Lake Apopka has been home to generations of settlers and earlier to a large Native American population, including the Acuera tribe of the Timucua confederation when Spaniards arrived in the 16th century. Before the Civil War, cotton was the primary crop, but after the war vegetables replaced it, and slow wagon travel on sandy trails led to construction of the Apopka-Beauclair Canal in 1879. The railroad arrived before the canal was completed in 1888, and citrus then eclipsed vegetables. Around the time of World War II, a levee drained 20,000 acres along the lake's north shore for vegetable farming, and thirty years of seasonal flooding and draining sent phosphorus and pesticides into the lake while effluents from Winter Garden's sewer plant and the Winter Garden Citrus Products plant hastened the decline in water quality. During and after World War II, Lake Apopka was one of Central Florida's main attractions and was widely known as the large-mouth bass capital, drawing rich and famous visitors for outdoor recreation. Restoration began in the 1990s, protection of the recovering ecosystem continues, and the surrounding region now attracts cyclists, birdwatchers, fishing enthusiasts, hikers, joggers, and eco-tourists. The lake also draws thousands annually to events such as January's Birdapalooza and October's Wings & Wildflower festival, and the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive on the north shore, open since 2014, showcases the return of bird and wildlife populations and drew an average of 3000 to 8000 visitors per month as of 2016.