Lakeland – A Charming Florida City

Lakeland, Florida was incorporated January 1, 1885. The town was founded by Abraham Munn.  He purchased 80 acres of land in what is now downtown Lakeland in 1882.  Munn platted the land for the town in 1884. Lakeland is a charming Florida city teeming with history. To find the heart of Lakeland, stroll through the Munn Park Historic District and along the shores of scenic Lake Hollingsworth. Munn was a resident of Louisville, Kentucky. Among the names considered (and rejected) for the town by its residents were Munnville, Red Bug and Rome City.

Rail lines reached Polk County in 1884, just as the nascent phosphate industry was emerging in that part of the state. Because of the excellent railroad service, progressive outlook, and attractive location and elevation (227 feet), the community grew and prospered. Citrus and strawberries were big business.  Because of that, by 1894 Lakeland was shipping more strawberries than any other place in the state. In 1898, 9,000 troops were stationed in Downtown Lakeland on the shores of Lakes Wire and Morton.  They would await embarkation for Cuba during the Spanish-American War. During this time, Lakeland was the third largest city in Florida, behind Tampa and Jacksonville.

Construction of Lakeland

The Florida land boom of the 1920’s resulted in the construction of many significant structures in Lakeland.  Some are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes the Terrace Hotel, New Florida Hotel (Lake Mirror Tower Apartments), Polk Theatre, Park Trammell Building (formerly the Lakeland Public Library, and today home to the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce), and others. This was Lakeland’s golden age. The Cleveland Indians held spring training here from 1923 to 1927 at Drane Field. Drane Field, in southwest Lakeland, was the site on which B-24 bomber crews trained. The community was solidly behind the war effort. Henley Field, which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1997, has a rich baseball history. Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Al Kaline all played on the field when the Detroit Tigers trained there from 1934 to 1965.