Indian Lake Estates, Florida facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Indian Lake Estates, Florida
|
|
|---|---|
 Indian Lake Estates, Florida
Location in Florida
Indian Lake Estates, Florida
Location in the United States
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Polk |
| Elevation | 69 ft (21 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
33855
|
| Area code(s) | 863 |
| GNIS feature ID | 295792 |
Indian Lake Estates is a small community in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is an unincorporated community. This means it's not officially a city or town with its own government. Instead, it's managed by the county. Indian Lake Estates is located on the eastern shore of Lake Weohyakapka, which is also known as Lake Walk-in-Water. It's about 14 miles (22 km) east-southeast of the town of Lake Wales.
Contents
History of Indian Lake Estates
How the Community Started
In January 1955, a company called El Dorado Estates, Inc. was created. A real estate developer from Washington, D.C., named Leon Ackerman, owned this company. In October 1955, the company changed its name to Indian Lake Estates, Inc.
Soon after, the company bought a very large piece of undeveloped land. This land was right on the shores of Lake Walk-in-Water. It was about 19 miles (31 km) southeast of Lake Wales. The company paid $222,000 for this land, which was about 12 square miles (31 km²) in size. This worked out to about $35 for each acre.
Building a Vision
Leon Ackerman had a big dream for this land. He wanted to build an exclusive community where about 15,000 people would live. It would be a gated community, meaning it would have controlled entrances. His plan included a golf course, a country club, a marina for boats, and a long pier on Lake Walk-in-Water.
In December 1955, the first map of the community was officially recorded. This map showed how the 7,200-acre (2,900 ha) area would be divided. The company spent millions of dollars to make this dream happen. They built a network of canals near the lake. They also built a quarter-mile long pier and about 200 miles (320 km) of roads throughout the area. About 98 miles (158 km) of these roads were paved.
Early Challenges
At first, half-acre lots in the community were sold for $2,250. However, many people who bought these lots were land speculators. This means they bought the land hoping its value would go up so they could sell it for more money later, rather than building homes right away. Because of this, only about 150 homes were built in the first few years.
By 1959, the company started having money problems. The next year, Leon Ackerman sold his share of the company to another company called Alaska Oil & Mineral Company, Inc. Despite this, Indian Lake Estates, Inc. went out of business in April 1965.
As of 2009, there are about 700 homes in Indian Lake Estates. Most of these homes are located near the lake or the golf course. The community still has over 8,000 lots, showing how much bigger it was planned to be.
Notable Residents
- Harold Edward "Red" Grange (1959–1991) – He was a famous American football player.
