The village of Brewster was founded in 1910 and for decades flourished from phosphate mining. It was largely a company town for the American Cyanamid Company. The town had its own schools, movie theater, medical clinic, post office (established in 1913 and discontinued in 1961), and swimming pool. It was designed so that "white" and "colored" people would live in separate sections.
The inventor of the digital computer, John Vincent Atanasoff, though born in Hamilton, New York, grew up in Brewster.
The village was officially closed down by the company in 1962. Much of Brewster was demolished at the time, but some abandoned buildings remain, including a smokestack which rises prominently in the area as a landmark.
The deed to Brewster was turned over to the State of Florida in partial payment of a judgment against American Cynamid for environmental damages.
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