Brewster is a ghost town in southwest Polk County, ten miles south of Mulberry. It is at an elevation of 143 feet 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, post office, which was established in 1913 and discontinued in 1961, and swimming pool.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin
The inventor of the digital computer, John Vincent Atanasoff, though born in Hamilton, New York, grew up in Brewster.
Courtesy Mike Woodfin
The village was officially closed down by the company in 1962. Much of Brewster was demolished at the time, but some abandoned buildings remain, including a smokestack that rises prominently in the area as a landmark. The deed to Brewster was turned over to the state of Florida in partial payment of a judgment against American Cyanamid for environmental damages.
Florida State Archieves
love this my dad worked for American out at Brewster n Ft Lonesome n Haynesworth
thank you for the pictures i am sorry its a ghost town now
Lots of History and photos of Brewster in Polk County Historical Museum in Bartow. My Mother’s Family used their house there as a Boarding Home for the Employees coming to work back in the day.