| Florida Central Academy |
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Florida Central Academy was founded by Colonel L. E. Allen and General T. L. Alexander in 1959 as a college preparatory Boarding School for boys. In 1971 the school became fully Co-educational . The campus was situated on 45 Acres (182,109 m2). The school was closed in 1983 . Rumors spread that school funds were embezzled which forced the school to shut down abruptly. So abruptly in fact that the classrooms and dorms looked as if the students just walked out and never came back. HISTORY The main school building was a very interesting Victorian architecture with steep roof lines and large chimneys. The building was originally four stories and had 230 rooms. Carl Dann Sr. built it in 1926 during the Florida land boom. It was called the Mt. Plymouth Hotel and Country Club. At the time it had the largest dining room in Florida. It has a golf course that was modeled after a famous one in Scotland. Supposedly a lot of famous people had stayed there. Al Capone is one that comes to mind. Mt. Plymouth is located in the geographic center of Florida. The area has beautiful rolling hills, hence the names Mt. Plymouth, and nearby Mt. Dora. After the school closed in 1983 it became a haven for high school kids from all parts of Florida and the southern states. Just about any night of the week you could find kids venturing to the building. Soon, the Lake County Sheriff had to spend every night patrolling the building. Vandalism became rampant at the building and with each passing month the building suffered more destruction. In 1986, the entire building except for one wing burned to the ground. Shortly thereafter the entire site was razed with no trace of the building left. As an update, in fact, two top administraors were involved in the disappearnce of funds. As it turned out, Col Allen along with John Stevens had serious gambling debts and were being pressured by underworld figures. So documented by the Orlando Sentinel, that just a week later, was to break the news. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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