Frank Chase remembers Isleworth
The Chase family owned groves in Isleworth, what is today Orange County, Florida. The pristine environment of lakes and low-lying fields bordered by swamps, proved an ideal area for citrus growing in a county that reached its peak production in 1970 at over 80,000 acres of citrus groves. Walt Disney came to the area and began buying land in the mid-1960s; massive-scale development in the area began soon after. Today, upscale lakeside housing developments and golf courses occupy the Chase family properties at Isleworth, just a few miles away from Walt Disney World. Once the citrus capital of the world, less than 4,000 acres of citrus groves remain in Orange County as of 2010.