Historical Sketch of Highlands County

This document is a transcription of the Historical Sketch of Highlands County, compiled circa 1939 by Mrs. Ellen Cooper Jarratt under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Historical Records Survey for Florida.

Source Provenance

The underlying material was provided by Ex. Senator E. J. Etheredge (DeSoto City), Carlos E. Skipper (Avon Park), F. R. Henderson (Sebring), and contemporary county officials. While the physical record (Series S 1284, Box 2) is held at the State Library and Archives of Florida, this text is drawn from the digital transcription by the Genealogy Trails History Group.[genealogytrails-wpa-history]

Summary of Findings

The WPA sketch provides crucial corroborated dates and names for the 1921 partition of DeSoto County:

• Legislative Act: Senator F. M. Cooper and Representative Dr. E. J. Etheredge introduced the bills creating Hardee, Charlotte, Glades, and Highlands counties. Governor Cary A. Hardee signed the act on 21 April 1921.
• First Appointed Officials: On 23 April 1921, the governor appointed D. V. Rouse (County Judge), C. F. Saunders (Clerk), W. M. Griffin (Sheriff), D. F. Canfield (Tax Collector), Cyril Baldwin (Tax Assessor), I. C. M. Ellengerger (Supt. of Public Instruction), and L. L. Henderson (Supervisor of Registration).
• First Commissioners: Wm. King, John E. Graham, Perry Etheredge, A. M. McAuley, and W. W. Williams, holding their first session on 23 May 1921.
• Seat Contests and Infrastructure: It documents the initial Sebring-Hainz Building lease (September 1921) and the 1922 permanent seat election selecting Sebring over Avon Park. It also establishes the $212,000 cost, 1926 completion date, architect (Fred A. Bishop), and contractor (D. J. Phipps) of the Highlands County Courthouse.

References

• genealogytrails-wpa-history — Works Progress Administration (WPA) Historical Records Survey; Compiled by Mrs. Ellen Cooper Jarratt. History of Highlands County Florida / Historical Sketch of Highlands County. 1939. https://genealogytrails.com/fla/highlands/history1.html

Related

• Finding: Avon Park lost the Highlands County seat to Sebring by sixty-seven votes

Where this comes from

Evidence

corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.

Review

unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.

Rights

public-domain

Sources

1. Works Progress Administration (WPA) Historical Records Survey; Compiled by Mrs. Ellen Cooper Jarratt, History of Highlands County Florida / Historical Sketch of Highlands County (1939)

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