Kirk Park

Montverde is on the west shore of Lake Apopka 17 miles south of Tavares and 30 miles from Leesburg. The site of an early Indian settlement, one may take note of the burial grounds, pottery, beads and arrowheads found in the area.

The original homesteaders in Montverde were John W. Harden, W.H. Porter, John Griggs, Lt. Jim Franklin, and Andrew Shaw. John W. Harden, with his wife Aramenta, came from Chester, SC in 1865 and built a house and founded a town that was called West Apopka. Mr. Harden who was a veteran of two wars and for his service in the Seminole Indian War received a bonus of a Federal Land Grant of 200 acres of land by President Chester Arthur.