DeSoto County’s plat books were transcribed into Highlands County in 1921
The original plat of the Town of Avon Park has been the single most stubborn missing document in Avon Park’s history. It was filed in DeSoto County — the town was platted decades before Highlands County existed — and eleven online repositories have been searched for it without result. A sweep of the Highlands County Property Appraiser’s parcels found something suggestive but unexplained: every subdivision around the original townsite cites a plat book and page, while the townsite itself cites none, except three parcels that cite a “Transcript Book” (TRANS BK or TB) at pages 17, 29 and 30.[hcpao]
The county division act explains what those books are. Section 13 of Chapter 8513, Laws of Florida 1921, requires the Clerk of the Circuit Court of each new county to procure from the DeSoto County Clerk
“a transcript or copies of all deeds, transfers, mortgages, leases, bills of sale, assignments or other conveyances of real or personal property, and all judgments, orders, decrees, and any and all matters of record whatsoever … that may in anywise affect the interest of such new county,”
to certify their correctness, and thereafter to hold them as having “the same force and effect as the original records.” Section 14 authorized payment of up to $100 a month per man for the copying.[lof-1921-8513]
And the WPA Historical Records Survey documented that plat books were exactly what got copied. It makes the point twice, in nearly identical words:
“No records pertinent to Highlands County except plat books were transcribed from the records of old DeSoto County.”
“With the exception of plat books, no other records pertinent to Highlands County were transcribed from the records of DeSoto County.”[wpa-hrs-highlands]
What follows. The Avon Park town plat, if it was ever recorded in DeSoto County, should exist in Highlands County as a certified transcript with the same legal force as the original. The three parcels citing a Transcript Book at pages 17, 29 and 30 are the likeliest place to find it. This turns a vague request to the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Sebring into a specific one:
Please search the Transcript Books received from DeSoto County under section 13 of chapter 8513, Laws of Florida 1921, in particular around pages 17, 29 and 30, for a recorded plat of the Town of Avon Park.
References
- lof-1921-8513 — Legislature of the State of Florida. Chapter 8513 (No. 118), Laws of Florida 1921, General Laws, sections 13-15. 23 April 1921. laws-of-florida-chapter-8513-1921.md
- wpa-hrs-highlands — Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey (Florida County Histories, Series S 1284, Box 2, State Library and Archives of Florida). Historical Sketch of Highlands County / A Brief Sketch of the Creation and History of Highlands County. 1939. https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/343160
- hcpao — Highlands County Property Appraiser. Highlands County Property Appraiser parcel search. 31 August 2026. https://www.hcpao.org/Search
Related
- Reference: Chapter 8513, Laws of Florida 1921
- Finding: the original Avon Park plat has not been found
- Report: the original town plat and land title
Where this comes from
- Evidence
- single-source — One source. Treat as reported, not established.
- Review
- unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
- Rights
- society
Sources
- Legislature of the State of Florida, Chapter 8513 (No. 118), Laws of Florida 1921, General Laws, sections 13-15 (1921)
- Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey (Florida County Histories, Series S 1284, Box 2, State Library and Archives of Florida), Historical Sketch of Highlands County / A Brief Sketch of the Creation and History of Highlands County (1939)
- Highlands County Property Appraiser, Highlands County Property Appraiser parcel search (2026)
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