Brewster

Florida's ghost towns are railroad towns Flagler built, 1920s land-boom subdivisions that busted, and phosphate and turpentine camps.

Brewster is a ghost town in southwest Polk County, Florida, United States, ten miles south of Mulberry. It is at an elevation of 143 ft (44 m) above sea level and has been uninhabited since the early 1960s. The population is 3, according to the 2010 Census. The village of Brewster was founded in 1910 and for decades flourished from phosphate mining. It was largely a company town for American Cyanamid. The town had its own schools, movie theater, medical clinic, and a post office, which was established in 1913 and discontinued in 1961.

Brewster has been demolished or cleared — the structures are gone, though the story remains. Visit for the marker, the cemetery, or the view across an empty field, and pair it with a nearby town that still stands.

Access here is restricted, so confirm the current rules with the managing agency or landowner before you go. Showing up unannounced is the fastest way to get turned away.

Contact the managing agency or landowner first to learn the current access rules for Brewster. The mapped point for Brewster is roughly 27.7525, -81.9797 — use it as a starting point and cross-reference a current topographic map before leaving pavement.

Ghost-town etiquette is simple: take only photographs. Removing artifacts is illegal on public lands and disrespectful everywhere else — and on federal land it can be a serious offense.

The ground itself demands respect: open mine shafts, collapsing floors, and old wells hide in tall grass, cell service is often nonexistent, and help can be hours away. Tell someone your plans, pack more water than you think you'll need — and save the early morning or late afternoon light for your camera.

Want the full story? The Wikipedia article on "Brewster, Florida" covers Brewster in more depth — find the link in Sources below. County archives, historic newspaper collections, and the state historical society are the next stops after that: plat maps, census rolls, and old photographs fill in what a short visit can't. If you make the trip, consider sharing your photos and notes — firsthand reports are how the record of Brewster gets better.