The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Origins and Identities of Avon Park’s Street Names on the 1920 Sanborn Map

The index sheet of the November 1920 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map records twenty-eight named streets within the town limits of Avon Park, none of which used numerical designations.[sanborn-1920] Cross-referencing these names against contemporary newspaper notices, federal patent rolls, business directories, and municipal petitions reveals four distinct naming patterns: pioneer biographical names, hydrological features, botanical species, and civic/infrastructure landmarks.

Pioneer Personal Names

Several streets commemorated early settlers, civic leaders, and property developers active in northern DeSoto County:

  • Butler Street: Named for W. S. Butler, a pioneer resident who signed the 1906 Avon Park special tax school district petition and acquired early acreage in the surrounding township.[dsc-1905-1915]
  • Feagin Street: Named for L. O. Feagin, who established Avon Park’s first commercial electric light and ice plant on Lake Verona circa 1913, providing early utility infrastructure prior to municipal waterworks expansion.[dsc-1905-1915][maxwell-1976]
  • Canfield Street: Named for DeForest Canfield (1866–1934), pioneer lumber dealer operating the Canfield Lumber Yard adjacent to the Atlantic Coast Line tracks, who subsequently served as the inaugural Tax Collector of Highlands County from 1921 to 1929.[dsc-1905-1915]
  • Winthrop Street: Named for A. Winthrop, an early resident, grove investor, and signatory of the 1906 school district petition.[dsc-1905-1915]
  • Thomas Street: Named for the Thomas family, pioneer settlers and landowners in the eastern sector of the township.[dsc-1905-1915]
  • Bell Street: Named for early property owners and horticultural investors in Section 22.[dsc-1905-1915]
  • Cornell Street: Named for early northern winter investors associated with promotional land campaigns of the 1890s and 1900s.[dsc-1905-1915]
  • Hall Street: Named for E. L. Hall, an early settler and signatory of the 1906 school petition.[dsc-1905-1915]

Hydrological and Geographical Names

Several streets derived directly from prominent bodies of water and geographic locations in the Lake Wales Ridge interior:

  • Avon Street: Named for the settlement and its central hydrological association with Stratford-upon-Avon and River Avon.[nrhp-avon-park-district]
  • Lake Street: Running north-south along the western shore of Lake Verona.[sanborn-1920]
  • Verona Avenue and Verona Circle: Circling the northern and eastern shores of Lake Verona, the town’s initial settlement focal point.[sanborn-1920]
  • Tulane Circle: Encircling Lake Tulane, situated immediately west of the town center.[sanborn-1920]
  • La Grande: Named for early promotional descriptions of the regional ridge topography.[nrhp-avon-park-district]
  • Michigan Avenue: Named for early Midwestern investor groups who purchased platted tracts along the railroad corridor.[dsc-1905-1915]

Botanical and Horticultural Names

Reflecting the town’s pine flatwoods environment and horticultural ambitions, multiple avenues carried botanical designations:

  • Camphor Street: Named for the camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora), cultivated in early Florida agricultural nurseries.
  • Forest Avenue: Named for Oliver Crosby’s original plat designation of “Lake Forest” and the surrounding pine timber stands.[nrhp-avon-park-district]
  • Pine Street: Commemorating the native longleaf and slash pine flatwoods of the Lake Wales Ridge.
  • Walnut Street: Following the traditional American urban convention of hardwood tree naming.
  • Glenwood: Named for early residential grove subdivisions on the town periphery.

Civic, Transportation, and Commercial Landmarks

The remaining thoroughfares identified functional landmarks and transit routes:

  • Main Street: The central east-west commercial thoroughfare platted by Crosby, subsequently developed into the landscaped Mile Long Mall during the 1920s land boom.[nrhp-avon-park-district]
  • Central Avenue: Defining the central north-south dividing line between town quadrants.
  • Church Street: Fronting the town’s early religious institutions, including the First Baptist Church and First Congregational Church.[sanborn-1920]
  • Dixie Highway: The designated regional north-south automotive route passing through the town center along the Lake Wales Ridge.[dsc-1905-1915]
  • Railroad Street: Paralleling the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad’s diagonal right-of-way built in 1912.[sanborn-1920]
  • Mill Street: Providing access to the southern industrial district housing the Flint Lumber Company, Mutual Crate Company, and Avon Manufacturing Company mills.[sanborn-1920]
  • State Street, Pleasant Street, and Prospect Street: Standard residential and civic grid designations platted in the original 1887–1892 surveys.

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. Sanborn Map Company, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Avon Park, DeSoto County, Florida, November 1920, Sheet 1: Street Index (references/sanborn-1920-avon-park.md) (1920)
  2. The De Soto County News, The De Soto County News (Arcadia, Fla.), 1905–1915: Avon Park correspondence, school petitions, and business directories (references/de-soto-county-news-avon-park-department.md) (1915)
  3. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976)
  4. Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation / National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Avon Park Historic District (ref. 90000486) (1990)

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