Polk County is a county 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.
Ocala is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making it the 43rd-most populated city in Florida. Ocala is the principal city of the Ocala metropolitan area, which had a population of 375,908 in 2020.
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.
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along I-4 east of Tampa and west of Orlando, it is the most populous city in Polk County. 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.
Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about 51 miles (82 km) east of Tampa and about 47 miles (76 km) southwest of Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland located to its west. 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.
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 Peace River is a river in the southwestern part of the Florida peninsula, in the U.S.A. It originates at the juncture of Saddle Creek and Peace Creek northeast of Bartow in Polk County and flows south through Fort Meade Hardee County to Arcadia in DeSoto County and then southwest into the Charlotte Harbor estuary at Punta Gorda in Charlotte County. It is 106 miles (171 km) long and has a drainage basin of 1,367 square miles (3,540 km2). U.S. Highway 17 runs near and somewhat parallel to the river for much of its course. The river was called Rio de la Paz on 16th century Spanish charts. It appeared as Peas Creek or Pease Creek on later maps. The Creek Indians call it Talakchopcohatchee, River of Long Peas. Other cities along the Peace River include Fort Meade, Wauchula and Zolfo Springs.
The Florida Heartland is a region of Florida located to the north and west of Lake Okeechobee, composed of six inland, predominantly rural counties—DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Okeechobee. In 2020, The US Census Bureau recorded the population of the Florida Heartland region at 251,927. The most populous county in the region is Highlands County. Highlands County also contains the region's two largest cities - Avon Park and Sebring. Unlike the coastal areas to the east and west, the rural nature of the Florida Heartland is culturally similar to that of the Florida panhandle and the Deep South in general rather than the rest of South Florida. The Florida Heartland region was originally settled and inhabited by Americans of predominantly English ancestry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 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 1,800 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.
The Fort Meade Historical Museum is housed in the Fort Meade Academy Fort Meade, Florida, and is located on the corner of Tecumseh Avenue and Broadway St. The structure is not the first indoor school. Records show children held classes at the Fort, in businesses and homes. The first dedicated school building was "The Little White School House," which was located at 700 E. Broadway St. where the current water tower is located.
Polk County Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Bartow, Florida, United States. The district serves Polk County.
Canter Brown Jr. is an American historian, professor and author. He was born in Fort Meade, Florida. He graduates from Fort Meade Middle-High School. He earned degrees at Florida State University. He has taught at Florida A&M University and has worked at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia. He wrote a book about Florida's African American public officials from 1867 until 1924.
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.
George Henry Gause, Jr. was a mortician and politician from Florida. He served as mayor of Bartow, Florida. and also served as a commissioner. He was an African American and was named as a Great Floridian. He also served on the Polk County School Board.
George Washington "Wash" Hendry (1838–1914), was an American land developer, writer, and farmer, who was from an early settler family in Southwest Florida. Hendry served in the Seminole Wars, and in the American Civil War for the Confederate States Army. He was also known as G.W. Hendry, and Wash Hendry.
Deonte Brown is an American football offensive guard for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Alabama.
Deonte Kiyon Anderson is an American football defensive end for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
