Glades County's Forgotten Muse

Once Noted For Moonshine - Now A Rural Hideaway

Muse, in southwestern Glades county was largely homesteaded in the early days of the 20th century. It was originally named Meuse, and on some maps today is spelled Muce. 

Bee Branch and Jack's Branch are two small streams that course through the area.

Heirs of many of the original settlers still own land obtained through U.S. Government patents. Muse had been for years primarily a farming and moonshine making community.

During the Great Depression the area lost it's school, post office, and much of it's population. 

The-one acre Muse Cemetery on Old Muse Road was started by Martha Altman as a private cemetery and her son Hoyt Altman later donated the cemetery to the county in the 1980s. Martha died in 1937 and Hoyt in 1987.  

Large Muse area landowners now include the 6-L's Packing Company started by Max Lipman in the 1930s and now run by the Lipman family as Lipman Produce, the largest field tomato grower in the United States. 

The Lykes Brothers Inc., with extensive land holdings of tree farms and cattle ranches in Muse offers hunting (deer, quail, turkey) and fishing tours on its 1,867-acre Silver Lake Preserve in Muse. The company was founded by Dr. Howell Tyson Lykes in 1900 and is now owned by the descendants of his seven sons.

Mac's General Store once provided service to the community but was closed several years ago although the building still remains. (Update: the store opened with a new owner in late 2017)

The beauty of the natural woodland has attracted many newcomers, building homes in this rural section of the county. The community has its own volunteer fire department and has an active community association, meeting monthly in a Glades county owned building on Loblolly Bay Road also known as County Road 720, the main road through Muse.

More about Hendry and Glades county's Rural Towns and Communities