Kerr City

Overview

The freeze that ended an orange town

Kerr City was platted in 1884 on the north shore of Lake Kerr, on land that had been a cotton plantation during the Civil War. The plat covered 205 acres in 26 blocks, and it was the second town laid out in Marion County. Settlers planted oranges, and the town grew to about 100 people with a three-story hotel, a sawmill, a general store, a pharmacy and a post office. It was a stage stop on the road between the St. Johns River and Ocala.

The freezes of 1894–95 killed the groves and the town was abandoned. The hotel burned in 1907. Founder George Smiley stayed on and bought up the empty lots, and by 1955 his son Alfred owned the whole town. The post office, renamed Lake Kerr in 1888, closed in 1942.

Because one family held it, the town's buildings survived. Wikipedia says Arthur Brennan, a descendant of early homesteaders, came to own and restore the old homes and rents them out. The Kerr City Historic District was listed on the National Register on September 29, 1995. As of 2014 the town was fenced and closed to the public.

Timeline

Plat, freeze and one family's town

1. 1860sThe land on the north shore of Lake Kerr is a cotton plantation during the Civil War.
2. 1884Kerr City is platted: 205 acres in 26 blocks, with streets named Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. It is the second town laid out in Marion County. A post office opens.
3. 1885Dr. Junis Terry of Chicago and his wife build the Lake Kerr House, a three-story hotel of virgin pine.
4. 1880s–1890sOrange groves. At its peak the town has about 100 people, a hotel, a sawmill, a general store, a pharmacy, a school that is also the church, and a post office. It is a stage stop between the St. Johns River and Ocala.
5. 1888The post office is renamed Lake Kerr.
6. 1894–1895The Great Freeze kills the groves, and the town is abandoned.
7. 1907The Lake Kerr House burns, reportedly by arson.
8. 1925A Texaco filling station is built. Wikipedia calls it the oldest in Florida.
9. 1942The post office closes.
10. 1955Alfred Smiley, son of founder George Smiley, owns the whole town.
11. Sep 29, 1995The Kerr City Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
12. Sep 2014Wikipedia reports the town fenced off and closed to the public.

What's left

What stands today

Wikipedia's article on the district, drawn from the National Register database, counts 17 buildings and one structure on 41 acres south of CR 316 and north of Lake Kerr. The National Park Service record lists periods of significance from 1875 to 1949. A University of Florida libraries post says 14 of the original buildings survive. Wikipedia also describes a Texaco station of 1925, the oldest in Florida, still on the site. The photos here, from 2007, show the two-story building with a Post Office sign and the town sign on the road.

The historic sheets below show Kerr City on SR 316 at Lake Kerr's north shore, with Kauffmans Island in the lake and Salt Springs to the east. The 1964 sheet marks a sawmill just west of the town. On the 1970 Lake Kerr sheet the town sits at the top edge, a handful of buildings on the shore.

• 17 buildings and 1 structure in the National Register district
• Two-story building with a Post Office sign
• 1925 Texaco station (reported)
• Town sign on the road, "Kerr City 1884"

Historic maps

Kerr City on USGS maps, 1954–1970

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

19541:250,00019641:250,00019701:24,000

Map & directions

Getting there

Kerr City is on the north shore of Lake Kerr in the Ocala National Forest, south of CR 316 and about three miles west of SR 19. From Ocala the drive runs east on SR 40 and CR 314; from Orlando it runs north on SR 19 through the forest. The town itself is private, and its last reported status was closed to the public.

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

Photos

Kerr City in photos

The Kerr City sign on the road, 2007Building with a Post Office sign, 2007The same building from the side, 2007The pier on the north shore of Lake Kerr, looking out over the lake, August 2007Ten people in front of a log home at Kerr City, 1884

Visitor reports

Been to Kerr City?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Kerr City

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Florida index.

• Ridgewood11.2 mi NE · Putnam
• Sisco14.1 mi NE · Putnam
• Island Grove20.3 mi W · Alachua
• Fort King22.0 mi SW · Marion
• Kismet24.6 mi SE · Lake
• Pittman26.9 mi S · Lake
• Campville28.7 mi NW · Alachua
• Espanola30.0 mi E · Flagler

Sources

Sources and credits

1. Wikipedia, "Kerr City, Florida", retrieved October 2026: the plantation, the 1884 plat, the hotel, the peak of 100, the stage stop, the post office dates and renaming, the freeze, the Smiley and Brennan ownership, the 1925 Texaco station, the September 2014 closure.
2. Wikipedia, "Kerr City Historic District": the September 29, 1995, listing, 41 acres, 17 buildings and one structure, the location south of CR 316.
3. National Park Service, NRHP record 95001150: the district's location and periods of significance, 1875–1949.
4. University of Florida Special Collections, "The Lost Communities of Florida" (exhibit post, about 2022): 14 surviving original buildings, ownership by a founding family's descendant.
5. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits

• The Kerr City sign on the road, 2007: Ebyabe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5
• Building with a Post Office sign, 2007: Ebyabe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5
• The same building from the side, 2007: Ebyabe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5
• The pier on the north shore of Lake Kerr, looking out over the lake, August 2007: Ebyabe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5
• Ten people in front of a log home at Kerr City, 1884: Unknown author (State Archives of Florida), Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
• Looking from the pier back to the shore: lawns, palms and buildings under moss-hung oaks, August 2007: Ebyabe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5
• Topo map, area base map and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Daytona Beach 1954, 1:250,000; Daytona Beach 1964, 1:250,000; Lake Kerr 1970, 1:24,000.