The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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The Seven Lakes of the Pabor Lake Colony

When horticulturalist and poet William E. Pabor established the Pabor Lake Colony four miles north of Avon Park in July 1892, he anchored his promotional marketing on the slogan: “Pineapple Lands Surrounded by Seven Lakes… There is Magic in the Number Seven.”[womans-tribune-1892-10-15]

In his founding prospectus published in The Woman’s Tribune in October 1892, Pabor explicitly cataloged the seven freshwater solution lakes encircling his 1,400-acre colony tract.[womans-tribune-1892-10-15][fa-1897-10-06]

Identification and Modern Geographic Correlation

1892 Colony Lake Name Modern Geographic Identity Location and Historical Context
Pabor Lake Pabor Lake (Lake Pabor) 40-acre natural solution basin straddling the Highlands/Polk County border (Section 34, Township 32S/33S, Range 28E), site of Pabor’s residence and the colony townsite.[wiki-pabor-lake]
Trout Lake Trout Lake (Lake Trout) Located northeast of the colony site; subsequently became the permanent location of Camp Wingmann in 1939 on land donated by John Sears Francis.[womans-tribune-1892-10-15]
Lake Damon Lake Damon Prominent 280-acre lake situated immediately south/southwest of Pabor Lake, documented on Oliver M. Crosby’s 1888 townsite map.[womans-tribune-1892-10-15]
Lake Pythias Lake Pythias Natural solution lake lying east of Lake Damon, paired with Lake Damon in classical Greek reference, documented on Crosby’s 1888 survey.[womans-tribune-1892-10-15]
Lake Nemo Lake Lillian Situated south of the colony towards downtown Avon Park; subsequently renamed Lake Lillian, fronting the historic 1920s Highlands Lakes Hotel and Casino.[womans-tribune-1892-10-15]
Lake Vigo Lake Adelaide Located to the west of Lake Damon; subsequently known as Lake Adelaide in Highlands County cartography.[womans-tribune-1892-10-15]
Pansy Lake Pansy Lake (Lake Pansy) Small freshwater solution basin situated between Lake Damon and Lake Pythias, named by William E. Pabor in honor of his ten-year-old daughter Pansy Pabor (born c. 1882 in Colorado).[womans-tribune-1892-10-15][pineapple]

Hydrological Role in Ridge Pineapple Culture

Pabor selected this concentrated lake cluster on the Lake Wales Ridge to provide natural microclimatic thermal protection during winter cold waves.[fa-1897-10-06] The high sandy slopes between these seven water bodies supported approximately 250 acres of Smooth Cayenne and Red Spanish pineapple plantations by 1895, transported via the Avon Park Transportation Company’s wooden tramway.[pineapple]

References

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
Review
unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
Rights
society

Sources

  1. W. E. Pabor, in The Woman's Tribune, Florida — Pabor Lake Colony: Pineapple Lands Surrounded by Seven Lakes, advertisement in The Woman's Tribune (Beatrice, Neb.), 15 October 1892, page 3 (1892)
  2. unsigned; almost certainly W. E. Pabor, Five Years in Florida, The Florida Agriculturist, 6 October 1897, page 1 (1897)
  3. W. E. Pabor and E. A. Pabor, Pabor Lake Pineapple, October 1892 to September 1897 (1897)
  4. Wikipedia, Pabor Lake (2026)

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