Land O'Lakes

It is this introduction to a story about a new historical documentary that best tells the tale of Land O'Lakes—a community with a still living although hidden history of pioneering families, orange groves and dirt roads; a history that has, like most other histories in the Tampa metropolis, given way to the stores, subdivisions, widened roads and suburban sprawl that mark the face of progress.

The unincorporated area of Land O'Lakes today is "just enough country" for folks who want country living while being close to malls, beaches and the city. With a strong focus on nature preservation, open spaces and conservation areas, the area should be able to retain that country feel despite steady growth. Some say Land O'Lakes is on the cusp of a population explosion; its population increased from 7,800 in 1990 to 21,000 in 2000—and then up to 30,250 in 2007. And more growth is expected: one new master-planned community alone promises to add 25,000 new residents by the time it is completely built out.

The area is beautiful: rolling hills and 100 lakes of all shapes and sizes dot Land O'Lakes, as do many ponds, streams, rivers and water canals. It is 16 miles north of Tampa on Highway 41; 20 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico. Land O'Lakes is also considered a great area to grow a family; it was a contender for MSN/Money's Best Places to Live in 2007.

Hostile Seminole Indians kept settlers away from the area until after the end of the Third Seminole Indian War in the late 1850s. With the introduction of a relay station along a stagecoach line that carried goods among small towns between Tampa and Brooksville, more and more settlers moved in. By the 1930s, citrus was the main industry in the area, which was a conglomeration of various settlements, such as Big Cypress, Disston, Pleasant Plains and Denham. The overall area was known as the Denham-Drexel community until July, 1949, when its name was changed to Land O'Lakes. Various versions of how the name came to be exist, one of which is that it comes from the Land O'Lakes brand of Wisconsin-made butter.

Homes in Land O'Lakes

While some condominiums and townhouses can be had in the $100,000 to $300,000 range, Land O'Lakes is primarily a sea of single-family subdivisions and master-planned communities, with each new community seemingly bigger and more jam-packed with amenities than the next. Oakstead is one such community, comprising small, gated villages surrounded by over 800 acres of forested wetlands. Oakland residents enjoy wide-open conservation areas with wildlife corridors, stocked ponds, forested wetlands and miles of biking and hiking trails—not to mention a community center, full-time recreation director and after school programs for children. Homes in Oakstead are affordable, starting in the low to mid $200s. Suncoast Lakes is another popular community; more than three-quarters of the 525 homes in Suncoast Lakes back to a lake or conservation area alive with oak and pine. Much of the community's 330 acres extends into Pithlachascotee Forest and Serenova Wildlife Preserve, both protected areas. Homes in Suncoast Lakes run $245,000 to $370,000.

Two other popular Land O'Lakes communities are worthy of note: Connerton and Wilderness Lake Preserve. Connerton is the megalith mentioned earlier; it is a master-planned community considered west Florida's only "New Town" in that residents can enjoy shopping, dining and leisure activities within the community's self-sustaining environment—and without needing a car. Connerton covers 4,800 acres that will, when complete, offer more than 8,500 homes and more than three million square feet of commercial space for businesses of all sizes, including grocery stores, banks, offices and a community hospital. It is complete with a community center, an aquatic playground, tennis courts, an enrichment center (offering yoga, tai chi, art classes and more), several parks with gazebos and playgrounds, miles and miles of recreation trails and boardwalks, and its own 80-acre, regional park and wildlife preserve. Homes within Connerton begin at $300,000 and extend to more than $1 million.

Wilderness Lake Preserve is also a community of note: its 680 acres are intended to inspire an appreciation for Florida's natural beauty. The community includes a spring-fed lake with crystal clear waters for fishing, swimming and canoeing; a community Wilderness Lodge and Activities Center; a bathhouse and spa with a deluxe array of services; and a Nature Center where children can interact with wildlife in classroom settings. Homes in this manned, gated community begin at $200,000 for a three-bedroom, two-bath, and extend to over $1 million for a four-bedroom, four-bath estate.

Land O'Lakes has a reputation for excellent schools; many newcomers to the area make home-buying decisions solely based on which schools their children will attend. Elementary schools include Denham Oaks, Mary Giella, Lake Myrtle, Oakstead, Pine View, Quail Hollow, Sanders Memorial, Sand Pine and Shady Hills. Older children attend Pine View Middle, Thomas E. Weightman Middle, Charles Rushe Middle, Sunlake High, Wesley Chapel High and Land O'Lakes High, which offers the International Baccaluareate program, accepted at colleges and universities worldwide.

There's plenty of eating and shopping going on in Land O'Lakes and surrounds—and with plenty more still to come. The much-anticipated, one-million-square-foot Cypress Creek Town Center is scheduled to open at the end of 2008; this mammoth shopping extravaganza will offer a SuperTarget, Kohl's, an 18-screen cinema, Books-a-Million, Circuit City, as well as the eateries P.F. Chang's and Panera Bread—to names a few. Two other nearby shopping meccas are also set to open before the end of 2008: the Groves at Wesley Chapel and the Shoppes at Wiregrass—these two endeavors, together with the Cypress Creek Town Center, will bring within easy reach of all Land O'Lakes residents nearly three million square feet of pure shopping, dining and entertainment pleasure.

A few favorite Land O'Lakes eateries include Benedetto's Ristorante Italiano on Village Lakes Shopping Center Drive and Hungry Harry's Famous Barbeque in downtown Land O'Lakes, half a mile north of State Road 54 on US 41; you can't miss it—just look for the big red barn! Weck's Deli, also on Village Lakes Shopping Center Drive, is another local favorite; Weck's is home of the "The Beef on Weck" and other NY-style deli specialties.

If boating, fishing, canoeing, hiking, biking, diving, horseback riding or golfing is your pleasure, then Land O'Lakes is for you! The area is home to more than 30 parks and preserves, including the Upper Pithlachascotee River Preserve, with its 200-year-old cypress tree, and the Starkey Wilderness Preserve, a 6,000-acre wetland ecosystem spread throughout 18,000 acres of conservation lands. The Preserve is one of the largest undeveloped tracts in Pasco County, protecting environmentally sensitive areas in the fast growing Land O'Lakes area. Also within easy reach is Withlacoochee State Forest, the State's third largest in the northeastern portion of the county, as well as four artificial reefs, one of which is made of surplus military tanks.

Land O'Lakes is also home to the Suncoast Parkway Trail, a 400-foot-wide bike-and-hike-safe corridor that runs parallel to the Suncoast Parkway in Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties and connects public lands, parks and greenways. Visitors along the trail encounter rivers, wetland interpretation centers and wildlife, as well as rest and viewing areas.

Not so widely known is that Land O'Lakes is also called the Nudist Colony Capital of the World, with seven well-known, clothing-optional colonies including the Caliente Resort and Spa, Lake Como Club and Club Paradise. Caliente is the newest of the group, offering 100 luxurious acres of clothing-optional fun, including a 15,000 square foot clubhouse, nightclub, waterfall-endowed swimming pool, beach and several restaurants and boutiques—for those rare times when clothing is NOT optional. Lake Como, which has more than 300 resident members, sees more than 20,000 visitors each year. The rowdiest of the bunch, Club Paradise, is also billed as the most-visited clothing-optional resort in North America.

For fun where clothing is not optional, Land O'Lakes residents enjoy the Land O'Lakes Community Center at US 41 and School Road. The complex offers a community center, softball fields and a playground; it is also the site of the annual Flapjack Festival, Jellybean Jamboree and the Haunted House at Halloween. Another recreation center on Collier Parkway offers soccer, baseball, football, a gymnasium, swimming pool, tennis, racquetball and—for weary moms and dads—a playground.