Well another weekend over and we’re less than 2 weeks from Christmas…are you ready yet? Main picture and this one are from Columbia Restaurant in Tampa again.
Clermont is often referred to as the ‘Gem of the Hills’ due to its beautiful hilly landscape.
ARMED FORCES HISTORY MUSEUM www.armedforcesmuseum.com
2050 34th Way North—-Largo, Fl. 33771
Experience their battle. Honor their sacrifice. Relive their history. Salute their heroism. Largest collection of military memorabilia in the Southeast. Uniforms, ordnances from around the world. Watch Pearl Harbor footage, look at items from Hollywood elite who entertained at the USO shows. Working 42′ submarine periscope. WWII communication center, stories of local hero who won the Medal of Honor. Replica of a partial MASH tent. Saddam Hussein’s uniform. Ride WWII M8 reconnaissance vehicle, Climb into the cockpit of a Russian Mig. Actual Quonset Hut. Nearly 100,000 artifacts and 50 operational vehicles.
Tues-Sat 10 am – 4 pm
Sunday noon-4
Closed Mondays and major holidays
Activities like camping, hunting, fishing, riding, hang-gliding and para-gliding are quite popular in Clermont.
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HONORABLE MENTION:
THE BARN YARN
713 W. Montrose St—Clermont, Fl. 34711 352-404-7899
STORE HOURS
Monday-Friday: 11-4pm
Saturday: 8-2pm
Sunday: Closed
352-404-7899
angela@thebarnyarn.com
There are more than 15 golf courses around Clermont, which satisfy the needs of the ardent golf enthusiasts.
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Still no one???!!! http://www.christiantoday.com/article/outlander.season.2.updates.what.to.expect.from.season.2.with.new.trailer.brianna.casting.update/72859.htm
Just a short distance from Clermont you can try the various types of wines at the Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards.
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ROYAL DALTON BELL BONE CHINA MADE IN ENGLAND 3 1/2″ (262185060267) $30.00
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A CHRISTMAS IDEA: BAKE YOUR FAVORITE cake in a giftible, unusual shaped pan. After cooling completely out of the pan, return the cake to the pan and cover it with powered sugar. Make sure to include the cake recipe. (another suggestion from Publix . http://www.publix.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2015_digital_corp&utm_term=publix)
Clermont is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States, about 22 miles west of Orlando and 22 miles southeast of Leesburg. The population was 30,201 as of 2013.
Today I thought I’d feature another town in Florida that might figure nicely in the adventure category: CLERMONT. Oh the picture of the knit shop and all the rest till the end are my pictures taken in Clermont.
Clermont’s Historic Village, at the corner of West Avenue and Osceola Street, is a cooperative effort of the South Lake County Historical Society and the City of Clermont.
One of the newer places (Route 27 north) is the Lake Ridge Winery & Vineyard. Opened in 1989 it uses all Florida Grown grape and is surround by vineyards. Tours and tastings are available daily and check their site for their fun events with vendors, live music and all manner of food. http://www.lakeridgewinery.com/Events/
Clermont Name Meaning /French: habitational name from any of the various places named Clermont, from Old French clair, cler ‘bright’, ‘clear’ + mont ‘hill’, i.e. a hill that could be seen a long way off.
Clermont was founded in 1884, by four gentlemen from New Jersey who incorporated it into the Clermont Improvement Company, the French name a tribute to one of the founders birthplace (he was of Polish ancestry though). The town with it’s main street named Montrose (after a town where another one of the founders grew up in, in Pennsylvania) . William House the company president with one of the founders moved here. House built a three story mansion with a five story tower. They sold lots to northerners stressing the beauty and healthy aspects of the area. But the facts were not the same as the advertisement and complaints included mosquitoes, streets of loose sand and huge colonies of wild hogs who loved the sand streets and brought flies with them. Add to this that there was no sewer system and the stinky outhouses and you had a recipe for eventual failure—which came in 1895 with the big freeze in February with the destruction of the town’s main crop citrus. The founders and their president with empty wallets headed home, the mansion became a rooming house and Clermont operated without a municipal government for the next two decades.
Clermont, Florida, is known as the “Choice of Champions”
Clermont has its own haunted house (probably more than one but this one was featured on Unsolved Mysteries and in at least one book. ) The man who supposedly haunts the house was murdered in 1975 when he ran outside to put out a fire in his truck and was shot at close range with a shotgun. The crime to this day is unsolved. The ghost is famous as he has been photographed. Visitors to he house have experienced everything from a bad smell (a mixture of ammonia, sulfur and smelly socks), to feeling a cold sensation and others have found music boxes playing by themselves. Doorknobs are said to turn, rocker move by themselves and so do swings even when it’s calm. Also see: https://studios.amazon.com/discussions/Tx20YLY1X4V5IEL
Clermont was incorporated in 1916.
The Great Freeze wasn’t the only time the weather was to damage Clermont–in 1983 on Christmas morning the worst freezes in 20th century Florida hit devastating hundreds of thousands of orange and grapefruit trees. Clermont was one of the hardest hit communities but in less than five years Clermont had began replacing the groves with houses. Only 1/2 an hour drive from Walt Disney World it became a bedroom community and it also began attracting a large number of retirees as well as the commuters. The housing developments are now scattered about what well may be the hillest town in Florida with its multiple lakes and giant oaks and other variety of trees and other plants.
Downtown Clermont: This core area of Clermont is located between State Road 50 and the south shore of Lake Minneola. This area provides a variety of unique retail shops, restaurants and businesses, as well as the Art League, the Clermont City Center and Clermont City Hall. Also located at the west end of downtown is the Historic Village.
Clermont’s Historic Village, at the corner of West Avenue and Osceola Street, is a cooperative effort of the South Lake County Historical Society and the City of Clermont.
It includes:
The Townsend House: built in approximately 1895 . This was the home of James and Sallie Townsend, the first African-American couple to make their home in Clermont.
Kern House. The house was built in approximately 1885. Alexander and Eleonora Kern were farmers in New Jersey who moved to Central Florida with their two children. Mr. Kern built a water tank in the backyard of this home and hand pumped water from Crystal Lake to supply his home with water.
Depot building, which was built around 1925. The building includes rest rooms, covered picnic area, a small office, a concession stand and a meeting room which will seat 30 to 40 people.
Cooper Memorial Library building, built in 1914 restored to a Museum.
Quonset Hut restored as a World War II Museum.
Clermont’s Historic Village is open every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.
The main roads through Clermont consist of State Road 50 and U.S. Route 27.
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Contact the Citrus Tower today to learn more about our 50+ years of heritage, or stop by for a majestic view of the rolling hills of Florida’s ridge section and hundreds of spring-fed lakes in the surrounding 8-county area. http://www.citrustower.com/clermont/contact/
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Other Sources
Best Backroads of Florida—Douglas Waitley
Haunting Sunshine—Jack Powell
Hidden Florida–Ray Reigart, Ed.
The Best Small Towns Under the Sun—Robert J. Howard
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SPOON-HANDLE TYPE BRACELET BY ONEIDA SILVER TONE WITH ETC… (262182090337) $15.00
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