To understand the establishment of the Seminole Lake Country Club Homeowner Association, we must give a little history of the surrounding land.We will start with Howard E. Cunningham who left North Carolina in the 1930s in search of a good life.  He came to Florida in a horse and buggy during WW1, and purchased approximately 300 hundred acres of land along the west side of Cross Bayou and the east side of Long Bayou.  He named the land Pineridge Farms.

Original Cottage

Shortly after the acquisition of this land, Howard Cunningham built a rustic log cabin with his three sons, Dr. William “Doc” Cunningham, L. E. Book Cunningham, and Gene Cunningham.  The Log Cabin still stands today near the Seminole Lake Country Club golf clubhouse.In 1959, the next generation of Cunninghams, Doc, Book and Gene, leased 120 acres to the Seminole Lake Company and golf course construction began.

In 1961 the Seminole Lake Company relinquished its lease back to the Cunningham family. The Cunninghams continued building the golf course, and the club house officially opened for business in July 1965.
Over the years the Cunningham brothers managed the land, the Cunningham Properties, which today is called Seminole Lake Country Club Estates.

Until 1948 the piece of land known as Cunningham Point, or “The Point” (now Baywood), was used as pasture for livestock, and had an airstrip and two hangars.
In 1965, the developer of much of the land, Commonwealth Continental Corporation, and the Condeland Development Company, started construction on houses.  The first house built was the tri-level house at the entrance of Augusta.

The Seminole Lake Country Club Homeowners Association was established in 1970.  The family dues originally were $5 per year.  The first President was Bill Gaud.  The first newsletter was published August 1, 1970.  There was a contest to name the newsletter, and “Fairways and Patios” won.  The first directory was published in 1971.  Committees were formed which included Welcoming, Finance, Entertainment, Playgroup and Political Action.  All the streets and roads within Seminole Lake Country Club have a golf theme.
Our Homeowner Association is a terrific example of an evolution of a community over the decades, where several generations have lived, families raised, and many returning to raise yet another generation.

Our community owes a great deal to the Cunningham family who still own the Seminole Lake Country Club, and who are very much involved in the overall quality of life we all enjoy in Seminole Lake Country Club Estates.

Thank you, Cunninghams!  Leslie  Waters