Development of the former 9,000-acre sportsman's paradise began in 1933 by Ed Haley's Moon Lake Company, and it opened in 1937 with bridle paths, native and exotic trees, flowers and shrubs, and abundant game and fish. Its lodge, casino, and cottages were built of local materials. In its heyday, guests included novelist Rex Beach, financier Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., and the Florida Legislature, which convened there for a parley. Al Capone is said to have been a guest under assumed names. World War II led to the untimely closing of this forerunner of Florida's self-contained resorts.