Did you know that there is a cemetery in Leu Gardens?

The same Winter Park time was trying to fit into a city with the help of Hannibal Square, a man named David Mizell Jr. bought 8 acres of land between Lake Berry, Lake Virginia and what would become Lake Mizell, where he built a colony he called “Lake View” and began raising livestock.

During his lifetime, Mizell was elected to the Orange County Commission, and the state legislature and his son David became the Orange County Sheriff, followed by his son John who became a judge in the same county.

There appears to be disagreement over how Sheriff David was killed in 1870 with some stories saying it was during an altercation he was trying to deal with resulting in the sale of two cows or, as written on one historical marker on the site, it was …

“… Killed in an ambush near Holopaw in the line of duty. His moonlit burial here was the first Masonic funeral service in Central Florida, with the brothers coming from Apopka Lodge to conduct the rites.

Regardless, he is buried in Leu Gardens on family land with around 36 family members in the eastern corner of the property, near the park entrance on Corrine Drive.

The small, peaceful plot is accessible through the gardens or the staff parking lot and crowned with a historic landmark and surrounded by large myrtle pancakes.