The Polk County Democrat

Last updated
The Polk County Democrat
TypeSemi-weekly paper
Owner(s) Sun Coast Media Group
Founded1931
City Bartow, Florida
OCLC number 33886838
Website polkcountydemocrat.com

The Polk County Democrat is a newspaper published in Bartow, Florida, Polk County, Florida. It is a semi-weekly paper which began publication in 1931 and is the only newspaper published within Bartow. [1] The paper endorsed the U.S. Senate campaign of Katherine Harris, a graduate of Bartow High School. [2] The Democrat was run by members of the Frisbie family for many years. [3] It is owned by Sun Coast Media Group. [3] Louise Kelley Frisbie was a columnist at the paper.

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Fred Rochelle was an African-American teenager from Bartow, Florida, who was lynched and burned to death on May 29, 1901, following the alleged rape and murder of a white woman, Rena Smith Taggart, the previous day. He was said to have been seen near where Taggart's body was found. Newspapers misreported the 16-year-old boy as "35 years of age". A mob of over 100 men as well as bloodhounds from Mulberry and Pebble was assembled to search for him but a local paper mentioned a possible lynching before any evidence was recovered or he was charged.

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References

  1. "Polk County Democrat". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  2. James Joyner (October 30, 2006). "Katherine Harris 0–22 in Florida Newspaper Endorsements". Outside the Beltway.
  3. 1 2 Polk County Democrat Publisher Frisbie to Retire After 45 Years; S.I. Frisbie, publisher of the Polk County Democrat, will retire from the family-run business after 45 years as a journalist by Ernst Peters The Ledger