Wildwood, FL

Wildwood is a Sumter County city in central Florida, close to The Villages and the fast-growing retirement belt between Ocala and Orlando. A post office has operated under the Wildwood name since 1881, and the city was named for its once-remote wooded setting. Railroads also left a mark here, including an old Florida Midland spur toward Leesburg. In recent years, Wildwood's story has been tied closely to growth pressure from The Villages and the question of how much small-city identity it can keep.