By Jim Waldron – Originally published in the 1992 Founder’s Review
The recorded history of Lake Lillian dates back to the 1830s. It was a favorite spot of the Seminole Indians living in this area of Central Florida. Osceola, the fierce War Chief of the Seminoles, was believed to have been at the lake.
The lake was also known to the first soldiers and white settlers in this area. It was known then as Nine Mile Pond because it was nine miles from Fort King, the fort established by the US Military in what is now Ocala.
The lake was used as a site for at least one meeting between the soldiers and the Indians in 1839. The soldiers said the Indians danced all night long.
As the first white settlers moved into what is now Belleview, they settled near the lake. Among these families were the Pelot, Bleach, Tyner, and Roach. The Roach family had the largest amount of land, and it was known as the Roach Plantation, and the lake became known as Roach Pond.
In 1884, when the Marion Land and Improvement Company bought the land and subdivided what is now Belleview, the lake was in the center of the project. One of the large investors in the Company was James H. Foss, of Boston, who was an author, educator, minister, and investor. According to legend, Foss renamed the lake from Roach Pond to Lake Lillian, after his wife, Lillian Washburn Foss.
The earliest connection Belleview had with Ocala was by a stagecoach line. The office was at a hotel near the lake, and horses from the stagecoach were watered in Lake Lillian. After the railroad came to Belleview, livestock was taken off the train and watered in the lake. Once a circus train stopped in Belleview, and the elephants were herded to the lake for water.
Belleview’s first schoolhouse was built on the shores of the lake, near where the Lion’s Den now stands, and the City Hall, Library, community building, and churches were constructed near the lake. Early land sales brochures described Belleview as “The City Around the Lake.”
In the 1950s, a golf course was built at the lake. In the 1960s, shuffleboard courts and barbecue grills were added to the park. In the 1970s, a fishing dock was built by the City on the south side of Lake Lillian because at that time fishing was great at the lake for those under 16 and over the age of 65.
In 1990, the City of Belleview obtained a grant from the state of Florida to build the walking and bike trails, playground, and picnic areas.
