Bartow is 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. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2000 Census, the city had a population of 15,340 and an estimated population of 16,959 in 2009. It is part of the Lakeland−Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 584,383 in 2009. As of 2018, the mayor of Bartow is Leo Longworth.
Frostproof is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The city is located in southern Polk County on the Lake Wales Ridge. The population was 2,975 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 2,954. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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, which, in turn, is considered part of the Tampa Bay Area.
Lake Alfred is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was approximately 5,015 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2010 census. As of 2014, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 15,140. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Wales is located in central Florida, west of Lake Kissimmee and east of Tampa.
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.
The Florida Midland Railroad is one of several short line railroads operated by the Pinsly Railroad Company in Florida. The Florida Midland Railroad operates two former CSX Transportation railroad lines including their former Lake Wales Subdivision, and their former Bartow Subdivision. It also ran a third line from Wildwood to Leesburg that is now mostly abandoned. Florida Midland Railroad began operating the lines in 1987.
U.S. Route 17 (US 17) in Florida is a north–south United States Highway. It runs 317 miles (510 km) from the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area northeast to the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Area.
U.S. Route 98 is an east-west United States highway that runs 671 miles (1,080 km) from the Alabama-Florida state line to southern Florida. It is the longest US road in Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola and Apalachicola, and has since been extended eastward across the Florida Peninsula and westward into Mississippi. It runs along much of the Gulf Coast between Mobile, Alabama and Crystal River, Florida, including extensive sections closely following the coast eastward from the Alabama-Florida state line to St. Marks. At a length of 671 miles, US 98 is the longest numbered route in the state of Florida.
State Road 17, also formerly known as U.S. Route 27 Alternate, is a north–south state road in the U.S. state of Florida. It is split into two sections. The road provides scenic views as it winds through the hills of the Lake Wales Ridge.
State Road 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 US 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 and the Tampa Bay area.
Polk County Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Bartow, Florida, United States. The district serves Polk County.
Lake Wales Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the central business district of the city of Lake Wales in Polk County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned.
Ridge Landing Airpark, also known as Ridge Landing Airport, is a private use airpark located four nautical miles west of the central business district of Frostproof, a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Ridge Landing is an airpark community located between Lake Wales and Sebring, Ridge Landing offers pilots airport homes with private airstrips. Ridge Landing is centrally located between Orlando and Tampa and equidistant to Miami and Jacksonville. It is privately owned by John Fazzini.
Eagle Ridge Mall is a regional, enclosed shopping mall located on the north side of Lake Wales, Florida, United States. It has two anchor stores: JCPenney and Dillard's. It also has a Regal Cinemas, which has twelve theatres, and a large entertainment center, which contains a bowling alley, a large video arcade, a restaurant and meeting rooms. On the north side of the mall is a large food court and a carousel. Sears relocated from the Winter Haven Mall, in nearby Winter Haven.
The Florida Western and Northern Railroad was a railroad line built and operated by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad running from Coleman, Florida all the way to West Palm Beach via Auburndale and Sebring, a distance of 204 miles. Part of the line remains today from Auburndale to West Palm Beach and is now operated by CSX Transportation as their Auburndale Subdivision and Miami Subdivision.
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Haines City Branch was a railroad line running from their mainline in Haines City, Florida south through southern Central Florida. The line notably ran though Lake Wales, Avon Park, Sebring, and Immokalee and would stretch as far south as Everglades City upon its completion in 1928, which would be the southernmost point the entire Atlantic Coast Line Railroad system would ever reach. The Haines City Branch was one of the Atlantic Coast Line's major additions to its Florida network, much of which was previously part of the Plant System.
