| Lake Hancock | |
|---|---|
  Lake Hancock  Lake Hancock | |
| Location | Polk County, Florida |
| Coordinates | 27°58′15″N81°50′17″W / 27.9708°N 81.8381°W |
| Primary outflows | Peace River (Florida) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 4,573 acres (18.51 km2) [1] |
| Average depth | 4 ft (1.2 m) |
| Max. depth | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Water volume | 5,113,577,588 US gal (19,356,996.86 m3) [1] |
| Settlements | Bartow, Highland City |
Lake Hancock is north of Bartow, Florida in Polk County, Florida. It is ecologically important.
Lake Hancock is located in the Polk Upland area between the Winter Haven Ridge and Lakeland Ridge. [2] As part of the upper Peace River watershed, the lake has ecological importance throughout southwest Florida according to the Southwest Florida Water Management District. [3] [4] At 4,573 acres (18.51 km2), it is one of the largest lakes in Polk County; the center of the cities of Bartow, Lakeland, and Winter Haven roughly form an equilateral triangle with sides of 12 miles (19 km) and Lake Hancock forms over 25% of that triangle. The lake is shallow, with an average depth of 4 feet (1.2 m) and a maximum depth of 16 feet (4.9 m). [3]
The lake is surrounded by cypress forests, with the understory primarily red maple and black willow. [2] The open areas of the lake are relatively free from native vegetation, although hydrilla can occasionally be an issue and algae is abundant.
There is a substantial American alligator presence along the shoreline feeding on one of the largest colonial wading bird rookeries in central Florida. [2] Although many lakes in Polk County are utilized by sports fishermen, Lake Hancock has not been used for recreational fishing in decades. The dominant fish in the lake are blue tilapia and threadfin shad, and suckermouth catfish. [2]
The maroon settlement of Minatti (meaning "manatee") was established on the south shore of the lake east of Saddle Creek after the First Seminole War. [5] [6]
Oponay, an Ocmulgee Lower Creek Chief, allied with Red Stick leader Peter McQueen, lived across the lake about two miles away from the village of Minatti.[ citation needed ] He originally lived on the Flint River in Southwest Georgia prior to the First Seminole War and was an associated of Neamathla.[ citation needed ] He allied with the British during the War of 1812 and was part of the general migration into the Florida peninsula that followed the First Seminole War.[ citation needed ] The maroons with him were likely those from the Flint River with whom he had been associated prior to the Seminole Wars.[ citation needed ] The Native American and maroon settlements were destroyed by the end of the Second Seminole War in 1842. [7]
The first American settlements in the area occurred in 1849, when small farms were established in the area as a result of migration from the Tampa Bay Hurricane of 1848. [8]
The Polk County Sheriff's Office's Burnham-McCall Training Center occupies a site in front of the former settlement site.
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.
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.
Eagle Lake is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most of the town being centered around a subsection of U.S. Highway 17. The population was 3,008 as of 2020.
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.
Highland City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,051 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Lake Alfred is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was approximately 6,374 at the 2020 US 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.
The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. It served as the southernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's main line. The line remains in service today and is now part of the Central Florida Rail Corridor in the Orlando metro area. The rest of the line remains under the ownership of CSX Transportation as part of their A Line.
Lake Seminole is a reservoir located in the southwest corner of Georgia along its border with Florida, maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Chattahoochee and Flint rivers join in the lake, before flowing from the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam, which impounds the lake, as the Apalachicola River. The lake contains 37,500 acres (152 km2) of water, and has a shoreline of 376 mi (605 km). The fish in Lake Seminole include largemouth bass, crappie, chain pickerel, catfish, striped bass and other species. American alligators, snakes and various waterfowl are also present in the lake, which is known for its goose hunting.
State Road 540 (SR 540) is a west–east route in Central Florida, serving Polk County. It runs 19.2 miles (30.9 km) from the south side of the city of Lakeland to U.S. Route 27. SR 540 also runs along the entrance to Legoland Florida. It is a major route along the south side of Winter Haven, where it is known as Cypress Gardens Boulevard, and an important link between Winter Haven and Lakeland, the Polk Parkway, and subsequently Interstate 4 (I-4) and the Tampa Bay area.
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.
Winter Haven Area Transit is a bus system based in Winter Haven, Florida. The system operates 9 of its own buses, and another 4 buses are provided for WHAT by the Citrus Connection. There are 8 routes serving Winter Haven, Auburndale, Lakeland, Lake Alfred, Haines City, Lake Wales, Frostproof, Bartow, Dundee and Fort Meade.
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.
Kissingen Spring was a natural spring formerly flowing in Polk County, Southwest Florida. It was also a venue for recreation until it dried up in 1950. Hundreds of wells drilled into the Floridan Aquifer may have caused the demise of the springs. Its site is located near the northern end of Peace River, approximately 3/4 mile east of U.S. Highway 17 and 4 miles south of Florida SR 60 / south of Bartow.
The Chain of Lakes is a famous series of lakes in Central Florida. There are two chains of lakes, the northern chain and the southern chain. The northern chain extends across three cities: Winter Haven, Lake Alfred, and Lake Hamilton. It has ten lakes, connected by a series of canals. The ten lakes on the northern chain are Lake Haines, Lake Rochelle, Lake Echo, Lake Conine, Lake Fannie, Lake Smart, Lake Henry, Lake Hamilton, Middle Lake Hamilton, and Little Lake Hamilton.
The Fort Fraser Trail is a 7.75 miles (12.47 km) paved multi-use path that runs from Bartow to Lakeland. It runs along a former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad line that once ran from Lakeland to Naples. The southern terminus of the trail can be accessed from North Wilson Avenue in Bartow, immediately north of Tractor Supply Company. The northern terminus is at the entrance to the Polk State College (Lakeland) campus in Lakeland.
Angola was a prosperous community of up to 750 maroons that existed in Florida from 1812 until Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, at which point it was destroyed. The location was along the Manatee River in Bradenton, Florida, near Manatee Mineral Springs Park. The exact location is expansive, ranging from where the Braden River meets the Manatee River down to Sarasota Bay; archaeological research focuses on the Manatee Mineral Spring—a source of fresh water and later the location of the Village of Manatee two decades after the destruction of the maroon community. Archaeological evidence has been found and the archaeology report by Uzi Baram is on file with the Florida Division of Historical Resources of the Florida Department of State. In 2019, the National Park Service added the excavated location at Manatee Mineral Springs Park to the Network to Freedom.