Down in the Dumps

In the middle of The Villages just off Moyer Loop behind this golf course beyond the line of trees lies the Sumter County landfill facilities for the disposal of class A materials. 

The dump covers approximately 70 acres in the middle of The Villages – Wow!

It is used only for the disposal of clean fill which includes building materials and appliances. 

Inside the dump – you can ride your bike up there – just beyond the fence and trees you can see over Morse Boulevard to the Village of Captiva. 

Back on the outside, on the other side, guess what's up the hill and behind the trees? They did a nice job of concealing it. 

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Annie Oakley - Sharpshooter

Sharp shooter Annie Oakley and her husband spent winters in Leesburg from 1911 to 1923. She planned on moving there until her beloved dog Dave was killed by a car on February 25, 1923. She wanted Dave to be buried in Leesburg's Lone Oak cemetery. But the powers that be said "No" so she buried Dave at the home of friend in Montclair, left town and never returned. A sad state of affairs.

 

  

There is a beautiful bronze statue of Annie Oakley and her dog Dave in the garden behind the Leesburg library.

 

 Annie Oakley with Dave and her Husband Frank Butler. Dave, an English Setter was 10 years old when he died.

 

If you wish to see an English Setter then look around for Dawson the next time you stop at the Fenney Recreation Center. Dawson often walks his folks down there.

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When Lake Sumter was Cherry Lake

Before The Villages Lake Sumter was called Cherry Lake which at the time through wetlands joined up with Black Lake and Lake Miona. The small community of Cherry Lake still exists at the east end of the lake and is located on the west side of CR100 just south of CR466. On this USGS map you will see Spark Level Church and a track going south of it with a cross at the end which marks the location of Cherry Lake Community Cemetery.

 

 

County Road 100B - the path to the Cherry Lake Community Cemetery between the homes of the Village of Caroline. 

 

 

To get there I took the "official" route turning off CR100 onto CR100B which takes you all the way to the church and the cemetery.

 

 

 

"ELISA MCLoud BORN 1857 didE dEC 1925" [sic] was the oldest head stone I could find. The cemetery is still in use with the latest interment in January of this year.

  

To leave I took the "unofficial" route by hopping over the fence adjacent to the postal station into the Village of Caroline.

 

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Jay Eaton - World Champion

Back in April I stopped as I was going by Eaton's Beach. Because of the pandemic the restaurant was closed except for take out and all access to the beach had been closed off. Jay Eaton who founded Eaton's Beach was a champion cyclist in the 1890's a Master of the Boards.

 

 

 

It was a kinda dead day – no breeze.

 

The guy that started it all, World Champion Cyclist, Jay Eaton is on one of the walls in the restaurant. In the early 1920s, he purchased the tract on Lake Weir, and with his sons and cleared it of beach foliage. He wanted to create another Coney Island with boardwalks like his native New Jersey. It opened in 1924. In addition to the beach and dock, there was a two-story facility built into the bluff that contained a bowling alley, billiards and pinball machines. Little of this remains.

 

 

Jay Eaton broke the world mile record twice in one week unpaced from a standing start on an 8 laps to the mile board track.His time 2 minutes 7 seconds. The ad is from the San Francisco Call 12 February 1899 the admission for the 6 day race was 50 cents.

 

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When Dinosaurs Roamed the Rainforest of Sumterville

The Rainforest Art Garden and Dinosaur Jungle theme park where prehistoric animals roamed way back in 1967 was on the west side of 301 just north of Sumterville. You’ve no doubt ridden past it especially if you have made the loop around Lake Panasoffkee. As you go north on 301 just north of Hwy 470 you will see Shady Brook Golf and RV Resort which is where it was located.

The entrance to the Rainforest. I think this road and parking lot are all that remains.

A pity we can no longer have a club ride there for a Barrel of Chicken

One of the trails like this had an animated dinosaur that ran along a rail. It had moving limbs and made sounds like dinosaurs did! I was told the remains of this machine can still be seen but while I walked some of the trails I was unable to find anything.

In color no less!

The land is now occupied by Shady Brook Golf and RV Resort. The golf course has a nice club house and it costs $20 to play 18 holes in the summer. They have a wall of photographs from the Rainforest days and you are welcome to pop in to see them if you are riding by.

Link to route.