The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Lake Bonnet

Lake Bonnet (and its adjoining basin, Little Lake Bonnet) is a natural solution lake located on the Lake Wales Ridge directly north of Avon Park in northern Highlands County (Township 33 South, Range 28 East).[aphs-lakes] The lake is historically significant as the site of the 1940 Highlands County Prison Camp, the 1920s Donald Ross-designed Pinecrest Golf Club, and modern residential developments.[laws-20297-1941][nrhp-00000266]

Historical Nomenclature and Spelling Transition

In early twentieth-century Florida legislation, county records, and regional maps, the water body was routinely recorded under the spelling “Bonnett Lake” (spelled with a double t).[laws-20297-1941]

In Chapter 20297, Laws of Florida 1941, which formally established secondary state road corridors throughout Highlands County, the Florida Legislature designated a state highway running from State Road 8 directly to “the Highlands County Prison Camp on Bonnett Lake.”[laws-20297-1941] Over the course of the mid-twentieth century, USGS topographic quadrangles and county property appraiser records shifted standard usage to the simplified spelling “Lake Bonnet” for the primary lake and “Little Lake Bonnet” for the smaller connected southern basin.

The 1920s Boom and the Pinecrest Golf Course

During the Florida real estate boom of the mid-1920s, the high ridge shoreline around Little Lake Bonnet became a focal point for luxury resort development.[nrhp-00000266] In 1925–1926, Colonel Royal Page Davidson hired renowned Scottish golf architect Donald J. Ross to design an 18-hole championship golf course overlooking the lake, constructed along Little Lake Bonnet Road.[nrhp-00000266] The facility opened in 1926 as the Pinecrest Golf Club (part of the Florida Historic Golf Trail), with architectural clubhouse facilities designed by William J. Heim.[nrhp-00000266]

Incarceration Labor Site (1940–1941)

In 1940, the Highlands County Board of County Commissioners operated the Highlands County Prison Camp along the shores of Lake Bonnet.[census-1940-ed-28-4] The 1940 federal population schedule enumerated twenty-one incarcerated laborers under Warden A. H. Skinner, who performed county road grading, ditch maintenance, and clearing operations throughout the citrus district.[census-1940-ed-28-4] The camp remained operational when the 1941 Legislature authorized paved highway access to the facility.[laws-20297-1941]

Modern Shoreline Communities

Following the post-World War II influx of seasonal winter visitors and retirees, the Lake Bonnet shoreline was developed for residential living:

  • Lake Bonnet Village: A resident-owned cooperative (ROC) 55+ mobile home and RV community established on the lake’s western shore at the terminus of Lake Bonnet Road.
  • Bonnet Lake Estates: A residential subdivision located along the perimeter of the lake.
  • Highlands Ridge: A master-planned golf community featuring nature trails and a boardwalk extending into Lake Bonnet.

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. State of Florida, Chapter 20297, Laws of Florida 1941, designating state roads in Highlands County (1941)
  2. United States Bureau of the Census, 1940 Census population schedules, Florida, Highlands County, enumeration district 28-4, Avon Park precinct outside the city, including the Highlands County Prison Camp (1940)
  3. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Pinecrest Hotel, Old, Avon Park, Florida (reference 00000266) (2000)
  4. Avon Park Historical Society, The Lakes That Shaped Avon Park (2026)

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