Living in Leesburg- Get Clean Water.

Leesburg was first settled in 1857 by Evander McIver Lee, a Virginia native, with his brothers. When Calvin Lee came along in 1888, he gave the town its name In the early 20th century Leesburg was an important center for watermelon production - but gradually production dwindled and for the last Watermelon Festival in 1957 they had to bring all of the watermelons into the city.

In the 1930's, during the Great Depression, the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration invested in infrastructure and improvement projects across the United States. The Works Progress Administration began work on Venetian Gardens waterside park on Lake Harris. These canals and gardens have been a centerpiece of this part of Florida since its inception. In 1980, Lake Square Mall opened as the major shopping mall in the city. However, this was short-lived due to competition from other malls that popped up at a faster rate in other parts of the state. Also, plans for a proposed condominium project were being drafted around this time - some were excited about these new developments while others were not sure about them at all! A plane crash in 1982 resulted in 3 deaths: Randy Rhoads (guitarist of Ozzy Osbourne's band), Randy's cook, and Rhoads' bus driver.

One of the community's most favorite and popular parks is Venetian Gardens. The amazing place sits on the outskirts of Lake Harris and is known for its spectacular views as well as charming atmosphere. What originally started out as a flurry of canals was transformed into a number of gardens that have since then stood the test of time.

Leesburg was once one of the biggest producers of citrus fruit in the state, but these days it is drawing people to the city because of the large number of businesses based here who are wanting to recruit new talent for projects they have going on. In order to attract employees so as not lose them to different cities or start-ups around the area, Leesburg's businesses offer workers a host of perks. These include things like free bike storage and maintenance with easy access to bike paths. Leesburg is also well known for having a lively biking culture thanks largely to its annual Bikefest which draws in thousands (250,000 is typical) during springtime each year.

Until the early 1980s, citrus was the main business in this area. However, when a devastating freeze two years in a row resulted in heavy losses for local farmers, most moved their groves further south to major citrus growing areas. In 1997, Leesburg Bikefest started. It has since become an annual spring tradition and continues to grow each year. Photo by Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons