Many residents of West Samoset will agree that the history of their neighborhood is a rich one. Originally, this property was used as an orange grove and citrus farm by the Hutchinson family in 1892.
Upon purchase from the Hutchinsons in 1945, Florida Power & Light Company acquired much of the land to use for phosphate mining operations until December 1977 when they relocated their mines to Polk County due to dwindling reserves. In 1984 Davis Manufacturing purchased 100 acres of what had been mined-out land with plans for industrial development.
The company built warehouses on its tract where it housed manufacturing plants producing materials such as acrylic sheeting, fiberglass insulation panels and synthetic building board products known under brand names like Silux® Acrylic Sheeting and Corrugated Polycarbonate.
In the early 2000s, Davis Manufacturing began to see a decline in its business and so it ceased operations on their land parcels. The company FPL sold its remaining property after phosphate mining operations ended as well. In 2005, the final 100 acres of quarry was purchased by David Rousseau for residential development which he named “West Samoset”.
This neighborhood is now being developed into single-family homes. Even with all that has happened over time, West Samoset remains a beautiful place to live due to lush landscaping and mature foliage from years past when citrus farming was prominent here.
