History
Prior to the 1500s, the area was inhabited by the Timucuan Indians, and by 1564, by the Spanish. The United States purchased the eastern half of the state from Spain in 1821 and Florida became a state in 1845. It was around 1885 that Englishman Joseph Hill Scott purchased 150 acres on the southern shore of Lake Butler for his two sons, Stanley and Douglas.
Eventually, Dr. Stanley Scott homesteaded the property and named the area Windermere, many believe, after Lake Windermere in England. Additional settlers, many from England, came over to the area soon after. During this time, Citrus Groves were planted and the Florida Midland Railway was constructed through the area. By 1920, the population of Windermere was numbered.
Today, with a population of more than 2,300, the Town of Windermere is a quaint mixture of old and new homes with many of the original sand roads that wind through the town still remaining, reminiscent of its rich heritage and character.