William John Howey
William John Howey (January 19, 1876 – June 7, 1938) was a Florida real-estate developer, citrus grower and Republican politician. He founded and served as mayor for the town of Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. He developed and sold citrus groves, becoming one of Florida's greatest citrus developers. He opened Florida's first citrus juice plant. He ran twice for governor. A former home near Lake Wales, Florida became the site of Florida's Bok Tower at the Bok Tower Gardens.
Howey was born in Odin, Illinois on January 19, 1876. His father was United Brethren minister named William Henry Howey. His mother was Mathilda Harris Howey. He attended the public schools. At age 16, he became a life insurance salesman. Sometime around 1900, he developed real estate in Oklahoma. He briefly tried manufacturing automobiles in Kansas City, but returned to real estate in 1905. He sold pineapple plantations near Perez, Mexico until the political situation became unfavorable in 1907.
He then moved to Florida near Winter Haven, where he sold citrus groves near what are now Dundee, Lake Hamilton and Star Lake. After a time, he moved his operations to Lake County, Florida at the behest of Lake County Sheriff Balton A. Cassidy and Harry Duncan. By 1920, he held 60,000 acres (240 km2). He purchased land for about $10.00 an acre, developed it into citrus groves, and resold it for $800 to $2000 an acre. If the buyer purchased a maintenance contract, Howey guaranteed the investment plus interest within certain time constraints. In 1917, he opened the Bougainvillea Hotel to house potential investors, and in 1924 he replaced it with the Hotel Floridian on Little Lake Harris.
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