The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Cross-Walk of the 1920 Sanborn School Campus on Block 43A to Modern Avon Park Middle School

Sheet 1 of the November 1920 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map depicts Avon Park’s primary educational plant on Block 43A, an un-subdivided public block bounded by East Camphor Street on the north, East Canfield Street on the south, South Lake Avenue on the west, and South Verona Avenue on the east.[sanborn-1920] The sheet records two distinct public school structures on the parcel: a two-story brick building labeled “Avon Park High School” on the west frontage and a one-story frame building labeled “Avon Park Graded School” at the northeast corner.[sanborn-1920]

Cross-referencing the 1920 survey with contemporary biennial reports of the Florida Superintendent of Public Instruction, local histories, Highlands County Property Appraiser assessment ledgers, and municipal GIS boundaries resolves the architectural identities of both buildings, eliminates confusion with the earlier South Forest Avenue school site, and tracks the site’s evolution into the modern Avon Park Middle School campus at 401 South Lake Avenue.[dpi-1912-1914][dpi-1918-1920][maxwell-1976][hcpao-middle-school]

Block 43A with the Avon Park High School and Graded School, Sanborn map, November 1920

Block 43A on sheet 1 of the Sanborn map of November 1920. Sanborn Map Company, via Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. Public domain.[sanborn-1920]

The Two Buildings on Block 43A in November 1920

1. The 1914–1915 Brick Junior High School

The two-story brick building depicted on the west side of Block 43A, facing South Lake Avenue, is the masonry schoolhouse constructed under Avon Park Special Tax School District No. 3.[dpi-1912-1914][sanborn-1920] In 1913, freeholders voted a $25,000 bond issue, assigning $20,000 specifically “for erecting and equipping a Junior High School at Avon Park.”[dpi-1912-1914]

Construction began in 1914, and the building was formally dedicated on 15 April 1915.[maxwell-1976] As recorded on the Sanborn sheet:

  • Footprint and Height: A two-story cross-plan main block (marked 2 in pink for brick) facing South Lake Avenue (assigned street numbers 33 and 34 on the 1920 sheet), with a one-story brick assembly wing projecting eastward labeled “AUDITORIUM” (marked 1).[sanborn-1920]
  • Architectural Features: A prominent central bell tower housing a bell that summoned pupils across town.[maxwell-1976]
  • Utilities: Heated by stoves and illuminated by municipal electric lights.[sanborn-1920]

2. The 1918 Temporary Frame Graded School

At the northeast corner of Block 43A, situated at the intersection of East Camphor Street and South Verona Avenue, the map depicts a detached one-story rectangular frame building (marked 1 in yellow) labeled “Avon Park Graded School”, heated by stoves and lit by electricity.[sanborn-1920]

This structure is directly corroborated by the official report of DeSoto County Superintendent P. G. Shaver in the Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for 1918–1920:

“Avon Park, on account of the rapid increase of the school population, was forced to erect a four-room frame building at a cost of $4,000. This was temporary, as a modern high school building will be erected as soon as conditions become normal.”[dpi-1918-1920]

Erected circa 1918 as temporary relief for elementary pupils when secondary enrollment overwhelmed the 1914 brick building, this four-room wooden annex stood on the Verona Avenue side of the campus while the town planned a permanent high school plant.[dpi-1918-1920][maxwell-1976]

Resolving the South Forest Avenue vs. Block 43A Sites

Early accounts occasionally conflate Avon Park’s school sites because the community operated schools in two separate core locations between 1893 and 1926:

  1. South Forest Avenue at West Walnut Street (1893–1914):

    • Avon Park’s second schoolhouse—a two-story frame building—was erected in 1893 on South Forest Avenue and West Walnut Street (adjacent to Block 36). It burned in an arson fire on 4 December 1895.[maxwell-1976]
    • Rebuilt in 1897 on the same South Forest Avenue site, supplemented in 1906 by a secondary classroom annex nicknamed “The Coop,” this frame complex served white pupils until the 1914 brick building opened on South Lake Avenue.[maxwell-1976]
    • After the school system vacated the Forest Avenue property in 1914, the frame schoolhouse was leased to local churches, including early revival services of the First Baptist Church and regular worship of the Church of Christ.[maxwell-1976]
    • The wooden Forest Avenue building was blown off its foundation during the September 1926 hurricane; the Church of Christ subsequently bought the municipal lot and salvaged the structural lumber to build its permanent church on South Forest Avenue.[maxwell-1976]

  2. Block 43A on South Lake Avenue (1914–Present):

    • Block 43A was acquired as a permanent educational campus for Avon Park’s public school expansion.
    • From 1914 onward, all consolidated white public schooling (elementary, junior high, and senior high) was centered on this campus rather than Forest Avenue.[sanborn-1920][maxwell-1976]

The 1925 Mediterranean High School and Middle School Transition

The “modern high school building” anticipated in the 1920 state report was realized during the Florida land boom. Under Chapter 10620, Laws of Florida 1925, the Legislature validated $40,000 in Special Tax School District No. 6 bonds, funding the construction of a new $150,000 senior high school.[maxwell-1976]

  • The 1925 High School: Completed in 1925, this two-story Mediterranean Revival stucco building was constructed facing South Verona Avenue, replacing the temporary 1918 frame graded school.[maxwell-1976] It featured an expansive auditorium with a balcony that served as Avon Park’s primary civic assembly hall for five decades.[maxwell-1976] A life-sized cement statue of the school’s athletic mascot—the “Red Devil” with pitchfork, sculpted by Paul S. “Mickie” Heath—was permanently anchored to the roofline.[maxwell-1976]
  • The 1940 Gymnasium/Auditorium: In 1940, a permanent concrete-block and stucco gymnasium/auditorium building (18,060 square feet, 30-foot wall height, hardwood gymnasium floors) was added to the campus.[hcpao-middle-school]
  • The 1955 Elementary Division: In 1955, the school board erected Avon Elementary School on West Winthrop Street and La Grande Street for grades 1–4 ($340,000). The South Lake/Verona Avenue campus was then reorganized as the Avon Park Middle School.[maxwell-1976]
  • The 1966 High School Relocation: In 1966, a new $2,000,000 comprehensive high school facility was constructed on South Marshall Avenue east of downtown, permanently transferring senior high grades away from the campus.[maxwell-1976]
  • The 1978–1979 Rebuilding and Demolition: In 1978, Highlands County initiated a $2,910,000 reconstruction program to build a modern one-story brick middle school facility on the site.[maxwell-1976] Students occupied the new complex on 12 November 1979, following which the historic 1914 brick high school and 1925 stucco high school were demolished.[maxwell-1976]

Modern Street Address and Parcel Cross-Walk

In modern municipal and property records, the historic Block 43A and adjacent Block 38 to the south have been merged into a unified civic educational superblock:

Historical Designation (1920 Sanborn) Modern Site Address Parcel ID (HCPAO) Current Owner & Facility Description
Block 43A (Main School Block) & Block 38 (South Athletic/Campus Block) 401 S Lake Ave, Avon Park, FL 33825 A-22-33-28-010-0380-0010 (Account 28332201003800010A) Highlands County School Board (DOR Code 83 - Public Schools). Legal: TOWN OF AVON PARK LOTS 1 + 2 BLK 38 -MIDDLE SCHOOL-. Site of Avon Park Middle School campus.[hcpao-middle-school][osm-middle-school]
Block 43A West Frontage (Old 1914 High School frontage) 303 S Lake Ave, Avon Park, FL 33825 A-22-33-28-110-0000-0070 (Account 28332211000000070A) Highlands County School Board (DOR Code 83 - Public Schools). Legal: THE JACARANDA SUB PB 2-PG 136 S 19 FT LOT 7 + LOTS 8-9-10 + S 100 FT OF LOTS 11 THRU 15. Accommodates school tennis courts (10,800 sq ft asphalt) and athletic facilities.[hcpao-tennis-parcel]
East Canfield Street Right-of-Way Vacated right-of-way Integrated into Middle School campus Closed between South Lake Avenue and South Verona Avenue to join Block 43A and Block 38 into a single contiguous school parcel.[osm-middle-school]

The physical footprint where the 1914 brick Junior High School and 1918 frame Graded School stood in November 1920 is today occupied by the western classroom wings, administrative offices, and athletic courts of Avon Park Middle School at 401 South Lake Avenue.[hcpao-middle-school][osm-middle-school]

References

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
society

Sources

  1. Sanborn Map Company, via Library of Congress, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Avon Park, DeSoto County, Florida, November 1920, Sheet 1 (references/sanborn-1920-avon-park.md) (1920)
  2. Florida Superintendent of Public Instruction, Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, State of Florida, 1912–1914: DeSoto County report of Jas. O. Bickley (references/florida-superintendent-biennial-reports.md) (1914)
  3. Florida Superintendent of Public Instruction, Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, State of Florida, 1918–1920: DeSoto County report (references/florida-superintendent-biennial-reports.md) (1920)
  4. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida, pages 69, 116–120, 1484, 1636–1643 (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976) · book
  5. Highlands County Property Appraiser, Highlands County Property Appraiser, Parcel A-22-33-28-010-0380-0010 (401 S Lake Ave, Avon Park Middle School) (2026)
  6. Highlands County Property Appraiser, Highlands County Property Appraiser, Parcel A-22-33-28-110-0000-0070 (303 S Lake Ave, School Board athletic facility) (2026)
  7. OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenStreetMap Relation 10480718: Avon Park Middle School campus geometry (2026)

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