Lake Harney, named for General William S. Harney, is a lake that straddles the county line between

Volusia County Volusia County (, ) is located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida, stretching between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an incr ...

and

Seminole County, Florida Seminole County (, ) is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 470,856. Its county seat and largest city is Sanford. Seminole County is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-S ...

, at the coordinates latitude 28°45’21.404", longitude 81° 03’36.019". It is fed by the Saint Johns River which flows through central

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and feeds many of the nearby lakes such as Lake Monroe.

History

A large amount of Lake Harney's history can be credited to General William S. Harney and the wars he took part in throughout

. Mal Martin, in a 2001 online article, "The Naming of Lake Harney", stated, "William Selby Harney was born in Haysboro, Tennessee, on August 22, 1800." He served during the First and Second Seminole Wars as well as the Mexican-American and Civil War. He retired as a general, died on May 9, 1889, in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. During the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and ...

, a base called Fort Lane was established on the lake as a supply point for U.S. troops. The fort could only be reached, occasionally, by shallow draft vessels. Anything further south than Lake Harney could only be reached by canoe or similar small poled or rowed craft.

Wildlife

Lake Harney is home to a variety of species of fish, reptiles, water fowl and wading birds. It is nominally fresh water with some salt water springs throughout the area. The lake is home to a variety of fish such as largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, and redear sunfish, all of which are prey to the lake's birds such as bald eagles, osprey, Crested caracara, white ibis, wood stork (Ibis), herons, cranes, cattle egrets, wild turkeys, a variety of ducks and other water fowl. The Lake Harney Wilderness Area is a protected habitat in which the

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is a Florida government agency founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tallahassee. It manages and regulates the state's fish and wildlife resources, and enforces related laws. Officers ar ...

, or FWC, observes several bald eagle nests in the area.

References

St. Johns River Water Management District watershed facts: Lake HarneySeminole County water atlas: Harney, Lake
at

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

Lake Harney
at University of South Florida

at USGenNet.org
Seminole County rules of use
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harney, Lake Harney Lakes of Volusia County, Florida Lakes of Seminole County, Florida Seminole Wars