LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Lake County is celebrating America’s 250th birthday with a new monument dedicated to honoring both national and local history.
The America250 monument, located outside the Lake County Historical Museum in Downtown Tavares, was unveiled in a ceremony complete with bagpipes ahead of the semiquincentennial.
The monument not only commemorates the nation’s founding, but also highlights the many historical moments that have shaped the country and Lake County itself.
“America’s story is not just a story of one leader, one person. It’s a story of many,” said Leslie Campione, chairman of the Lake County Board of County Commissioners. “It is written through the lives of people who built communities.”
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The monument highlights key moments in national, state, and local history, including Lake County’s formation in 1887 and the region’s role in Florida’s agricultural, transportation and tourism industries.
“We talk about our original industries, the agriculture and citrus timber, all of these things that went into the decision by people to actually want to settle here in Lake County,” Campione explained. “Our fertile soil and agriculture remains an important part of our Lake County economy.”
Among those in attendance was Kelly Close, a sixth-generation Floridian, who says Lake County is a great place to live.
“Everything. I love the lakes. I love the birds. The everything. I love the weather. This is home,” Close said.
For Close, seeing the monument dedicated brought a sense of personal connection to history.
“I think it’s beautiful. And it’s going to be here for a long time,” Close said. “I remember celebrating the bicentennial when I was 10 years old and this is going to be another wonderful memory to keep,” she said.
“Happy Birthday, America 250. May it go for a long time more.”