![]() The deed to the town was turned over to the state of Florida for a partial payment of a judgment made against American Cyanamid for environmental damages. In 1976, a mine was built in Fort Lonesome and the few functioning structures in Brewster were moved there. ![]() The town was officially closed in 1962 and though much of the town was demolished afterward, the drying plants, shops, main office, and chemical plant remained. Many bought their houses at low prices and moved to the nearest towns of Ft. In the 1960s, the company planned to close the mining town and offered the workers a choice the townspeople can buy their houses and move or the house would be demolished. As segregation was an issue at the time, whites lived in a section of town located south of the mine while blacks lived in a section to the east. The town was built and expecting all the workers to live there, the needs of the town’s people were met, including schools, a movie theater, medical clinic, post office and swimming pool. Operated by American Cyanamid, the mine was located hours away from the nearest town. The town of Brewster was founded in 1910 to accommodate the workers at the time who spent the day working at the nearby phosphate mine. Photo Credit: Florida Photographic Collection, 1920s – The Brewster power plant
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