Around Central Florida - Windermere, Florida

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Among the Lakes

Established in 1889, Windermere takes its name from the largest lake in the Lake District of England.

It is surrounded by the Butler Chain of Lakes. It is a registered bird sanctuary. Often times while cruising through the lakes, you will see several nests built atop the lazy trees. They are home to wild Osprey, once on the endangered list. Windermere's side roads are unpaved dirt roads and by city ordinance never will be paved to protect a natural aquifer which runs under the city's surface.

Isleworth is a private luxury community in Windermere, just outside the Orlando city limits, where stars like Tiger Woods and Shaquille O'Neal reside. Late in 2007, the community became a bone of contention between Orange County officials and Windermere, Fla. when the city announced plans to annex Isleworth. With property tax rolls totaling $800 million that year, it generated $3.5 million in tax revenues for the county that the city was anxious to redirect to its own coffers.

Windermere Town Hall, 1890 Windermere School and the Cal Palmer Memorial Building are all on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The late Carl Patterson, Jr wrote and published a unique book detailing the history of Windermere, titled 'Windermere Among the Lakes: The Story of a Small Town'. Back in the day, Windermere was known as a 'fish camp' where snow birds kept vacation homes. The Plantation Grove Shopping Center located on Maguire Rd used to be a small private airport where Windermere residents could keep their airplanes. But then came Disney...

Now, Winderemere ranks #1 Top-Choice Town for Families with Children by NeighborhoodScout, according to this article.

Housing in Windermere

Most of the elaborate houses in Central Florida can be found in Windermere. The average listing price for a home in Windermere, according to Trulia.com, is over a million dollars. The median sales price is greater than half a million. With great schools and some of the most beutiful lakes in Central Florida, there is no surprise that these homes are so valuable.

Local Places to visit: Yellow Dog Eats Cafe, Ready Market, Suzi Karr Realty, Chase Memorial Library and a gift shop called Just Around the Corner. These are a few of the old standby places that make Windermere unique.

Fact: Windermere's Lake Down was originally supposed to be named "Lake Dawn" but due to a mapmaker's mistake, it was changed to Lake Down.