Chain of Lakes (Winter Haven)
The Chain of Lakes is a famous series of lakes in Central Florida. There are two chains of lakes, the northern chain and the southern chain. The northern chain extends across three cities: Winter Haven, Lake Alfred, and Lake Hamilton. It has ten lakes, connected by a series of canals.[1] The ten lakes on the northern chain are Lake Haines, Lake Rochelle, Lake Echo, Lake Conine, Lake Fannie, Lake Smart, Lake Henry, Lake Hamilton, Middle Lake Hamilton, and Little Lake Hamilton.[2]
The southern chain is located almost entirely within the city of Winter Haven. It has 16, sometimes 18, lakes connected by a series of canals.[1] The principal 16 lakes on the southern chain are Lake Howard, Lake Cannon, Lake Shipp, Lake Jessie, Lake Hartridge, Lake Lulu, Lake Roy, Lake Eloise, Little Lake Eloise, Lake Winterset, Little Lake Winterset, Lake May, Lake Mirror, Lake Idylwild, Spring Lake and Lake Summit.[2][3]
Hydrography
Winter Haven and the chain of lakes sit at the headwaters of the Peace River basin.[2] The southern chain has a total surface area of approximately 4,331 acres (1,753 ha).[2] The largest lake in the southern chain is Lake Eloise, with a surface area of 1,174 acres (475 ha).[2] The smallest lake in the southern chain is Spring Lake, with a surface area of 24 acres (9.7 ha).[2]
The chain of lakes, as the headwaters of the Peace River, are important to the hydrological and environmental health of the region. The city of Winter Haven, Polk County, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the state of the Florida, and the federal government all have working projects to improve the water quality levels within the chain of lakes. Sometimes these projects work well with each other; sometimes they do not.[4] Rapid urbanization around the chain of lakes threatens their long-term environmental health. Greater care by the residents in the area will be required to preserve the chain of lakes for future generations.
History
The
During the 1840s and 1850s, the United States government conducted the first surveys of the area. In 1849, Dr. John Westcott completed an extensive survey of the area. Westcott named several of the lakes on the chain after his personal friends, including Lake Howard, Lake Hartridge, and Lake Conine.[5] Westcott, a devout Christian, also named Lake Canon, in reference to his religious beliefs. However, it was later renamed Lake Cannon by U.S. Army map-makers during the Seminole Wars.[5] Several small battles and skirmishes during the Seminole Wars occurred on the chain of lakes. The Seminole leader Chipco is known to have lived along the shores of Lake Hamilton during the Second Seminole War.[5]
In 1883,
The land around the chain of lakes was platted in 1884. By 1900, the area had a population of 400 people.[6] The city of Winter Haven was incorporated in 1911. In the 1920s and 1930s, the citrus industry expanded throughout the area, with thousands of acres of groves along the chain of lakes. John A. Snively played a significant role in developing citrus groves in the area. During this period, many homes in the Colonial Revival architectural style were built along the Chain of Lakes, including most of the historic homes in the Interlaken neighborhood.[7]
In 1936,
Transportation
The first railroad line built in the area, by Henry Plant and Col. Henry Haines, passed close to Lake Henry and Lake Haines on the northern chain.
The major roads passing near the chain of lakes today are U.S. 17, U.S. 92, State Road 544, and State Road 540. Jack Browns Seaplane Base is located on Lake Jessie.
In addition, there is a multi-use paved hiking/biking trail known as the Chain of Lakes Trail.
References
- ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-26. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c d e f "Lake Howard". usf.edu. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Winter Haven Chain of Lakes Pre-BMAP Assessment: An Interpretive Synthesis of Existing Information at the Wayback Machine (archived 2013-10-17)
- ^ a b c City of Winter Haven Memorandum, May 14, 2010, "Status of Nutrient Criteria / Impaired Waters in Winter Haven" http://www.polk.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/WinterHavenNutrientCriteriaMemoMay2010.pdf
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Naming of Lakes in Polk County", Joe Spann, Polk County Historical Library, Bartow, 2007, http://www.polk.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/Naming%20of%20Polk%20Lakes.pdf
- ^ "History". The Official Website of the Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
- ^ "Interlaken Historic Residential District: Winter Haven, Florida Historical Places". Archived from the original on 2013-07-08. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
- ^ "Best Places to Live in Winter Haven, Florida". Best Places. Archived from the original on 2011-03-23.