Brewster, Florida facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brewster, Florida
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Brewster Power Plant in 1920
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 Brewster, Florida
Location in Florida
Brewster, Florida
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Polk |
| Elevation | 143 ft (44 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 3 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Brewster is a ghost town in Polk County, Florida, in the United States. It's about ten miles south of Mulberry. A ghost town is a place that used to have people living there but is now mostly empty. Brewster is 143 feet above sea level. No one has lived there since the early 1960s. In 2010, only three people were counted as living there.
A Town Built on Phosphate
Brewster was started in 1910. For many years, it was a busy place because of phosphate mining. Phosphate is a mineral used to make fertilizer for plants. The town was mostly a "company town" for a big company called American Cyanamid. This means the company owned most of the houses and businesses.
Brewster had everything a small town needed. It had its own schools, a movie theater, and a medical clinic. There was also a post office that opened in 1913 and closed in 1961.
Famous Resident
A very important person grew up in Brewster: John Vincent Atanasoff. He was born in New York, but he spent his childhood in Brewster. John Vincent Atanasoff is known for inventing the first digital computer!
The End of Brewster
The company officially closed Brewster in 1962. Many of the buildings were torn down at that time. However, some abandoned buildings still remain. A tall smokestack stands out in the area and is a well-known landmark.
Later, the ownership of Brewster was given to the state of Florida. This happened as part of a payment from American Cyanamid. The payment was for environmental damages caused by their mining activities.
Gallery
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Brewster Florida Smokestack in 2012 from Old Highway 37
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Brewster Florida Abandoned Buildings in 2012 from Old Highway 37
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Artist rendering of the former Brewster railroad depot
See also
In Spanish: Brewster (Florida) para niños
