City: Orlando   County: Orange   Year: 2023
Location: 7601 Edgewater Drive

Side One: The Mississippian People and their descendants, including the Timucua, Tocobaga, Miccosukee, and Seminole, lived among these lakes and rivers for millennia. They called it “Wekiva,” meaning “spring of water” in the Muscogee language. In the 1850s, the area became part of a proposed canal linking the state's coasts. Euro-American settlers David Codie Hill, or “Code,” and Alice Hill arrived in the Lockhart area in 1873 and planted citrus groves. More residents arrived in 1885, with the newly constructed Tavares, Orlando and Atlantic Railroad (TO&A). In 1886, Wekiva was the only scheduled stop between Apopka and Orlando. In the mid-1880s, David Lockhart, the community’s namesake, built a sawmill between the TO&A line and Lake Gandy to the north. After the citrus industry was devastated by back-to-back freezes in the 1890s, Lockhart sold the mill to the Warnell Company in 1901. Between 1906 and 1908, Moses O. Overstreet acquired and expanded the mill operation. He later served as county commission chairman and as a state senator. By 1910, the Overstreet Crate Company was one of the largest mills in the state. It furnished nearly 1/5 of all orange crates shipped from Florida. A fire destroyed the mill in 1917. Side Two: There are several locations that showcase the Lockhart Community. Lockhart Baptist Church, erected here in 1903, has stood as a centerpiece of the community that has grown around it. Edgewater Drive, formerly known as the Orlando and Apopka (O&A) Road, runs near the rail line as it passes through Lockhart. In 1913, Orange County voters approved funding for the paving of key roads, including the O&A Road. With Moses O. Overstreet leading the initiative, the O&A Road was paved with brick in 1916. It became designated as part of the official route of the “Dixie Highway” that opened Central Florida to millions of auto travelers. The subdivisions platted here during the 1920s land boom ensured Lockhart’s successful existence after the 1917 mill fire. Exum’s General Store opened in 1929. It was the longest operating grocery in Central Florida until closing in 1974. The Lockhart Elementary School structure, built in 1936, has been preserved through many renovations. Alumni of the school include 5th-generation Lockhart residents, including descendants of the Isaacson family who first settled here in 1883.