Polk County is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 census, and estimated to be 818,330, as of July 1, 2023. Its county seat is Bartow, and its largest city is Lakeland.
Auburndale is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,616 at the 2020 census.
Bartow is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow, the first brigade commander of the Confederate Army to die in combat during the American Civil War. It is part of the Lakeland−Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 787,404, as of July 1, 2022. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 19,309.
Fort Meade is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. As of 2020, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 5,100. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Frostproof is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The city is located in southern Polk County on the Lake Wales Ridge. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,877 at the 2020 census.
Haines City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Its population was 13,174 at the 2000 census and 20,535 at the 2010 census. It is the third most populous city in Polk County. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Lakeland is a city in Central Florida. Located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa and west of Orlando, it is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is sometimes locally referred to by the nickname "Swan City" due to its sizeable population of swans, all of whom are descendants of two mute swans given to Lakeland by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957.
Mulberry is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, with parts of unincorporated Lakeland on its northern boundary. The population was 3,952 at the 2020 census. Mulberry is home to the 334-acre Alafia River Reserve, and it is the headquarters to Badcock Home Furniture.
Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Neighboring Lakeland to its east, Winter Haven is located about 51 miles (82 km) east of Tampa and about 47 miles (76 km) southwest of Orlando. The city's population was 49,219 at the 2020 census, making it the second most populated city in Polk County after Lakeland. It is a principal city of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Fort Meade is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,327 at the 2010 census. It is the home to the National Security Agency, Central Security Service, United States Cyber Command and the Defense Information Systems Agency, which are located on the U.S. Army post Fort George G. Meade.
Bartow Senior High School is the only high school in Bartow, Florida. It resulted from a merger of the whites-only Summerlin Institute and Union Academy, a school for African Americans, after desegregation.
Jacob Summerlin, aka the King of the Crackers and King of the Cracker Cow Hunters, was documented as the first child born in Florida after the land was ceded by Spain. This was again validated in about 2012-15 during Florida's 500-year celebration as Florida honored him as one of three people that were most influential in the past 500 years. Ponce de Leon was another of 3 honored.
The Florida Heartland is a region of Florida located to the north and west of Lake Okeechobee, composed of six inland, non-metropolitan counties—DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Okeechobee. In 2000, The US Census Bureau recorded the population of the region at 229,509. In 2010, The US Census Bureau recorded the population of the region at 253,399, a growth rate of 11.0%. The most populous county in the region is Highlands County, and the region's largest cities are Avon Park and Sebring, both with slightly more than 10,000 people. Unlike the coastal areas to the east and west, the rural nature of the Florida Heartland is culturally closer to the Deep South than the rest of South Florida and has traditionally been inhabited by Americans of predominantly English ancestry. While located in Palm Beach County, the nearby rural cities of South Bay, Belle Glade and Pahokee as well as the census-designated place of Lake Harbor, located on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee, are more associated with the Florida Heartland than the remainder of South Florida. The same could also apply to the Collier County communities of Immokalee, Ave Maria and Harker as well as to the Martin County community of Port Mayaca. Occasionally included are the southern Polk County communities of Fort Meade, Frostproof and River Ranch as well as Yeehaw Junction in Osceola County.
Auburndale High School is a four-year public high school located in Auburndale, Florida, United States, and a part of Polk County Public Schools. The school serves about 1,600 students from ninth through twelfth grades. In 2012, construction was completed on a new media center, added parking, centrally-located cafeteria, and new academic buildings.
Homeland is an unincorporated community in Polk County, Florida, United States. It has a post office and a historical park. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Samuel Lee Green is an American former college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons during the 1970s and early 1980s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and received All-American honors. A second-round pick in the 1976 NFL Draft, Green played professionally for the Seattle Seahawks and the Houston Oilers of the NFL.
Polk County Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Bartow, Florida, United States. The district serves Polk County.
The history of Bartow, Florida spans over 150 years, although humans have inhabited the area for close to 12,000 years. Established in 1851 by Redding Blount, the city has gone from being a small frontier outpost vulnerable to Seminole Indian attack to being the county seat of Polk County, a county with more than half a million people.
Louise Kelley Frisbie (1913–1989) was a newspaper columnist, author, historian and educator. She was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1913 and moved to Bartow, Florida in 1935 after graduating from Florida Southern College. She worked at Summerlin Institute for three years before joining the Polk County Democrat, where her husband worked.
Melony Mincey Bell is an American politician who is currently a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 56th District which covers the entirety of DeSoto and Hardee Counties, as well as part of Polk County. Bell has served as commissioner for the Polk County Board of County Commissioners, as the mayor of Fort Meade, Florida and as a Fort Meade city commissioner.
