Mountain Lake is a private community north of the City of Lake Wales, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1915 and contains a golf course designed in 1916 by Seth Raynor.[1]
Mountain Lake is located in the ridge country of Central Florida, and was developed by Baltimorean Frederick S. Ruth. According to the National Park Service, Ruth purchased 3,500 acres of "lush land in the richest and most elevated real estate in the area" consisting of Florida's "liveliest hills, lakes, forests, and groves".[2]
With proximity close to trains from the North which would bring residents down for ‘the season,' Ruth engaged Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to lay out 600 acres of the property for the residences and Seth Raynor to design the golf course. This same trio of Ruth, Olmsted and Raynor went on to design and develop Fishers Island Club in the 1920s, while Olmsted and Raynor also designed Yeamans Hall Club. There are some notes in the archives at Mountain Lake that Ruth spoke to Donald Ross (who did nearby Lake Wales Country Club) prior to selecting Raynor; however Raynor was chosen and Mountain Lake became the first development of its kind.[3]
A significant building constructed in the 1920s by the Olmsted Brothers, the Mediterranean Revival style Mountain Lake Colony House near the golf course is used as a club for the residents and offers rooms for their guests.[4] The House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[5]
Vanity Fair described Mountain Lake in 2001 as an "old, established Wasp enclave in rural central Florida".[6]
The Mountain Lake Colony House, Mountain Lake Estates Historic District and Bok Tower Gardens are nearby.
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Notable people
- George Dorr O’Neill Jr, a great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller Jr.[6]
- Edward W. Bok
- Henry M. Crane
- Irving T. Bush
- August Heckscher
References
- ^ "Introduction to Mountain Lake". Mountain Lake Country Club. Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
- ^ "Mountain Lake Corporation". National Park Service. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ "Sweeney, Mike - Blending Old and New in Renovating a Classic". Golf Club Atlas. October 2, 1920. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- ^ "Mountain Lake Celebrates Its Centenary". Social Register Association. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- ^ "Mountain Lake Colony House". NPS. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- ^ a b DePaulo, Lisa. "Irreconcilable Differences". No. January 2000. Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
28°28′50″N 82°18′41″W / 28.4805133°N 82.3112724°W
Municipalities and communities of Polk County, Florida, United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
This page was last edited on 24 June 2024, at 22:13