Lake County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 383,956. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

Tavares Tavares may refer to: Places Brazil *Tavares, Paraíba *Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul *Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo *Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Tavares River Jamaica *Tavares Garden ...

, and its largest city is Clermont. Lake County is included in the

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

Kissimmee Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

Sanford Sanford may refer to: People *Sanford (given name), including a list of people with the name *Sanford (surname), including a list of people with the name Places United States * Sanford, Alabama, a town in Covington County * Sanford, Colorado ...

, FL

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

History

Lake County was created in 1887 from portions of

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

and Orange counties. It was named for the many lakes contained within its borders (250 named lakes and 1,735 other bodies of water). In the 1800s, the two main industries in the area were growing cotton and breeding cattle. In the latter part of the 19th century, people started to grow citrus trees. Citrus was introduced by

Melton Haynes Melton Haynes (March 21, 1827 – January 10, 1883) was a Confederate soldier, civil engineer and early settler of Lake County, Florida. He is known for bringing the first sweet oranges to central Florida. He was born in Whiteville, North Carolina ...

. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, citrus production increased and grew into the area's leading industry. The

December 1989 United States cold wave The December 1989 United States cold wave was a series of cold waves into the central and eastern United States from mid-December 1989 through Christmas. On December 21-23, a massive high pressure area pushed many areas into record lows. On the mor ...

destroyed most of the citrus groves, dealing an economic blow from which many growers could not recover. Grove owners sold massive amounts of land to developers, resulting in increasing

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (18.9%) is water.

Sugarloaf Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain ( pt, Pão de Açúcar, ) is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Rising above the harbor, the peak is named for its resemblance to ...

is the highest point in peninsular Florida, at 312 feet (95 m) above sea level.

Adjacent counties

Volusia County Volusia County (, ) is located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida, stretching between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the ...

– northeast * Orange County – east * Seminole County – east * Osceola County – southeast *

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

– south * Sumter County – west * Marion County – northwest

National protected areas

Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge The Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located in north central Florida, twenty-five miles west of Daytona Beach, off U.S. Highway 17 in DeLeon Springs. Description The refuge w ...

(part) *

Ocala National Forest The Ocala National Forest ls the second largest nationally protected forest in the U.S. State of Florida. It covers of northern Florida. It is located three miles (5 km) east of Ocala and southeast of Gainesville. The Ocala National Fo ...

(part)

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 383,956 people, 137,446 households, and 94,332 families residing in the county. As of the census of 2010, there were 297,047 people and 130,190 households residing in the county. The population density was . There were 163,586 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 83.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

(68.7% non-Hispanic White), 11.5%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.6% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, and 2.1% from two or more races. 16.7% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 88,413 households, out of which 23.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.90% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.75. In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.30% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 23.80% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 26.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,903, and the median income for a family was $42,577. Males had a median income of $31,475 versus $23,545 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,199. About 6.90% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.80% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Lake County is represented by U.S. Senators

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (U ...

and

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the ...

, and U.S. Representatives

Michael Waltz Michael George Glen Waltz (born January 31, 1974) is an American politician and United States Army officer serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 6th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 20 ...

(R-FL6),

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...

(R-FL11), and Scott Franklin (R-FL15). In the Florida Senate, Lake County is represented by Senators

Dennis Baxley Dennis K. Baxley (born August 22, 1952) is a state legislator in Florida who has served in the Florida Senate since 2016. A Republican, he represents the 12th district including Sumter County and parts of Lake County and Marion County in Cent ...

(R-FL12), and

Kelli Stargel Kelli Stargel (born March 23, 1966) is an American politician who is a Republican member of the Florida State Senate, representing the Lakeland area since 2012. She has represented the 22nd district, encompassing northern Polk and southern Lak ...

(R-FL22) . In the Florida House, Lake County is represented by Florida Representatives Keith Truenow (R-FL31),

Anthony Sabatini Anthony Frank Sabatini (born October 20, 1988) is an American attorney and far-right politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 32nd district from 2018 to 2022. He was a candidate in the 2022 United States ...

(R-FL32), and Brett Hage (R-FL33). Lake County has five Constitutional Officers: Gary Cooney (Clerk of the Court and Comptroller),

Peyton Grinnell Peyton may refer to: Places *Peyton, Colorado, a census-designated place in Colorado in the United States *Peyton, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community in Wisconsin in the United States Other uses *Peyton (name), including a list of people wit ...

(Sheriff), Cary Baker (Property Appraiser), David Jordan (Tax Collector), and Alan Hays (Supervisor of Elections), and five County Commissioners: Tim Sullivan (R-District 1), Sean Parks (R-District 2), Kirby Smith (R-District 3),

Leslie Campione Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

(R-District 4), and

Josh Blake Josh Blake (born 18 September 1998) is an English cricketer who plays for Surrey County Cricket Club. He is a left handed batsman and wicket-keeper. Career Blake signed his first professional contract with Surrey County Cricket Club, Surrey in 2 ...

(R-District 5). The

Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in t ...

has Region III Correctional Facility Office on the grounds of the

Lake Correctional Institution :''See also Lake City Correctional Facility in Lake City, Florida'' The Lake Correctional Institution is a state prison for men located in Clermont, Lake County, Florida, owned and operated by the Florida Department of Corrections The Flo ...

in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in Lake County.

Libraries

The

Lake County Library System The Lake County Public Library System (LCLS) is a library system located in Lake County, Florida. The history of the Lake County Library System began in 1975 when the Lake County Library Planning Advisory Board was created to make a recommendati ...

was established in 1975 following the establishment of the Lake County Library Planning Advisory Board. Today it is governed by the Lake County Board of County Commissioners. The library system is made up of 6 branch libraries and 10 municipal libraries: * Astor County Library: at 54905 Alco Road, Astor, FL 32102 * Cagan Crossings Community Library: Built in 2008; Location: 16729 Cagan Oaks, Clermont, FL 34714 * Cooper Memorial Library: The Cooper Memorial Library's history began in 1905 when a traveling salesman stopped by a boarding house run by the Benjamin McCain family and promised to donate enough books to start a town library if he was able to sell his Chautauqua lectures. Money was contributed, but very few lectures occurred, and books were never donated. Money that was to be used for the final payment for the lecture series was instead used to start a library. The first librarian of the library was Ms. Payson Pierce, who offered her own home for book storage as well as opened her home to the public. In 1914, a permanent structure was built. Women of the Library Club supported the library until 1936 when the Clermont City Council agreed to maintain it. In 2002, Cooper Memorial became a branch of the Lake County Library System. * East Lake County Library: at 31340 S. County Road 437, Sorrento, FL 32776 * Eustis Memorial Library, 120 North Center Street, Eustis, Florida 32726 * Fruitland Park Library: First began in 1916 from the donation of books from the Bosanquet and Dwight families. Twenty years later, under the joint support of the women of St. Paul's Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, and the Community Methodist Church, it became a community library. In 1970, Fruitland Park Library employed its first salaried librarian. * Helen Lehmann Memorial Library: at 17435 Fifth St., Montverde, FL 34756 * Lady Lake Public Library: at 225 W. Guava St., Lady Lake, FL 32159 * Leesburg Public Library: at 100 E. Main St., Leesburg, FL 34748 * Marianne Beck Memorial Library: The Marianne Beck Memorial Library began in 1989 as an Eagle Scout project in a former carport in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. The local community raised $50,000 to remodel a former convenience store that was purchased by the town for the new library. * Marion Baysinger Memorial Library: at 756 W. Broad St., Groveland, FL 34736 * Minneola Schoolhouse Library: at 100 S. Main Ave., Minneola, FL 34715 * Paisley County Library: at 24954 County Road 42, Paisley, FL 32767 * Tavares Public Library: at 314 N. New Hampshire, Tavares, FL 32778 * Umatilla Public Library: at 412 Hatfield Dr., Umatilla, FL 32784 * W.T. Bland Public Library: at 1995 N. Donnelly St., Mount Dora, FL 32757

Elections

Lake County has voted Republican in U.S. presidential races since 1948.

Voter registration

Data comes from the Florida Division of Elections.

Education

There are a number of public schools in the county.

Colleges

The following colleges are in the county: * Lake-Sumter State College * Beacon College *

Southern Technical College Southern Technical College is a private for-profit technical college with multiple locations in Florida. It was founded in 2001 and provides diploma and associate degree programs. Locations Southern Technical College has campuses in the follow ...

* Lake Technical College

Transportation

Aviation

The Tavares Seaplane Base is a city-owned, public-use

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

base on Lake Dora in Tavares. The

Leesburg International Airport Leesburg International Airport , formerly known as Leesburg Regional Airport, is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northeast of the central business district of Leesburg, a city in Lake County, Florida, United States. It is owned ...

is a former Army Airfield and municipal airport along Lake Harris east of downtown

Leesburg, Florida Leesburg is a city in central Florida. The population was 20,117 at the 2010 census. As of 2019, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 23,671. Leesburg is in Lake County, between Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, at the head of the ...

. Mid Florida Air Service Airport is on State Road 44 east of Eustis. * Umatilla Municipal Airport

Major highways

Florida's Turnpike Florida's Turnpike, designated as unsigned State Road 91 (SR 91), is a toll road in the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). Spanning approximately along a northwest–southeast axis, the turnpike is in tw ...

runs north and south from Southeastern and Central Florida. Four interchanges exist in the county; Hancock Road (Exit 278), US 27/SR 19 (Exit 285), southbound US 27 (Exit 289) and County Road 470 (Exit 296). *

US 27 U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana ...

is the main local road through western Lake County, running south to north. It spans from

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

The Villages ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. * US 441 is another south to north US highway running through Mount Dora from Orange County around Lake Dora, where it merges with SR 44, has a wrong-way concurrency with SR 19 in Tavares, and lets go of SR 44 in Leesburg only to join US 27 as they both head into Marion County. * SR 19 is a mostly scenic north and south road from SR 50 in Groveland through Tavares, Eustis, and

. * SR 33 is the north–south road from Lakeland in Polk County to Groveland. A county extension exists as a hidden route along SR 50 to Mascotte, where it becomes an exposed county road leading to US 27 in Okahumpka. * SR 40 is the northernmost east–west route in Lake County, and runs through Ocala National Forest. * SR 44 runs east and west through Central Lake County from west of Leesburg where it joins southbound US 441 until it breaks away near Mount Dora and heads northeast into Volusia County. * SR 46 starts at an interchange with US 441 and County Road 46 in Mount Dora and through Sorrento and Mount Plymouth along the northern border of Orange County. * SR 50 is the main east–west road through southern Lake County.

Public transportation

LakeXpress is the

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

agency that serves the Lake County, Florida area since 2007.

Communities

Cities

* Clermont * Eustis * Fruitland Park * Groveland * Leesburg * Mascotte * Minneola * Mount Dora *

* Umatilla

Towns

* Astatula *

Howey-in-the-Hills Howey-In-The-Hills is a town in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,098 at the 2010 census and an estimated 1,175 in 2018. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Ho ...

* Lady Lake * Montverde *

Census-designated places

* Altoona *

Astor Astor may refer to: People * Astor (surname) * Astor family, a wealthy 18th-century American family who became prominent in 20th-century British politics * Astor Bennett, a character in the Showtime television series ''Dexter'' * Ástor Piazzo ...

* Ferndale *

* Lake Kathryn * Lake Mack-Forest Hills *

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

Mount Plymouth Mount Plymouth or Mount Osorno is a conspicuous peak rising to 520 m in the northeast extremity of Dryanovo Heights, Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The peak has precipitous and partly ice-free northern slopes, and sur ...

Okahumpka Okahumpka is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 267 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the loc ...

* Paisley * Pine Lakes * Pittman * Silver Lake *

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...

* Yalaha

Other unincorporated communities

* Bassville Park *

Fort Mason Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In 188 ...

* Grand Island * Lanier * Orange Bend *

(partly)

Notable people

* Flora Call and Elias Disney were married January 1, 1888, in the Lake County town of Kismet. They were the parents of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

. * The

Groveland Four The Groveland Four (or the Groveland Boys) were four African American men, Ernest Thomas, Charles Greenlee, Samuel Shepherd, and Walter Irvin. In July 1949, the four were accused of raping a white woman and severely beating her husband in Lake C ...

(Earnest Thomas, Charles Greenlee, Samuel Shepherd and Walter Irvin), who were falsely accused of raping a 17-year-old white woman and assaulting her husband. ** Willis V. McCall, sheriff of Lake County, who shot one and wounded another of the Groveland Four while they were in his custody *

Randy Rhoads Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo al ...

, American heavy metal guitarist, killed in a plane crash in Leesburg on March 19, 1982. Played in the

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

solo band following his tenure in

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth, though th ...

. *

Ginger Minj Joshua Allen Eads, stage name Ginger Minj (born September 11, 1984), an American drag queen, actor, singer-songwriter, and reality television personality. After achieving recognition for placing as the runner-up on the seventh season of the real ...

, drag queen; best known for being a runner-up on the seventh season of

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

and competing on the second season of

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, b ...

Notes

References

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

Lake County Board of County Commissioners

Lake County Supervisor of Elections

Lake County Property Appraiser

Lake County Sheriff's Office

Lake County Tax Collector

Special districts

Lake County School Board

Project Student Safety

St. Johns River Water Management District

Southwest Florida Water Management District

Judicial branch

Lake County Clerk of Circuit and County Courts

Public Defender, 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida
serving

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

, Hernando, Lake, Marion, and

counties
Office of the State Attorney, 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida

5th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Miscellaneous links

Workforce Central Florida CareerSource Central Florida (CSCF) is Central Florida region’s workforce board, responsible for workforce planning, programs, and the labor market for five Florida counties ( Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Sumter) in the United States. ...

Lake County Collection on RICHES Mosaic Interface

{{authority control Florida counties Populated places established in 1887 Counties in Greater Orlando 1887 establishments in Florida Randy Rhoads