Most people interested in the history of Highlands County have heard about the involvement Melvil Dewey (of Dewey Decimal System fame) had on the founding of Lake Placid, Florida. However, few have ever heard of the Pabor Lake Colony, which...
William Edgar Pabor
William Edgar Pabor (1834-1911) was an American journalist, poet, and fruit grower who pioneered Colorado in its early days. He founded the town of Fruita, Colorado, and was one of the founders of the Colorado Editorial Association and the National Editorial Association.
He was also the editor and proprietor of the Longmont Valley, Home and Farm newspaper and the secretary of the Greeley Colony. Pabor was a strong advocate for fruit culture and founded the town of Fruita on the western slope of Colorado.
He was also a poet who wrote poetry about nature and the farm. Pabor was a man of many talents who was involved in many different aspects of Colorado’s early development.
He started the Florida town of Pabor Lake, north of Avon Park, with plans to make it a pineapple farming hub. However, those plans failed after the Great Freeze of 1894-1895, and the town disappeared.