Midget City

Somewhere, and all over. “Between Sanford and Orlando” meaning, Maitland AND/OR Fern Park AND/OR Casselberry AND/OR Longwood. But its all gone now.

First started in Milan Ohio, around 1936. In 1945 Lloyd Cronk decided to flee the cold of the northern winters and moved to Florida and started over his model project. This time with paved roads and sidewalks, a full set of city. This time with a souvenir shop to help fun the project.

The Longwood location (the two color pics below) was on the east side of 17–92 across from Wildmere Avenue, about one mile north of Dog Track Road. Taking a little creative license (and hypothesizing from the position of Lake Irene in the photo below) its modern-day equivalent might be the Centra Care building.

In 1954, ready to retire, the Lloyd and family moved to Texas, selling Midget City to local realtors Byron and Louise Kimball, who uprooted the entire construction and moved it several miles down the road to what is today the intersection of 17-92 and State Road 436. Their daughter Kathleen ran the attraction as a teenager, asking donations of 50 cents.

When Kathleen left for college in 1958, the Kimballs sold Midget City, and it appears to have been lost forever. Hints say that it went to Maggie Valley, NC. It has never been found.

Kathleen Kimball Ihrig Died July 16, 2019