The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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In 1960, Black high school completion in Highlands County surged to 119 adults as Avon Park reached 6,073 residents

The 1960 United States Census of Population documents the demographic growth and shifting educational profile of Highlands County and Avon Park at the threshold of the civil rights movement. In 1950, segregated public schooling had left Highlands County with only twenty-five nonwhite high school graduates and fifteen college graduates among 1,815 adults aged twenty-five and over.[census-1950-t44] By 1960, despite the persistence of segregated classrooms, high school graduation among nonwhite adults expanded nearly fivefold to 119 individuals, and college degree holders quadrupled to sixty-two.[census-1960-t87]

Avon Park continued to anchor the county’s largest Black municipal community, counting 1,584 African American residents (26.1 percent of the city) out of a total population of 6,073.[census-1960-t22]

Highlands County Population by Race in 1960

Table 28 of the 1960 census, “Characteristics of the Population, for Counties,” provides the full enumeration of Highlands County by race and sex:[census-1960-t28]

Demographic Group Male Female Total Percentage
Total Population 10,566 10,772 21,338 100.0%
White 8,284 8,536 16,820 78.82%
Negro 2,252 2,205 4,457 20.89%
American Indian 24 21 45 0.21%
Japanese 1 1 2 0.01%
Chinese 0 0 0 0.00%
Filipino 0 0 0 0.00%
Other races 5 9 14 0.07%
Total Nonwhite 2,282 2,236 4,518 21.17%

Between 1950 and 1960, the county’s total population expanded from 13,636 to 21,338, an increase of 56.5 percent.[census-1960-t28] The white population grew from 10,170 to 16,820 (+65.4 percent), while the nonwhite population grew from 3,466 to 4,518 (+30.4 percent).[census-1960-t28] Due to faster white in-migration, the nonwhite share of Highlands County declined slightly from 25.4 percent in 1950 to 21.2 percent in 1960.

Avon Park Demographics in 1960

Table 22, “Characteristics of the Population, for Urban Places of 2,500 to 10,000,” records Avon Park’s racial composition and age structure:[census-1960-t22]

Group Male Female Total Percentage of City
Total Population 2,994 3,079 6,073 100.0%
White 2,194 2,294 4,488 73.90%
Negro 799 785 1,584 26.08%
Other races 1 0 1 0.02%
Total Nonwhite 800 785 1,585 26.10%

Avon Park grew from 4,612 residents in 1950 to 6,073 in 1960, an overall gain of 31.7 percent.[census-1960-t22] Its African American population increased from 1,293 to 1,584 (+22.5 percent). Avon Park’s Black community represented 35.5 percent of the county’s entire African American population (1,584 of 4,457), remaining the major center of Black civic, commercial, and religious life in northern Highlands County.

Table 22 details the age distribution of Avon Park’s 1,585 nonwhite residents, showing a substantial young population:[census-1960-t22]

  • Children under 15: 588 individuals (37.1 percent of nonwhite residents: 280 boys, 308 girls)
  • Adolescents and young adults (15–24): 248 individuals (118 males, 130 females)
  • Working-age adults (25–64): 633 individuals (335 men, 298 women)
  • Older adults (65 and over): 116 individuals (67 men, 49 women)

Nonwhite Educational Attainment in Highlands County (1950 vs. 1960)

Table 87 of the 1960 census, “Nonwhite Population—Social Characteristics and Employment Status, for Selected Counties,” records the educational attainment of the county’s 2,076 nonwhite adults aged twenty-five and over, compared here directly with the 1950 census baseline:[census-1950-t44][census-1960-t87]

Years of School Completed 1950 (Persons) 1950 (%) 1960 (Persons) 1960 (%) Ten-Year Change
All persons 25 years old and over 1,815 100.0% 2,076 100.0% +261 (+14.4%)
No school years completed 180 9.9% 189 9.1% +9
Elementary, 1 to 4 years 655 36.1% 640 30.8% -15
Elementary, 5 and 6 years 435 24.0% 370 17.8% -65
Elementary, 7 years 95 5.2% 145 7.0% +50
Elementary, 8 years 180 9.9% 268 12.9% +88
High school, 1 to 3 years 145 8.0% 266 12.8% +121
High school, 4 years (Graduates) 25 1.4% 119 5.7% +94 (+376.0%)
College, 1 to 3 years 20 1.1% 17 0.8% -3
College, 4 years or more 15 0.8% 62 3.0% +47 (+313.3%)
School years not reported 65 3.6% — — —
Median school years completed 5.2 — 6.1 — +0.9 years

The quantitative gains between 1950 and 1960 reflect the post-World War II consolidation of secondary opportunities for Black students through E. O. Douglas High School in Sebring, to which Avon Park teenagers commuted after completing eighth grade at Hopewell School. High school completion among Black adults rose from twenty-five to 119, while four-year college graduates expanded from fifteen to sixty-two.[census-1950-t44][census-1960-t87]

Racial Disparities in Highlands County in 1960

Table 83 reports schooling for the county’s total population aged twenty-five and over (12,331 individuals: 5,946 men and 6,385 women):[census-1960-t83]

Metric Total County Population Nonwhite Population Estimated White Population
Adults 25 years old and over 12,331 2,076 10,255
Four years of high school 2,293 (18.6%) 119 (5.7%) 2,174 (21.2%)
College, 4 years or more 797 (6.5%) 62 (3.0%) 735 (7.2%)
High school graduate or higher 3,090 (25.1%) 181 (8.7%) 2,909 (28.4%)
Median school years completed 10.0 (M 9.9, F 10.1) 6.1 ~10.5

While the gap narrowed significantly from 1950 (when white adults were seventeen times as likely to hold a high school diploma as Black adults), wide disparities remained in 1960: white adults were still 3.7 times as likely to have finished high school (21.2 percent vs. 5.7 percent) and held a median educational attainment more than four years higher than Black adults (10.5 years vs. 6.1 years).[census-1960-t83][census-1960-t87]

Avon Park Civic and Economic Profile in 1960

Table 81 reports social and economic characteristics for Avon Park’s 3,498 adults aged twenty-five and over:[census-1960-t81]

  • High school graduates (4 years): 641 persons (18.3 percent)
  • College graduates (4 years or more): 187 persons (5.3 percent)
  • Median school years completed: 9.0 years
  • Civilian labor force: 2,015 workers (1,355 men, 660 women)
  • Total employed residents: 1,955 workers
    • Wholesale and retail trade: 404 workers (20.7 percent)
    • Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries: 335 workers (17.1 percent)
    • Professional and related services: 187 workers (9.6 percent)
    • Transportation, utilities, and communications: 175 workers (9.0 percent)
    • Personal services: 171 workers (8.7 percent)
    • Construction: 153 workers (7.8 percent)
    • Manufacturing (durable and nondurable): 156 workers (8.0 percent)
  • Family income in 1959: 1,573 families; median family income was $3,693, reflecting an agricultural and light-industrial wage structure compared to Florida’s statewide urban centers.[census-1960-t81]

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. United States Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1960, Volume I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 11, Florida, Table 28: Characteristics of the Population, for Counties, page 11-108 (1961) · official
  2. United States Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1960, Volume I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 11, Florida, Table 22: Characteristics of the Population, for Urban Places of 2,500 to 10,000, page 11-65 (1961) · official
  3. United States Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1960, Volume I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 11, Florida, Table 81: Social and Economic Characteristics of the Population, for Urban Places of 2,500 to 10,000, page 11-216 (1962) · official
  4. United States Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1960, Volume I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 11, Florida, Table 83: Education, Employment Status, and Selected Labor Force Characteristics of the Population, for Counties, page 11-234 (1962) · official
  5. United States Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1960, Volume I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 11, Florida, Table 87: Nonwhite Population—Social Characteristics and Employment Status, for Selected Counties, page 11-258 (1962) · official
  6. United States Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1950, Volume II, Part 10, Florida, Table 44: Characteristics of the Nonwhite Population, for Counties, page 10-107 (1952) · official

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