Mountain Lake Sanctuary - Lake Wales, FL - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

"On the slope of IRON MOUNTAIN (324 alt.), 14.5 m., is the entrance to the MOUNTAIN LAKE SANCTUARY (open 8-5; picnicking prohibited; no dogs allowed; men requested to wear coats; parking 25cents). Embracing 58 acres overlooking some 30 lakes, the sanctuary was established as a retreat for man, a refuge for birds, and a sylvan setting for the Singing Tower (see below), by Edward William Bok (1863-1930), journalist, editor of the Ladies' Home Journal (1889-1919), and winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1920). Here on Iron Mountain, according to tradition, the Indians of central Florida held their ceremony to the Rising Sun each spring. Near the crest of the mountain has been found a large stone circled by 13 smaller stones, representing the sun and the 13 moons of the Indian year."

--- Florida; A Guide to the Southern-most State, 1939

Bok Tower Sanctuary is a fifty acre plot of land, where reknown writer and editor Edward W. Bok, had a tranquil garden and outstanding bell tower created as a place of repose to admire the beauty of central Florida. It was dedicated to the American people by President Calvin Coolidge on February 1, 1929, and added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1972.

The gardens were created by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr, a noted landscape architect. The labyrinth of lush gardens, tranquil ponds, shady nooks and local plants are outstanding, and can be enjoyed for hours. One special place is the Window on the Pond, a tinted glass viewing room by a pond, where the spectators cannot be seen, and the wildlife puts on a show.

The most outstanding memorial in the santuary is the actual 205 foot tall bell tower, which sits on the exact highest point in peninsular Florida (324 feet) and offers a carillon of 60 bells, played twice daily. The tower, was designed by Milton B. Medary in gothic and art deco style.