Discover Keystone Heights
Keystone Heights began as a planned lakeside community rather than a town that simply grew around an old crossroads. John J. Lawrence and his brothers formed their development company in 1919, moving the depot and post office from nearby Brooklyn into the new settlement. The city incorporated in 1925.
More about Keystone Heights
The Keystone Inn overlooking Lake Geneva became an important social center after opening in 1924. Its history links the town to winter tourism, cultural gatherings and the later economic influence of nearby Camp Blanding. A fire ended the inn's operation in 1954; the city subsequently acquired the site and turned it into parkland.
The surrounding landscape has another Depression-era layer at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park. Civilian Conservation Corps crews began developing the park in 1935, and its dedication followed in 1939. The former hotel site and the nearby park show different approaches to recreation: private resort development on one hand and publicly funded conservation and access on the other.
Sources
- City of Keystone Heights: About: https://www.keystoneheights.us/about
- Florida State Parks: Gold Head Branch History: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/mike-roess-gold-head-branch-state-park/history-0
