Editing Minneola, Florida (section)

=== Settlement and incorporation ===
The first white settler in what is today Minneola was Captain William A. Smith, originally from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. The settlement was established shortly after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] on the north shore of Plum Lake.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Peter |first=Emmett |title=Lake County, Florida--a pictorial history |date=1994 |publisher=Donning Co |isbn=978-0-89865-905-4 |location=Virginia Beach, Va}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Correspondent |first=Rick Reed / |title=Lake County history: Did you know? |url=https://www.dailycommercial.com/story/news/local/2018/07/15/lake-county-history-did-you-know/11516965007/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Daily Commercial |language=en-US}}</ref>

Other settlers began to move into the area around what was then called either Cow House Lake or Palatlakaha Lake<ref name=":3" /> in 1880. At this time, citrus groves began to be established in the area by the settler Henry Wilson.<ref name=":0" /> The settlement had a post office established three years later by George W. Hull, the city's first [[postmaster]], based out of his home.<ref name=":0" /> The settlement was surveyed and mapped under direction by George W. Hull, and Cow House Lake was renamed to [[Lake Minneola]]; the namesake of the city.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />

Minneola was formally founded in 1884 as an [[unincorporated area]], originally as a part of [[Sumter County, Florida|Sumter County]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jr |first=Robert Sargent |last2=Sentinel |first2=Orlando Sentinel Staff {{!}} Orlando |date=2006-12-13 |title=MINNEOLA BUYS INTO ITS HISTORY |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2006/12/13/minneola-buys-into-its-history/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en-US}}</ref> The town would become a part of [[Lake County, Florida|Lake County]] when it was created in 1887.

The city would be formally [[Incorporated town|incorporated]] in 1925 or 1926.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Through Schoolhouse Doors: A History of Lake County Schools |publisher=Lake County Retired Teachers Association |year=1982 |location=Yalaha, Florida |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Archibald A. Pitt served as the city's first [[mayor]].<ref name=":0" />