Notes from the Horizon
Central Florida
The Land
The Lie She Told at Loughman
The sawmill camp in northeast Polk County took the woman in the shiny gray Chevrolet for a detective, so Zora Neale Hurston told them she was a bootlegger the law wanted in Miami
Twelve miles below Kissimmee the road ran under an arch marking the Polk County line. Zora Neale Hurston drove under it in a gray Chevrolet. The asphalt curved deep and then straightened, and ahead of her a smokestack was blowing smut against the sky beneath a sign that read Everglades Cypress Lumber Company, Loughman, Florida. She had meant to keep on to Bartow or Lakeland. She turned in instead, past the signs posting the place as private property no one could enter without the company's consent.
Horizon Marine · September 15, 2026
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The Lakes
Lake Pierce, Lake Wales: The Five-Day Haul From Net to Railroad
Before it was a fish camp, the north shore of Lake Pierce was a commercial netting operation that hauled its catch out over log roads on a five-day round trip to the railroad — back when the lake was called Cat Fish Lake.
Sep 20, 2026
The Build
What Acid-Colored Lakes Do to Aluminum Sheet Pile
Not all freshwater is the same — and on Polk County's acid-colored lakes, the wrong seawall material can fail from the inside out while still looking fine from the dock. Here's what the water chemistry data actually says.
Apr 22, 2026
The Work
South Lakeland — Low-Launch Dock, Seawall, Path to the Water
A live oak leaning out over a former phosphate pit in south Lakeland sets the terms for the work that surrounds it
Apr 30, 2026
On the Water
Williams Team Wins at Panasoffkee; Driest Year on Record Drops Lake Levels Across Central Florida
Central Florida just logged its driest year on record, with Orlando 15.29 inches below average and lake levels well below normal
Sep 18, 2026
What the lake knows that you don't — the one fact about each lake that most people miss.
All lake profiles →Lake Pierce, Lake Wales: The Five-Day Haul From Net to Railroad
Before it was a fish camp, the north shore of Lake Pierce was a commercial netting operation that hauled its catch out over log roads on a five-day round trip to the railroad — back when the lake was called Cat Fish Lake.
Sep 20, 2026
Lake Marion, Haines City: The Island House Built in the Shape of a Celtic Cross
In 1887 an Irish carpenter who had come south for his lungs started cutting cypress on a 23-acre island in Lake Marion, and built a house in the shape of a Celtic cross — his family has held the island ever since
Sep 20, 2026
Edward Medard Reservoir, Plant City: The Drawdown That Fed the Food Banks
When Hillsborough County's busiest reservoir was emptied in 2009 to rebuild its eroding bank, more than 1,300 of the stranded tilapia and catfish were filleted and sent to local food banks
Sep 18, 2026
Spring Lake, Brooksville: The Grove That Turned Into an Attraction
A hard freeze wiped out a Spring Lake citrus grower's living in the early 1960s, and rather than replant, the Boyett family turned the survivors into a roadside attraction that outlived the groves around it
Sep 18, 2026
The human history of Central Florida — the phosphate era, the families, the land before the subdivisions.
All stories →
The Trooper Who Never Reached Cuba
Two Tenth Cavalry troopers were arrested in downtown Lakeland in May 1898 for a killing no two accounts describe the same way, and one of them never got out of Bartow
Sep 17, 2026
The Night the Lake Came Over the Levee
The night before the storm came ashore, weather officials told Florida it would not hit
Jun 9, 2026
Four Million Acres at Twenty-Five Cents
In 1881, a Pennsylvania saw manufacturer wrote a check to the State of Florida for one million dollars and walked out owning four million acres
May 29, 2026
The Town That Kept Its Oranges
Christmas Day 1894 was one of Florida's most beautiful days, and four days later the citrus industry was gone
May 25, 2026
What Horizon Marine has built — specific jobs, specific lakes, honest accounts of the work.
All project stories →
Dock and seawall expertise — what we've learned from building on Central Florida's lakes.
All build notes →What Acid-Colored Lakes Do to Aluminum Sheet Pile
Not all freshwater is the same — and on Polk County's acid-colored lakes, the wrong seawall material can fail from the inside out while still looking fine from the dock. Here's what the water chemistry data actually says.
Apr 22, 2026
Composite Decking Cost Explained: What You're Really Paying For on a Florida Dock
Your quote came back and composite decking stopped you cold. Here's what that number actually covers — and what to check before you sign anything.
Apr 16, 2026
What's happening on Central Florida's waterfronts — tournament results, lake conditions, and waterfront news. Weekly.
All roundups →
Williams Team Wins at Panasoffkee; Driest Year on Record Drops Lake Levels Across Central Florida
Central Florida just logged its driest year on record, with Orlando 15.29 inches below average and lake levels well below normal
Sep 18, 2026
Lakeland Starts Fining Watering Violations; Quilatan Takes Gator Division AOY
Lakeland attached $50-to-$500 fines to the Phase 3 watering restrictions on Sept. 8, and Windermere's Dylan Quilatan closed out the BFL Gator Division season with the Angler of the Year title
Sep 15, 2026
Pro Circuit Championship Comes to Big Toho Sept. 18-20; Lake Bessie Ramp Closed Two Weeks
Major League Fishing's Pro Circuit Championship runs the Kissimmee Chain out of Big Toho Marina Sept. 18-20, and Windermere has closed the Lake Bessie ramp for about two weeks.
Sep 14, 2026
ICAST Cup on Big Toho This Week; Water Shortage Extended Through October
Major League Fishing runs the ICAST Cup out of Big Toho Marina this week, and SWFWMD's extreme water shortage now holds through October 1
Jul 14, 2026
Notes from the Horizon
A publication of Horizon Marine