Leesburg is a city in Lake County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States. As of 2020, the population had exactly 27,000 residents. Leesburg is in central Florida, between Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, at the head of the

Ocklawaha River The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 21, 2011 Ocklawaha River flows north from central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka. Its name is deriv ...

. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Lake–Sumter State College Lake–Sumter State College is a public college with multiple campuses in Central Florida: three campuses in Lake and Sumter Counties; the original campus in Leesburg; the South Lake Campus in Clermont; and the Sumter Campus in Sumterville. It ...

and

Beacon College Beacon College is a private college in Leesburg, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1989 and designed with curriculum and support services to serve students with dyslexia, ADHD, or other specific learning disabilities. Beacon College ...

are located in Leesburg.

History

Leesburg was first settled in 1857 by Evander McIver Lee and Susannah Lee. Shortly after Evander purchased his first property in the area, his brother Josiah joined him, purchasing land near Montclair Road. Several of his brothers followed him to the area. One of them, John Calvin Lee, was credited with giving the town its name. The city was incorporated in 1875, and was designated as the county seat of Sumter County for a time. When Lake County was formed in 1887, Tavares was designated as its seat. It was officially incorporated as the "City of Leesburg" on July 12, 1875. In the early 20th century, Leesburg was an important center for

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

production. In 1930, it held its first Watermelon Festival, an annual tradition that lasted for nearly 30 years. But gradually watermelon production dwindled and, for the last festival in 1957, watermelons had to be brought to the city from outside the area. In 1938, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

administration invested in infrastructure and improvement projects across the county. Its

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

began work on the Venetian Gardens waterside park, located on the shores of Lake Harris. These canals and gardens have been a centerpiece of the community ever since.

Lake Square Mall Lake Square Mall (briefly known as ViaPort Florida) is the only shopping mall in Lake County, and is located in Leesburg, Florida, United States. Opened on September 24, 1980, it is managed by Exclusive Management and Properties. The mall's anch ...

, the city's major shopping mall, opened in 1980. On March 19, 1982,

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

's guitarist

Randy Rhoads Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albu ...

, as well as the band's makeup artist and bus driver, were killed in a plane crash at Flying Baron Estates. The

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

industry was the principal business in this area for decades, but devastating freezes in December 1983 and February 1985 persuaded growers to move their groves further south. In 1997, Leesburg Bikefest started. It has since become an annual spring tradition, with upwards of 250,000 people attending every year. Today, most of Leesburg's growth and economic development is the result of its increasing popularity as a retirement destination. In addition, the rapid growth of nearby

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

has resulted in demand for housing here, as many people commute to Orlando for work. In 1977, 2011, 2016 and 2017, the Leesburg High School boys' basketball team won the FHSAA Class 4A State Championship, with the back to back 16/17 championships happening under head coach Sean Campbell. In spring 2017, the Holding Company of

the Villages The Villages is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sumter, Marion, and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It forms the core of a broader master-planned, age-restricted community of the same name. Located in central Florida, approxi ...

planned to acquire 2,600 acres north and south of County Road 470 along the east side of

Florida’s Turnpike Florida's Turnpike, designated as unsigned State Road 91 (SR 91), is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). Spanning approximately along a northwest–southeast axis, the ...

for future development. The deal with the mega-retirement community has passed

due diligence Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care. Due diligence ...

by the Leesburg City Commission. Age-restricted zoning ordinance changes have already been approved by the Leesburg Planning Commission (with the city commission giving final approval). The initial plans call for building approximately 4,500 homes and some

commercial development Commerce is the organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through transactional processes) of goods, services, and ...

Geography

The approximate coordinates for the City of Lessburg is located at . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (23.65%) is water. Leesburg is located 44.5 miles NNW of

, 270 miles N of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, and 221 miles SW of

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

, the state capital. Several major highways pass through Leesburg, including U.S. Highway 27, U.S. Highway 441 and S.R. 44.

Florida's Turnpike Florida's Turnpike, designated as unsigned highway, unsigned State Road 91 (SR 91), is a controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). Spanning approximate ...

passes just to the south and west of Leesburg. Leesburg was on the western leg of the

Dixie Highway Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South. It was part of a system and was expanded from an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final system is better understood as a network o ...

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, the City of Leesburg has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

zone (''Cfa'').

Demographics

2010 and 2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 27,000 people, 9,142 households, and 5,782 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 20,117 people, 8,684 households, and 5,144 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 15,956 people, 6,775 households, and 4,078 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,742 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 66.60%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 29.12%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.27% Native American, 1.33% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.26% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.12% of the population. In 2000, there were 6,775 households, out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.86. In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 26.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.2 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $25,988, and the median income for a family was $33,250. Males had a median income of $25,840 versus $20,888 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,762. About 16.2% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 35.3% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

The Leesburg Public Library was founded in 1875. The library moved to the Venetian Gardens in 1953 when Leesburg established a library charter,Tolle, Lois B. (1965). ''Torch Bearers: The Story of the Leesburg Public Library.'' Leesburg, FL: Friends of the Leesburg Library Association, Inc. and in 2007, it moved to a building. The library joined the Lake County Library System in 2002. The Leesburg Center for the Arts is a nonprofit founded in 2000 to provide art education and exhibitions. The Leesburg African American Museum contains African-American artifacts. The Melon Patch Players is a nonprofit theater group founded in 1951.

Sports

Baseball

From 1922 to 1924, the city's Cooke Field was used by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

for their

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

sessions. On March 14, 1923, the stadium was used for the site of an exhibition game between the Phillies and the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. In 1936, the city built the Ballpark at Venetian Gardens, which was used by several minor league baseball clubs that played in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

from 1937 to 1968. The city won league titles in 1941 and 1946. Since 2007, the city has been the home of the

Leesburg Lightning The Leesburg Lightning are a wood bat Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league team located in Leesburg, Florida. The team is a member of the Florida Collegiate Summer League (FCSL) and plays its home games at Pat Thomas Stad ...

, a wood-bat

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team in the

Florida Collegiate Summer League The Florida Collegiate Summer League (FCSL) is a six-team Collegiate summer baseball, wood bat collegiate summer baseball league located in the Central Florida region of the southeastern United States. The league was founded in the fall of 2003 ...

Shooting exhibitions

During the 1920s, sharpshooter

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American marksman, sharpshooter and folk heroine who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoveris ...

, who had a residence in Leesburg, performed shooting exhibitions at Cooke Field, including one for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Education

Public schools

Lake County Schools operates public primary and secondary schools:

Public high school

* Leesburg High School

Public middle schools

* Carver Middle School * Oak Park Middle School

Public elementary schools

* Beverly Shores Elementary School * Leesburg Elementary School * Treadway Elementary School

Other public school

* Rimes Early Learning and Literacy Center

Private schools

* First Academy-Leesburg * Saint Paul Catholic School-Leesburg

Colleges

Infrastructure

Leesburg International Airport is a small hub airport at the intersection of CR 44 and

US 441 U.S. Route 441 (US 441) is a auxiliary route of U.S. Route 41. It extends from US 41 in Miami, Florida to US 25W in Rocky Top, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 travels through the states of Florida, Georgia, North ...

, in front of Lake-Sumter State College. It is a hub of JetSky airlines, and serves

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumt ...

, and

Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

Counties.

Notable people

Abe Anellis Abe Anellis (1914–2001), was a food microbiologist. Early life Anellis was born Avraam "Abrosha" Anelis in previously Mogilëv, Russian Empire on 15 February 1914. Anellis's father emigrated from Russia and established himself in the United Sta ...

, a food microbiologist born in Mahilyow, Belarus, retired in Leesburg in 1977 * Vince Fechtel Jr., politician *

Susan Harrison Susan Stewart Harrison (August 26, 1938 – March 5, 2019) was an American actress. She is most famous for her appearance in the 1957 film noir classic ''Sweet Smell of Success'' as the sister for whom Burt Lancaster has an unhealthy affection ...

, actress * Virgil D. Hawkins, African-American attorney and civil rights activist *

Syd Herlong Albert Sydney Herlong Jr. (February 14, 1909 – December 27, 1995) was an American lawyer and politician from Florida who served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1969. He was a member of the Democratic Pa ...

, politician * Jonathan Hay, music producer, publicist *

Dan Hinote Daniel Chester Hinote (born January 30, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey player and current assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He finished his playing career playing for Modo Hocke ...

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, born in Leesburg * Bill McBride, former candidate for Florida governor, husband of former Florida CFO

Alex Sink Adelaide "Alex" Sink (born June 5, 1948) is an American former politician and financier. A member of the Democratic Party, Sink was the Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida and treasurer on the board of trustees of the Florida State ...

, grew up in Leesburg * David McCheyne Newell, author, journalist *

Ginger Minj Joshua Allen Eads, better known by the stage name Ginger Minj (born September 11, 1984), is an American drag queen, actor, singer-songwriter, and reality television personality. After achieving recognition for placing as the runner-up on the sev ...

(Joshua Allen Eads), drag queen, three-time contestant on ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...

'' *

George Stephen Morrison George Stephen Morrison (January 7, 1919 – November 17, 2008) was a United States Navy rear admiral (upper half) and naval aviator. Morrison held significant commands of United States naval forces during the Vietnam War. He was the father of J ...

, raised in Leesburg, father of

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

* Austin "Red" Robbins,

ABA ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

player, born in Leesburg *

Brady Singer Brady Alan Singer (born August 4, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals. Singer played college baseball for the Flor ...

, professional baseball pitcher for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

* Robert S Singleton, American engineer and scientist, graduated from Leesburg High School *

Johnny Thunder Johnny Thunder is the name of three superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. A fourth character has the variant name Jonni Thunder. The character appeared in the second season of '' Stargirl'' on The CW network played by Ethan E ...

, singer * Lillian Vickers-Smith, first female newspaper sports editor and writer for the Leesburg Commercial

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Lake County, Florida Cities in the Greater Orlando Cities in Florida Former county seats in Florida Populated places established in 1857 1857 establishments in Florida