Polk County Florida

Brewster, Florida: The Ghost Town That Was Literally Dismantled

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Historic photograph of the Brewster, Florida phosphate company town with its power plant smokestack rising above the buildings and trees.

Most ghost towns leave something behind. Empty houses. Abandoned storefronts. Crumbling churches. Streets slowly disappearing beneath weeds and trees. Brewster, Florida, is different. When this former phosphate company town in Polk County reached the end of its life, people didn’t simply pack their belongings and leave their houses behind. Some of them took the houses … Read more

The Forgotten History of Crum-Durrance Cemetery in Polk County, Florida

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Weathered gravestones at Crum-Durrance Cemetery beneath Spanish moss and storm clouds in Polk County, Florida.

Some historic places announce themselves. They have signs along the highway, parking lots, interpretive markers, and plaques explaining exactly why you should stop. Others are much quieter. Sometimes you glimpse a few old headstones through the trees as you drive past and think— Wait. Was that a cemetery? That’s exactly how Dusty and I discovered … Read more