Our History

The land on which Meadowlawn is located was once little more than bog, woods and weeds. Initially, it was used for cattle grazing by two local dairies, Hoods Dairy and Florida Milk Company. In the early 1900s, Elizabeth Hood and a man the locals called “Cowboy Moody” were constantly at odds over the cows from Hood’s Dairy. It was open range then and the cattle sometimes strayed. If Cowboy Moody could herd the strays to a compound on 4th Street, the city could charge a fee to the dairies for their release. Feisty Mrs. Hood, who could ride a horse as well as Cowboy Moody, would try to keep him from herding the cows away by taking her lead cow ( the one with the bell) and lead the cows back to safety. 

During the Depression, the land was sold for back taxes. In 1947, Rube Wells, Manch Watson and Bill Arnold bought 640 acres. In the 1950s, they sold 40 acres to Johnny Haynsworth, who owned Florida Builders, with an option to purchase the remaining land. Florida Builders had Mills and Jones Construction Company build Grandway Shopping Center, now Rutland Plaza. Mr. Haynsworth gave Viking Lake and Meadowlawn Park to the City of St. Petersburg. He also donated property on 18th Street N, located directly behind George M. Lynch Elementary School, to be used as a baseball field, as long as the Little League uses and operates it.

The early developers of Meadowlawn were Florida Builders, Sunshine Builders, Hoyt Development, Mastry Builders and Buyer’s Investment Corporation. Since the land was low and prone to flooding, it had to be filled. This was accomplished by digging lakes and using the soil for landfill. There are six lakes in Meadowlawn: Lake Laguna (Meadowlawn Lake #1), Lynch Lake, Mastry Lake, Meadowlawn Lake #2, Meadowlawn Lake #3 and Viking Lake. Lake Laguna, Lynch Lake and Viking Lake are controlled by the tides.