Conant, Florida | |
|---|---|
 Conant Florida in 1884, post office and Conant Hotel in the background | |
  Conant, Florida  Conant, Florida | |
| Coordinates: 28°56.3′N 81°55.7′W / 28.9383°N 81.9283°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Lake |
| Founded | 1884 |
Conant is a ghost town in Lake County, Florida stretching from the area of Lady Lake, Florida to north of the Marion County, Florida line. It was established in 1884 on what was then the Florida Southern Railroad, and it was named for Sherman Conant.[1][2] It was a "real estate town" developed by the Hollingshead Firm.[3] During the Great Freeze, crops died and the town experienced wildfires, forcing many members of the community to relocate. By 1919, it was merely a ghost town.[4]
At its height, the town of Conant included a 130-room hotel, general store, women's college, church, and train depot;[2] a steam railroad stopped within a few miles from town.[5]
- ^ Morris, Allen (October 17, 2015). Florida Place Names: Alachua to Zolfo Springs. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-56164-839-9.
- ^ a b Reed, Rick (July 22, 2003). "Town's from Lake County's past". The Daily Commercial. pp. B12.
- ^ Kennedy, William T. (1929). History of Lake County, Florida: Narrative and Biographical. Professor Wm. T. Kennedy, Editor in Chief, Lillian D. Vickers-Smith, Associate Editor [and Others]. Record Company.
- ^ "Ghost Towns of Lake & Sumter". Ocala Style. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
- ^ Eldredge, Charles Q. (1926). A History of Curios in the Private Museum of Charles Q. Eldredge, Old Mystic, Conn., Containing Items of Tragedy, Romance, War, Murder, Comedy, Love, Rum and Prohibition Gathered During the Past Seventy Years. University of Michigan. pp. 124–125. Retrieved December 29, 2022.