Deep Lake, Florida

Deep Lake is an uninhabited unincorporated area in Collier County, Florida, United States.[1] It is located between Immokalee and Everglades City along State Route 29. The area is named after Deep Lake, a 90 ft (27 m) deep naturally occurring sinkhole, which is the deepest lake south of Lake Okeechobee.[2]

Deep Lake, Florida
Unincorporated community
Looking north toward the Deep Lake Fire Station
Looking north toward the Deep Lake Fire Station
Deep Lake is located in Florida
Deep Lake
Deep Lake
Deep Lake is located in the United States
Deep Lake
Deep Lake
Coordinates: 26°2′33.33″N 81°20′38.28″W[1]
Country United States
State Florida
County Collier
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
34141
GNIS feature ID295218[1]

History

Around 1901,[3] Walter Langford and John Roach acquired a 300-acre (1.2 km2) tract of land in the Deep Lake area,[2] known as "Deep Lake Hammock," with plans to develop the land into a grapefruit growing and packing enterprise.[4] After years of laborious work, 200 acres of the hammock had been cleared and seeds were planted.[2][5]

Deep Lake in 1920

Deep Lake Railroad

To facilitate the process of transporting the grapefruit to market, the partners needed to build their own rail system.[5] The Deep Lake Railroad was built in 1913 and spanned 14 miles (23 kilometres) from Everglades City to Deep Lake.[6]

Barron Collier, friend of Roach and namesake of Collier County, purchased the grapefruit grove and railroad in the early years of the 1920s. He would go on to buy more land in the surrounding area to grow the business, which would later be called "Deep Lake Grove & Cannery."[2]

In 1928, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad acquired the Deep Lake Railroad.[7] After rebuilding the track to meet Coast Line specifications, the line was incorporated into the Haines City Branch, which would extend up through Immokalee and into Central Florida.[8]

The railroad was removed in 1957.[9]

Geography and Climate

Deep Lake is located within the Big Cypress National Preserve. This particular section is higher in elevation and therefore drier than other areas of the preserve.[10]

References
  1. "Deep Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. "Deep Lake". National Park Service. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  3. Sullivan-Hartung, Maureen (2020). Images of America: Everglades City. Arcadia Publishing. p. 111, 112. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  4. Chestnut, Cathy (February 9, 2014). "Big Cypressmakes bighistory". News-Press. Gannett. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  5. McIver, Stuart (August 8, 1985). "TAKING A RIDE ON THE DEEP LAKE RAILROAD". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  6. United States Interstate Commerce Commission (1929). Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Volume 150. L.K. Strouse. p. 20. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  7. Turner, Gregg (1999). Images of America: Railroads of Southwest Florida. Arcadia Publishing. p. 56. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  8. Turner, Gregg (2006). Images of America: Florida Railroads in the 1920s. Arcadia Publishing. p. 34. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  9. "A Brief History..." City of Everglades. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  10. "Deep Lake Interpretive Trail" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
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