The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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This is a draft. It is published so it can be read and corrected, not because it is finished.

Lake Glenada and Section 34 Municipal Boundaries

Section 34, Township 33 South, Range 28 East lies directly south of Avon Park’s historic city center. The section encompasses Lake Lelia and Lake Glenada. Today, Lake Glenada is bounded by the South Florida State College campus (historically South Florida Community College) to the north and US Highway 27 to the west and southwest [wikipedia-lake-glenada] [topoquest-avon-park-1974].

Municipal Boundary Expansion

The original Town of Avon Park, incorporated by Chapter 6662, Laws of Florida (1913), covered approximately 1,440 acres. This historic core is depicted in contemporary surveys and fire insurance maps.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Avon Park (1920) First sheet of the 1920 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Avon Park, Florida, illustrating early municipal boundaries and structures. (Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division) [loc-sanborn-avon-park-1920]

In 1925, following the Florida land boom, Chapter 10320, Laws of Florida extended Avon Park’s corporate limits from 1,440 acres to a massive 36 sections of land, totaling 23,040 acres [fl-supreme-court-1933]. This 1925 expansion brought Section 34, including Lake Lelia and Lake Glenada, into the municipality.

The legality of encompassing vast tracts of unoccupied rural and agricultural lands was successfully challenged in State ex rel. Attorney General v. City of Avon Park (1933). The Florida Supreme Court invalidated the massive boundary expansion, establishing that the municipality was unlawfully exercising functions over rural lands [fl-supreme-court-1933].

The Glenada Subdivision

While historical streetscapes mention “Glenada Hills Park” and developers marketed Lake Glenada lots in the 1920s, the precise Highlands County recorded plat map for the “Avon Park township” or “Glenada” subdivision in Section 34 named in the 1943 boundary act has not been located in digitized public records.

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
public-domain

Sources

  1. Supreme Court of Florida, State Ex Rel. Attorney General v. City of Avon Park, 108 Fla. 641, 149 So. 409 (1933) (1933)
  2. Wikipedia, Lake Glenada (2026)
  3. TopoQuest, Avon Park, FL Topographic Map (1974)
  4. Sanborn Map Company, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Avon Park, Highlands County, Florida (1920)

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