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our town
Once Upon a Time in Windermere By: John Nabers Photos Courtesy of the Town of Windermere Read more at: StyleToMe.com
> When John Dawes, an Englishman by way of Boston, laid out the plat of Windermere and named the town, he had no idea what the proposed town would become. He did not own much of the land but he did it at the request of the principal owners and as general manager for the Florida Midland Railroad which had obtained land in Windermere to extend their rail line from Ocoee and which eventually reached Kissimmee by 1891.
Unfortunately many of the early business ventures involving Dawes and others failed and were foreclosed on. These were primarily timber and sawmill operations.
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Not much of note occurred until 1910 when J.C. (Cal) Palmer a carpenter and builder and his two friends all from Wauseon, Ohio visited the area and were charmed by its beauty and great fishing. At that time there were no stores, no post office, no school, and likely only one family living there, that of S. S. Griffin, who obtained the land by purchasing delinquent tax certificates. Palmer was so enthused that he offered to buy the entire town for $10,000 and Griffin accepted. Palmer noticed that Harry Hempel in the Gotha area had prepared a brochure to sell land to northerners. Palmer followed suit by preparing his own adding that in