Palms & Pines was
originally the site of the Cleveland Marine Steamship Company, a boat building
and repair service owned by George Brown. It
was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Chittick in 1952.
Palms & Pines started as a
joint venture between Ian and Josephine MacLeod, Josephine’s sister Helen and
her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Chittick.
The MacLeod's arrived August 1952 and began construction of the mobile
home area. Jo and “Mac” laid
out 5 waterfront lots, 3 next to the Rec Hall and 15 lots in the area behind the
Rec Hall. The Recreation Hall and
the adjacent apartments had been part of the shipyard.
There was also a small house and a cottage.
The apartments became J1 and J2. The
cottage became J3. The J was for
Josephine. That was the beginning!
The park sits on 8 acres and
only a portion was used for the shipyard. The
rest was pure unadulterated
Florida
. About 4 acres of the land were
used to start the business.
Several years later Helen built
two duplexes at the west end of the property.
These became H1, 2, 3 and 4. Jo
and “Mac” then added the last duplex which became J4 and 5.
As time passed the center
portion of the park was redesigned and more lots were added.
Arthur Chittick took over in
the 60’s. In 1967 he developed
the two acres at the east end of the park and the remaining land at the west
end. This created E and F rows and
the sites at the west end of the property.
The sewage plant was the next large venture, added in 1969.
In 1969 Helen and Jo became more involved in the parks operation. Arthur
Chittick passed away in June 1971. Four
years later Georgiana Chittick and Helen both passed away within one week.
In 1974, Jo and “Mac” retired from the school system and move back to
Palms & Pines. “Mac” passed
away in 1980. Jo continued to run
the business until she passed away in December 2002.
The resort is now operated by
the family stockholders. Gordon MacLeod, Jo’s son, is the president. His
sister Sandra is one of the vice presidents.
Gordon and Sandra’s sons are also vice presidents.
Gordon’s wife is the corporate secretary.
While
many changes have taken place over the years, the beauty of
Peace
River
flowing by has not changed. The
tranquility and excitement of the river that first drew Jo and “Mac” to the
property still inspires spectators when they observe this wonderful view
