Palm Harbor’s Lake St. George is Ripe with History

In 1897, Dr. St. George Fechtig at about the age of 30, came to Florida where he was optimistic that he could recover his health.  Dr. Fechtig was an osteopathic physician who had a private practice in New York.  He purchased a huge amount of land over the years, about 135,000 acres in Florida, but the interest here is the 500 or so acres he purchased from Aaron Dixon around Lake St. George.  The land has some groves but most of it was not cleared at all.  When he came to Florida, he erected a tent on this property until he built his home in what is now Lake St. George. 

Dr. Fechtig was the instructor of a school that he organized for neighborhood children in Palm Harbor.  After a few years in Palm Harbor (Sutherland), he felt better and went back to New York.  His offices were listed as 27 Madison Avenue in New York City and his home at 35-37 Madison Avenue.  Among his clientele were the wealthy Rockefellers and Kahns.  His practice grew to where he became quite wealthy and at the turn of the previous century, he was purported to have millions of dollars.  Dr. Fechtig had a sanitarium bearing his name in Lakewood, New Jersey which was a place where people recuperated from illnesses. 

Dr. Fechtig announced in 1914 that he had plans to come back to Palm Harbor in order to open a second sanitarium also bearing his name.  The Lake St. George sanitarium was his center of operations for his practice.   The sanitarium located in the Lake St. George area had a lodge and cottages that were also used by youth groups such as the Boy Scouts.  Visitors exercised and followed osteopathic methods to maximize their wellness.  On September 27, 1937, after Dr. Fechtig died, the Old South Fruit Company of Dade City purchased the 500 or so acres for about $200,000 which had 16-18 groves and the site of the sanitarium on it. 

Dr. Fechtig was an avid environmentalist who wanted to preserve land in Florida.  He purchased about 5,400 acres in Pinellas County alone.  He hoped to preserve as much land as he could in Pinellas County.  He was also a member of the Florida State Horticultural Society and in 1929 was considered an “out of town” member.  Dr. Fechtig spent time in Palm Harbor and New York and kept his practice going as a noted osteopath in both locations.  Maybe he was the first real “Snowbird”!

Dr. Fechtig died on October 31, 1932 in New York City where he left his secretary a third of his practice on Madison Avenue and $20,000.  What he also left her was the rights to Hygienique Crème which was a product Dr. Fechtig developed and sold.  The doctor was good to his friend and secretary.  He also set up a foundation where osteopathic students would receive financial assistance to any college in the United States. 

Dr. Fechtig contributed much to osteopathy and had famous clients.  He cared about the lands in Pinellas and was a teacher, environmentalist and an inventor.  We might not know his last name, but his first name lives on!

Did you know that in 1929, the year of the Great Depression, a person could travel from New York to Florida by rail, car, plane, and ship?