By TomL

A little history first: Villages creator & founder was Harold Swartz. Mr. Swartz had several ventures in the Marion County area. One was a development called Lake Tropicana near Dunnellon Florida. It was a large unincorporated area that Swartz subdivided into 1.25 acre plots and 2.5 acre plots, all dirt roads. You could buy land $49 down and $49 per month. Many people took advantage of that easy to purchase deal, especially since they did not have a high down payment. It helped many people fulfill their dream of owning land.  Today they have built there won roads and maintain them.

The Villages: We will get to the sinkholes in a minute. The development started As Orange Blossom Garden which was a trailer park/prefab homes on the east side of US Hwy 441 some 30 years ago. Swartz bought the prefab home factory that he was buying from and kept evolving over years until it was over 50,000 modern built homes. They are a huge voting block and very powerful politically. Let’s go back some 30 years ago… The Villages had water rights for Cattle Ranching and Farming which allowed them the use of over 60 million gallons of water a year. Seems like a lot doesn’t it! That’s a drop in the bucket now. Continue reading →