Deep Lake, Florida
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Deep Lake, Florida
| settlement_type = Unincorporated community
| image_skyline = File:FL 29 - Deep Lake (31408876676).jpg
| imagesize =
| image_caption = Looking north toward the Deep Lake Fire Station
| pushpin_map = Florida#USA
| pushpin_label = Deep Lake
| pushpin_mapsize = 250
| pushpin_label_position = left
| coordinates = {{Coord|26|2|33.33|N|81|20|38.28|W|region:US-FL|display=inline,title}}{{cite gnis|294743|Deep Lake}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flagu|United States|size=23px}}
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Florida|size=23px}}
| subdivision_type2 = County
| subdivision_name2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Collier County, Florida.png|size=23px}} Collier
|timezone = Eastern (EST)
|utc_offset = -5
|timezone_DST = EDT
|utc_offset_DST = -4
|postal_code_type = ZIP codes
|postal_code = 34141
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info = {{GNIS4|295218}}
}}
Deep Lake is an uninhabited unincorporated area in Collier County, Florida, United States. It is located between Immokalee and Everglades City along State Route 29. The area is named after Deep Lake, a {{convert|90|ft|m|abbr=on}} deep naturally occurring sinkhole, which is the deepest lake south of Lake Okeechobee.{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/bicy/learn/historyculture/deep-lake.htm|title=Deep Lake|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=February 27, 2023}}
History
Around 1901,{{cite book|title=Images of America: Everglades City|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ysH4DwAAQBAJ|last1=Sullivan-Hartung|first1=Maureen|year=2020|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|page=111, 112|access-date=February 28, 2023}} Walter Langford and John Roach acquired a {{convert|300|acre|km2|adj=on}} tract of land in the Deep Lake area, known as "Deep Lake Hammock," with plans to develop the land into a grapefruit growing and packing enterprise.{{cite web|url=https://www.news-press.com/story/entertainment/2014/02/09/big-cypressmakes-bighistory/5313777/|title=Big Cypressmakes bighistory|last=Chestnut|first=Cathy|date=February 9, 2014|website=News-Press|publisher=Gannett|access-date=February 27, 2023}} After years of laborious work, 200 acres of the hammock had been cleared and seeds were planted.{{cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1985-08-18-8502030714-story.html|title=TAKING A RIDE ON THE DEEP LAKE RAILROAD|last=McIver|first=Stuart|date=August 8, 1985|website=South Florida Sun-Sentinel|publisher=Tribune Publishing|access-date=February 27, 2023}}
= Deep Lake Railroad =
To facilitate the process of transporting the grapefruit to market, the partners needed to build their own rail system. The Deep Lake Railroad was built in 1913 and spanned {{convert|14|mi|abbr=off}} from Everglades City to Deep Lake.{{cite book|title=Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Volume 150|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BR9byA86J-sC|author=United States Interstate Commerce Commission|year=1929|publisher=L.K. Strouse|page=20|access-date=February 28, 2023}}
Barron Collier, friend of Roach and namesake of Collier County, purchased the grapefruit grove and railroad in the early years of the 1920s. He would go on to buy more land in the surrounding area to grow the business, which would later be called "Deep Lake Grove & Cannery."
In 1928, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad acquired the Deep Lake Railroad.{{cite book|title=Images of America: Railroads of Southwest Florida|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Yj6_iaw3_YC|last1=Turner|first1=Gregg|year=1999|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|page=56|access-date=February 28, 2023}} After rebuilding the track to meet Coast Line specifications, the line was incorporated into the Haines City Branch, which would extend up through Immokalee and into Central Florida.{{cite book|title=Images of America: Florida Railroads in the 1920s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=znJ_RPNe-CgC|last1=Turner|first1=Gregg|year=2006|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|page=34|access-date=February 28, 2023}}
The railroad was removed in 1957.{{cite web|url=https://www.cityofeverglades.org/about-the-city|title=A Brief History...|publisher=City of Everglades|access-date=February 28, 2023}}
Geography
Deep Lake is located within the Big Cypress National Preserve. This particular section is higher in elevation and therefore drier than other areas of the preserve.{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/bicy/planyourvisit/upload/DEEP_LAKE_FINAL.pdf|title=Deep Lake Interpretive Trail|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=February 28, 2023}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Collier County, Florida}}
Category:Ghost towns in Florida
Category:Unincorporated communities in Collier County, Florida