The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Highlands County 1925 local legislation sweep modernized county governance and infrastructure

During the regular legislative session of April–June 1925—at the peak of the Florida land boom—the Florida Legislature enacted fourteen special local acts specifically governing Highlands County and its municipalities.[fl-senate-index-1970] Created only four years earlier in April 1921 from the partition of old DeSoto County, Highlands County utilized the 1925 legislative sweep to overhaul its legal, financial, and regulatory frameworks to accommodate unprecedented real estate, highway, and horticultural growth.[lof-1925-v2pt2][wpa-hrs-highlands]

The fourteen acts addressed seven distinct functional areas of county administration:

1. Municipal Reorganization and Urban Bonding (DeSoto City)

  • Chapter 10511 (No. 489): Abolished the former municipal government and established a comprehensive new municipal charter for the Town of DeSoto City, defining enlarged town boundaries, a commission form of government, and municipal tax assessment powers south of Sebring.[lof-1925-v2pt2]
  • Chapter 10522 (No. 500): Authorized the Town of DeSoto City to issue municipal improvement bonds for paved streets, waterworks, and public municipal facilities.[lof-1925-v2pt2]

2. Enclosing the Open Range and Stock Regulation

  • Chapter 10616 (No. 594): Amended Chapter 9459 (Laws of 1923), expanding statutory “no-fence” stock law boundaries to prohibit cattle, horses, hogs, and other livestock from running at large in expanding citrus, municipal, and highway corridors around Avon Park and Sebring.[lof-1925-v2pt2]
  • Chapter 10617 (No. 595): Standardized boundary fence specifications, legal impoundment fees, notice requirements to livestock owners, and arbitration procedures for recovering crop and property damages caused by stray livestock.[lof-1925-v2pt2]

3. Wildlife, Predator Bounties, and Freshwater Fisheries

  • Chapter 10614 (No. 592): Regulated freshwater fishing in the lakes and rivers of Highlands County, creating license requirements, closed spawning seasons, and gear restrictions on nets, seines, and traps to conserve game fish (black bass, speckled perch, and bream) for resident sportsmen and winter tourists.[lof-1925-v2pt2]
  • Chapter 10618 (No. 596): Authorized the Board of County Commissioners to pay cash bounties from the county general fund for predatory wild animals—specifically wildcats, foxes, and panthers—to protect poultry, calves, and agricultural livestock in rural sections of the county.[lof-1925-v2pt2]

4. Purging Voter Rolls and County-Wide Re-Registration

  • Chapter 10619 (No. 597): Mandated a complete, county-wide re-registration of all qualified electors in Highlands County, directing the Supervisor of Registration to open new registration books across every precinct and close them on 31 October 1925.[lof-1925-v2pt2] This statutory purge eliminated outdated voter lists inherited from DeSoto County and ensured accurate rosters for boom-era bond referendums and municipal elections.

5. School District Bond Validations ($230,000 Total)

To facilitate new brick school construction across the county, the legislature passed four sequential validation acts on 4 June 1925, curing technical election irregularities and confirming $230,000 in district school bonds:[lof-1925-v2pt2]

  • Chapter 10620 (No. 598): Validated $40,000 in bonds for Special Tax School District Number 6 (Avon Park) for school plant expansion.
  • Chapter 10621 (No. 599): Validated $35,000 in bonds for Special Tax School District Number 1 (Sebring).
  • Chapter 10622 (No. 600): Validated $135,000 in bonds for Special Tax School District Number 2 (Lake Placid / South County).
  • Chapter 10623 (No. 601): Validated $20,000 in bonds for Special Tax School District Number 3.

6. County Publicity and Agricultural Promotion

  • Chapter 10624 (No. 602): Created the Highlands County Special Tax District for Publicity Purposes, establishing an elective five-member board of resident property owners serving without salary, elected annually by property-weighted vote in Avon Park, authorized to levy an ad valorem tax of up to two mills upon a 25% voter petition and majority freeholder referendum to advertise the agricultural, horticultural, and climate advantages of Highlands County.[lof-1925-v2pt2]

7. Bond Governance and Highway Billboard Ban

  • Chapter 10625 (No. 603): Created the statutory Board of Bond Trustees of Highlands County, establishing a specialized board of trustees to hold custody of, invest, and disburse proceeds from county road, bridge, and public building bond sales to prevent municipal insolvency and mishandling.[lof-1925-v2pt2]
  • Chapter 10648 (No. 626): Prohibited the erection, maintenance, painting, or posting of commercial signs, advertisements, or billboards within the right-of-way of public roads and paved highways throughout Highlands County, preserving driver visibility and natural roadside scenery from boom-era advertising clutter.[lof-1925-v2pt2]

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. Legislature of the State of Florida, Special Acts of the Florida Legislature 1925, Volume 2, Part 2 (Chapters 10462–10636, 10648) (1925)
  2. 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)
  3. Florida Senate, Index to Special and Local Laws 1845–1970: Highlands County (1970)

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