This is a draft. It is published so it can be read and corrected, not because it is finished.
The federal condemnation files for the 1942 taking reside in the National Archives
Between 1942 and 1977, the U.S. government acquired approximately 218,884 acres to establish and expand the Avon Park Air Force Range, utilizing eminent domain and condemnation proceedings. The land, which consisted largely of unimproved pasture and swampland, was secured for immediate military training of B-17 Flying Fortress and B-26 Marauder crews.
The legal mechanism and location of records
The actual names of the landowners and the monetary awards for the 1942 taking of the Avon Park Bombing Range are not digitized in public full-text databases online. The formal legal mechanism executed was a “Judgment on Declaration of Taking” under the Declaration of Taking Act (DTA) in 1942.
Because these proceedings were not published in regional newspaper circulations and are not digitized, the federal files must be consulted directly. They reside physically in Record Group 21 (Records of District Courts of the United States, Southern/Middle District of Florida) and Record Group 77 (Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers) at the National Archives.[nara-rg21][nara-rg77]
A modern corporate trace to a specific 1942 landowner exists in a CERCLA environmental lawsuit regarding legacy environmental liabilities: the predecessors to BKF Capital Group owned tracts of land transferred to the United States government in 1942 pursuant to a Judgment on Declaration of Taking.[bkf-capital-group-taking]
References
- nara-rg21 — National Archives and Records Administration. Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States. 18 September 2026. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/351
- nara-rg77 — National Archives and Records Administration. Record Group 77: Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers. 18 September 2026. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/390
- bkf-capital-group-taking — United States Government. BKF Capital Group 2018 Settlement. 2018. unknown
Related
- Entity: Avon Park Air Force Range
- Finding: the Fort Kissimmee community was removed in 1942
- Report: Avon Park at war, 1941-1945
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
- National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United States (2026)
- National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 77: Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (2026)
- United States Government, BKF Capital Group 2018 Settlement (unknown) (2018)
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