WILLIAM J. HOWEY/ THE HOWEY MANSION

SIDE ONE: William J. Howey: William J. Howey, born January 19, 1876, was among the foremost citrus land developers in early 1900s Florida. He created his first development in Winter Haven in 1908, opening new groves in the area every two years after that. In 1914, he sold his holdings in Polk County, where Bok Tower now stands, and began purchasing land near Yalaha in Lake County. By 1920, he had amassed 60,000 acres for a grander development project, which would become what he called a “City Inevitable.” On May 8, 1925, he incorporated Howey, which he renamed Howey-in-the-Hills two years later. He served as mayor from the town’s inception until 1936. Howey opened the state's first citrus juice bottling plant, where he experimented with pasteurizing fruit juice. The threat of hurricanes in the mid-1920s and the collapse of the Florida Land Boom hurt Howey’s businesses, so he continued with politics, unsuccessfully running for governor in 1928 and 1932. Howey died on June 7, 1938, leaving a legacy of entrepreneurship, innovation, and public service. SIDE TWO: The Howey Mansion: Built in 1925, the Howey Mansion’s Mediterranean Revival style reflects the influence of Spanish and Italian architecture. New York architect Katherine Cotheal Budd, among the first female members of the American Institute of Architects, designed the 7,200-square-foot, 24-room mansion. The Howey Mansion embraced the opulence of the Roaring Twenties during the Florida Land Boom. The interior blends function with extravagance. The Austrian craftsman who designed and constructed the unique plaster walls of the foyer did so in secret to hide his process. The library conceals a secret passage which leads to a hidden “prohibition vault.” The exterior boasts rose stucco, an elaborate bas-relief frontispiece, two castle towers, and an interior courtyard with a fountain featuring a siren. The grounds featured 15 acres referred to as “The Park,” which contained the Georgian marble mausoleum where Howey and his family are interred. The Howey Mansion was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on January 27, 1983.