles every day. Please check it out and if you like it, we would appreciate a "like" from you. Florida Back Roads Travel is not affiliated with or endorsed by Backroads, a California-based tour operator which arranges and conducts travel programs throughout the world.
Privacy Policy. Florida nostalgia include artifacts, people, and places from Florida's past. Florida Back Roads Travel. Home Florida Towns The Villages. The Villages, Florida things to do, lodging, dining, real estate at end of article. Orange Blossom Gardens Harold Schwartz. Gary Morse. Harold Schwartz's Buffalo Herd. The Villages Florida, Public Restrooms.
Interactive Map of The Villages Florida. The rush for land began when Florida was still a territory, with cotton growers flocking to the panhandle, and settlers and seaport merchants populating the both coasts. When steamboats arrived on the scene in the early s, they opened up the interior of the state for settlement.
Though some Northern naysayers doubted the value of Florida land beyond the St. By , the steamers had found a path from the St. The first settlers in Marion County, home of The Villages, came to the area in the s for the free land being offered as part of the Armed Occupation Act.
The act was passed as a way to populate the state and to control the Seminole Indians who were already occupying the land. The county was officially created in , and until , it included large parts of what are now Lake and Sumter counties the other two counties across which The Villages spreads. Miami and South Florida saw great growth during the s, but other real estate speculators saw the success of men like Fisher and set up land schemes of their own throughout the state.
Again, over-building and greed began to shatter the Florida real estate dream. By the northern press was warning people about sham Florida investments. The category-4 storm smacked the coast, devastating Miami and pushing Florida into Depression three years before the rest of the country.
Again the sunshine beckoned, this time calling those ready to retire. The construction of major Florida interstate highways and the invention of affordable, residential air conditioning made the move to Florida easier and more appealing than ever. Like land sales in the s, large chunks of pastureland were purchased by developers who, in turn, sold lots to Northerners hankering for a piece of paradise. Michigan businessman, Harold Schwartz was among those selling the dream. Similar to others in the business, Schwartz sold land in Florida and New Mexico on the installment plan.
However, sales took a big hit in when Congress banned land sales by mail. Still holding a lot of Florida land, in the early s, Schwartz and partner, Al Tarrson, began work on Orange Blossom Gardens, a mobile home park in northwest Lake County. This wide spot in the middle of a pasture was the seed for what would become The Villages.
Wanting to turn things around, Schwartz bought out his partner and asked his son, Gary Morse, to help him with the business. Morse moved from Michigan to take over operations in
0コメント