Mountain Lake Estates Historic District

Mountain Lake is a private community and U.S. historic district north of the City of Lake Wales, Florida, United States, off the FL 17 (formerly US 27A) Scenic Highway. Mountain Lake was founded in 1915, with major development of the property commencing in the 1920s. It was designated as a historic district in August 1993. Mountain Lake is located in the ridge country of Central Florida, and was developed by Baltimorean Frederick S. Ruth. According to the National Park Service, Ruth purchased 3,500 acres of "lush land in the richest and most elevated real estate in the area" consisting of Florida's "liveliest hills, lakes, forests, and groves". The developers wanted Mountain Lake to be an exclusive residential area created "to attract the nation's business elite". With proximity close to trains from the North which would bring residents down for ‘the season,' Ruth engaged Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to lay out 600 acres of the property for the residences and Seth Raynor to design the golf course. This same trio of Ruth, Olmsted and Raynor went on to design and develop Fishers Island Club in the 1920s, while Olmsted and Raynor also designed Yeamans Hall Club. There are some notes in the archives at Mountain Lake that Ruth spoke to Donald Ross (who did nearby Lake Wales Country Club) prior to selecting Raynor; however Raynor was chosen and Mountain Lake became the first development of its kind. Such wealthy and widely known people as Edward W. Bok (long-time editor of Ladies' Home Journal and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author), August Heckscher (benefactor of the Heckscher Museum of Art), and Irving T. Bush (of Bush Terminal, Bush Tower, and Bush House fame) subsequently became early "snowbirds" and established winter homes in or near Mountain Lake Estates. Vanity Fair described Mountain Lake in 2001 as an "old, established Wasp enclave in rural central Florida". Well-known sites, the Mountain Lake Colony House and Bok Tower Gardens, are part of Mountain Lake.

El Retiro (also known as Encierro and as Pinewood Estate) is a historic site in Lake Wales, Florida. It is located at 1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales, FL 33853. The 12,900 square foot house was designed by architect Charles R. Wait for the original owner, Charles Austin Buck. The design specified a "barrel-tile roof, thick walls, substantial carved doors and woodwork, and intricately detailed wrought iron ... and three large porches". The gardens were designed by William Lyman Phillips of the Olmsted Brothers firm. The work on the property was completed in 1929-1930. Buck owned the home until 1947. It was purchased by Nellie Lee Holt Bok in 1970 and renamed Pinewood Estate. A subsequent restoration of the gardens, to their original design, was completed by landscape architect Rudy Favretti. Since 1970, the estate has been part of Bok Tower Gardens, and is again known as El Retiro. Visitors to the adjacent Bok Tower Gardens may tour the home for an extra fee. On December 12, 1985, the 20 room home was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The Anton Brees Carillon Library, located within the Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, Florida, is home to various collections that document the history and development of the Singing Tower and its gardens, the historic Pinewood Estate, and The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. It also contains many sources on carillon art in general.

Bok Tower Gardens is a 250-acre (100 ha) contemplative garden and bird sanctuary located atop Iron Mountain, north of Lake Wales, Florida, United States, created by Edward Bok in the 1920s. Formerly known as the Bok Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower, the gardens' attractions include the Singing Tower and its 60-bell carillon, the Bok Exedra, the Pinewood Estate now known as El Retiro, the Pine Ridge Trail, and the Visitor Center. Bok Tower Gardens is a National Historic Landmark. The 205-foot (62 m) Singing Tower was built upon one of the highest points of peninsular Florida, estimated to be 295 feet (90 m) above sea level, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The national significance of the gardens and its tower come from their associations with Edward W. Bok and his team of designers. The adjacent Pinewood Estate is separately listed on the National Register as El Retiro. Bok Tower Gardens is open daily and an admission fee is charged.

Iron Mountain is one of the highest points in peninsular Florida, United States and a prominent point of the Lake Wales Ridge. Rising 295 feet (90 m) above sea level, The mountain contains citronelle, a hematite-containing rock that oxidizes when exposed to air and is responsible for the red-brown color of the earth. The ridge is located just north of the city of Lake Wales. The tower of Bok Tower Gardens is built on the summit.

The Mountain Lake Colony House (also known as the Mountain Lake Club House) is a historic site within the Mountain Lake Estates Historic District in Lake Wales, Florida. This three-story Mediterranean Revival clubhouse and inn was originally designed in 1916 by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., and features pergolas, loggias, and a barrel-tile roof. It is located east of State Road 17, on the north shore of Mountain Lake. On February 22, 1991, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Lake Wales High School is a high school located in Lake Wales, Florida, serving the city of Lake Wales and nearby communities such as Frostproof, Dundee, and Winter Haven, Florida. It is part of Lake Wales Charter Schools.

Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 16,361 at the 2020 census.

The Lake of the Hills Community Club is a historic site in Lake Wales, Florida, United States. It is located at 47 East Starr Avenue. On March 24, 2000, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Grassy Lake Preserve officially known as Mountain Lake Cut-Off is 185 acres (0.75 km2) of preserve purchased by the State of Florida in 2003 for $2.1 million to protect eight rare species of plants and one rare species of animal. It is located at U.S. 27 and Mountain Lake Cut-Off Road in Lake Wales, Florida) The property is managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as part of a network of preserves along the Lake Wales Ridge. The preserve is located behind Janie Howard Wilson Elementary School.

Spook Hill is a gravity hill, an optical illusion in Lake Wales, Florida, where cars appear to roll up the spooky hill. Spook Hill is located on the Lake Wales Ridge, a geologically significant range of sand and limestone hills, which were islands from two to three million years ago, when sea levels were much higher than at present. The attraction is adjacent to Spook Hill Elementary School, which adopted Casper The Friendly Ghost as their school mascot. The attraction is also close to the Bok Tower. Spook Hill received national media attention when an article about it appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal on October 25, 1990, and it was featured in a segment on CBS Morning News with Charles Osgood on November 5, 1990. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

Chalet Suzanne (once known as the Carleton Club) is a historic site in Lake Wales, Florida. It is located at 3800 Chalet Suzanne Drive. On July 24, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.Originally envisioned as a magnificent residential resort appealing to people who enjoyed golf and tennis, the Carleton Club was a vision of cheese baron James L. Kraft and Carl and Bertha Hinshaw. Kraft soon bowed out of the enterprise. When Carl Hinshaw died in 1931, Bertha Hinshaw opened her home as a restaurant and inn to travelers, serving exotic recipes on fine china that she had gathered around the world. Among those who visited and helped to publicize the restaurant and inn was Duncan Hines. Other famous guests have included Burt Reynolds, Dinah Shore, Robert Redford, Johnny Carson, Kevin Costner and Don Johnson.In 1943 the Chalet was largely destroyed by fire. Hinshaw quickly rebuilt it using salvaged parts from the horse stables, a game room, servants’ quarters and a chicken house. This unusual design had 14 different levels. In 1956, Carl Hinshaw Jr. opened a cannery on the property for the restaurant's famous soups, including their signature romaine. The soups became very popular, selling worldwide. Chalet Suzanne soup went with the astronauts to the moon during the Apollo 15 and 16 flights.The Chalet has been featured in many publications, among them The New Yorker, Vogue, Life, Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, National Geographic, Forbes and Time magazines. Bertha Louise Hinshaw died in 1973 at the age of 90; the Chalet continues under the ownership and management of the Hinshaw family. On July 10, 2014, it was announced that with the retirement of the Hinshaw family, the Chalet would close on or about August 4. The business and property are up for sale as a result. In May 2016, current owners Eric and Dee Hinshaw stated they had turned down offers from property developers who wanted to build houses in the hopes that someone with a "grand vision for the property" would purchase it. It currently serves as a faith-based addiction rehabilitation center for men called Refuge on the Ridge. The Hinshaws, who still live on the property, were inspired to put the property to this use after their own son's successful addiction rehabilitation through a similar program in south Florida.