The City of Minneola is nestled in the stunning rolling hills of Central Florida. The City was originally part of the land of Sumter County and Orange County. In 1887, parts of Sumter County and Orange County were combined to form the new Lake County. Minneola later became part of the newly formed Lake County in 1926. The City's name derived from a Dakota Indian woman meaning "many waters" With over 1,000 named lakes in Lake County, the City is aptly named. The City is located on the highest elevation in Florida's peninsula at 312 feet above sea level and covers 10.37 square miles. During the Great Depression, citrus became the leading industry in Lake County. Minneola was predominantly a farming, community with citrus being the primary crop. The City of Clermont founded in 1884 and incorporated in 1916, Clermont was platted and laid out on the rolling hills between Lake Minneola to the north and Lake Minnehaha to the south. In 1922, a developer named Edward Denslow organized The Postal Colony Company when he bought 1,000 acres of land and planted citrus groves. Clermont then became one of the foremost citrus-growing towns in the United States. Citrus production continued until the 1980's, when unusual freezes began to systematically eradicate local groves. As the citrus industry faded, property was rezoned for residential development