Lost Town hidden in the Woods

The town is Otter Creek and the elevation is 26 ft. above sea level. That may seem pretty low to you but down the road is Cedar Key coming in at 10 ft. above sea level and I’ve seen it hit 10 below while standing on dry land. This is a humid subtropical climate filled with evergreen hardwoods and palm trees. The town is tiny and hasn’t changed much in the last 100 years. I’m sure eventually it will be a Lennar or D.R. Horton housing development but not yet.

Historically, Hernando de Soto crossed Otter Creek during his explorations of Florida in 1539. During the 1930s and 1940s it was the second largest community in Levy County. The population eventually declined with the loss of a lumber mill that made cypress “flitches” for citrus crates and the discontinuation of two railroads that bisected the town. In 1856 it was listed as “Otter Creek Ford.”