I found out about The Villages when my cousin and her husband bought a lot on the historic side in 1986. It wasn't called the historic side at that time; it was the only side. I lived about an hour away in central Florida and they invited me over to see the lot. There wasn't much to see, just a lot of empty lots. There were more empty lots than anything else.
They didn't even have a supermarket at that time and the residents had to go to Leesburg to buy groceries. Needless to say, there wasn't any Spanish Springs Town Square yet. They had line dancing in the courtyard across from the post office. The music came from speakers mounted on the restaurant at the extreme left side of the courtyard. There were no live bands yet, as far as I know.
The founder, Mr. Schwartz, used to walk among the residents and was known to become engaged in conversations. It had that small town flavor.
At that time it was very rural (with an abundance of cow pastures) and I wondered why they were attracted to a place that was so isolated from civilization. After they moved in, I visited them periodically and witnessed the explosive growth. I bought my home here in TV in 1999.
Thanks for letting me bend your ear!
