Regional News: Deseret Ranches

ST CLOUD, FL - Year-1950; Place: Central Florida, Southeast of Orlando. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, members are commonly referred to as ”LDS,” formerly known as “Mormons,” began purchasing land. Within 2 years the church had acquired over 220,000 acres.  “It was rough Florida land with very little pasture and nothing but sand, wire grass, palmetto, and muddy sand roads.” (From a story in Florida Backroads Travel, by Mike Miller, updated July 28, 2024, according to Florida Backroads Travel.com)

More property was purchased over the years and today the total amounts to 295,000 acres.  The land has been improved over the years by ranching families brought in to improve pasture and develop cropland and orchards.  The area was named “Deseret Ranches,” Deseret meaning honeybee, indicating hard work and industry (It’s known, locally, as “Mormon Ranch.”). For seventy-four years the land has been continually improved. 

The ranch is ten times the size of Disney World and is one of the inspiring “backroad” drives still lending a flavor of times-gone-by to Florida’s charm.  The ranch has an excellent website: https://www.deseretranches.com/

Tours need to be scheduled in advance and are usually available Monday through Friday 10:00AM and 1:30PM, and Saturdays at 10:00AM.  As may be expected, the ranch is closed on Sundays.  The ranch is located at: Visitor and Information Center, 3584 Orchid Circle, St. Cloud Florida, 34773. Phone number: (407) 498-0388.

Recently the church has come under scrutiny for reports of “annexing” land. The term, though used correctly, may be misleading to some degree. The fact is the church is working with the City of Orlando to incorporate 52,450 acres of ranchland into the city for the benefit of future residents. 

 According to Mike Miller “The ranch has been well managed and has not only preserved the natural resources of the area; it has enhanced them.  Deseret Ranch management has been working with local, regional, and state government and private parties to develop a long-range land plan.  It is estimated that as many as 500,000 people could live in new communities developed on ranch land by the year 2080.  They have supported many regional studies and environmental planning and implementation projects.  Their goal seems to be to develop their land in the future for sustainability and to preserve as much natural and ranchland as possible.” (ibid)

Neil Hamilton, Vice President of Market Intelligence, in article dated March 26, 2024 in the Orlando Economic Partnership website that “Orlando Population Growth Is Among Highest in Nation… Whether we like it or not, Orlando needs more land to build homes. The city will be definitely grateful for 52.5K more acres