Lehigh Acres

By Carla Ulakovic

Lehigh Acres emerged from an expanse of southwest Florida s wild lands due to the vision of industrialist, inventor, and self-made millionaire Leonard Lee Ratner and his business partners in the Lee County Land and Title Company. For Ratner, southwest Florida represented a land of opportunity. In 1952, he purchased Lucky Lee Ranch in eastern Lee County as a means to maintain his fortune; however, a chance meeting in Miami with Gerald Gould, a young advertising executive, forever changed the future of this Florida ranchland. They formed a company, began subdividing the land, and devised a marketing plan to attract buyers from the Midwest and Northeast by selling dreams in a golden land of opportunity and touting an average temperature of 74 degrees. Soon, roadways, model homes, the Lehigh Acres Country Club and Motel, and an ultramodern auditorium brought the community to life. As the decades moved on, the company s holdings grew to 60,000 acres, making Lehigh Acres one of the largest subdivided communities in the nation. Rich in natural beauty, amenities, and activities, the dynamic marketing team convincingly sold many on the idea that you needn t be a millionaire to live like one in Lehigh Acres.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781439647394

Carla Ulakovic

Carla Ulakovic has called on the community�s residents, reviewed personal photographic collections of long-standing local families, and conducted numerous interviews to narrate this visual voyage through the history of Lehigh Acres, from the birth of a corporation town to the cultivation of a true community.

Book preview

project.

INTRODUCTION

Through time, many have looked at Florida as a land of opportunity. Long before development skyrocketed in the mid-1900s, much of Florida was still predominantly untouched wood, swamp, and scrublands, which held their own allure. As more people were attracted to Southwest Florida, communities and cultures began to go through a metamorphosis. By the mid-1900s, Southwest Florida’s emerging communities were the products of an entrepreneurial spirit rather than a historical settlement.

Lehigh Acres, as we know it today, spans 60,000 acres in the unincorporated area of eastern Lee County. Originally conceptualized as a business venture to sell land, the founders soon realized a need to develop more than buildings and infrastructure and focused on cultivating a community. To better understand how Lehigh Acres was built, let’s first take a look at the history of the area.

Florida boasts the longest history in the nation of cattle ranching, dating back to the region’s discovery more than 500 years ago. About 41 years after becoming a US territory and 17 years after becoming a state, Florida saw growth in the cattle industry through the Homestead Act of 1862. The Homestead Act provided not only more opportunities for settlers but also for the industry itself to flourish.

From across the state, herds of cattle were historically driven to ports in Southern Florida, like Punta Rassa in Lee County, where they were packed on ships setting sail for Cuba. Along the journey, ranchers would stop to rest the cattle at a midpoint—like Halfway Pond, or Mirror Lakes as it is sometimes called today, in Lehigh Acres.

Florida’s economy had depended largely on the health and stability of the cattle industry. It provided many jobs and created a culture and sparked passion in the many multi-generational family ranchers who homesteaded, including the Flint family.

The Flints come from a long line of pioneers. Not only can their ancestry be traced back to the landing at Plymouth Rock, but members of the Flint family settled in the area that is now Lehigh Acres long before the town itself was born. William Riley Flint homesteaded a stretch of land during the mid-1800s in what was then Monroe County; today, this area is known as the rural community of Buckingham in Lee County. By the 1920s, one of his sons, Dave Lee Flint, built a home and started a farm in the eastern corner of Lee County.

As the next two decades unfolded, a few farms and cattle ranches dotted this corner of Southwest Florida. Then, in 1952, Leonard Lee Ratner, self-made millionaire, inventor, and industrialist, purchased Lucky Lee Ranch and set into motion a course of events that would forever change the landscape of eastern Lee County.

The Chicago native soared to success early in life. His ingenuity pushed him to the forefront of the marketing world as he soon mastered radio and direct mail advertisements. An early investment in the research of a new chemical turned out to be a lucrative decision for Ratner. He licensed the rights to the chemical, created a pesticide business, and eventually sold his interests for a large profit. He later relocated to Miami, Florida, where he began researching new opportunities; that was when he came across Lucky Lee Ranch in Lee County.

For Ratner, the purchase of Lucky Lee Ranch provided an outlet for his growing fortune, came with agricultural tax benefits, and was yet another way to diversify his business interests. He entered into the farming industry with cattle, hay, and alfalfa.

While in Miami, Ratner had a unique encounter with Gerald Gould, an advertising account executive. The duo became fast friends and soon began exploring the opportunities waiting in the expanse of Lucky Lee Ranch.

Ratner registered Lee County Land and Title Company Inc. and entered into the real estate business with sights set on developing a portion of the land at the 18,460-acre ranch. He reached out to friends Gerald Gould, Manuel Manny Riskin, and Edward Shapiro to make this dream a reality.

Lee County Land and Title Company soon hired engineers to carve quarter-acre, half-acre, and acre lots out of the portions of Lucky Lee Ranch. According to Gould, the ranch remained operational to help keep the agricultural tax exemption and to provide a revenue stream. Within a month of their incorporation, the fantastic four began churning out marketing materials to help sell dreams and promote a great investment to their neighbors in the North.

The company continued to grow its assets by purchasing large homesteads and vacant land until its holdings topped 60,000 acres.

The pioneers of the Lehigh Acres community were retirees looking to enjoy the pleasures of life, which they had been deprived of during the Depression and shortages surrounding World War II. During the 1950s, individuals were open to reinvesting in themselves and the nation, so when opportunity knocked offering the dream of tropical Florida living at seemingly affordable prices, many answered. Early advertisements focused on both the dream and affordability of this new refuge from cold, harsh winters. Gerald Gould noted that the company sold 12,000 lots in its first year and home sales came sooner than anticipated. With interest in the community mounting, the company worked to lay the foundation for success, building hundreds of miles of roadways and bringing in utilities and amenities. Soon a shopping center opened, followed by a recreational center, and then a complex complete with a motel, country club, and auditorium.

The company used a combination of marketing tools and tactics to reach desired audiences. It secured national media placements in television, radio, and magazines; sales expos were held; and promotions and home giveaways were orchestrated on television game shows like the Price is Right and Three on a Match—all creating an allure to the community.

Lehigh Acres was famed for its modern facilities, community events, and its almost magnetic draw for celebrities as it played host to countless stars like Liberace and Phyllis Diller.

Soon, the demographics of