Highlands County, Florida

Before 1921

Avon Park has been in four counties without moving. The area was part of Manatee County until DeSoto County was carved out of it on 19 May 1887; DeSoto County then covered about 3,750 square miles of south-west Florida, with its seat at Arcadia, fifty miles from Avon Park.[nrhp-90000486] For roughly fourteen years the taxpayers of the eastern, northern and southern districts pressed for division, finding “the time required in the transactions of county matters inconvenient and the benefits of taxation insufficient.”[wpa-hrs-highlands] A political meeting at Avon Park in May 1906 had already heard Elam Carlton speak “in support of county division.”

The division of 1921

A County Division Committee drawn from across the old county prepared the bills: George E. Sebring of Sebring; A. G. Smith and Charles Carlton of Wauchula; W. M. Reck of Avon Park; Chester Blount of Punta Gorda; and D. W. Stephenson and Jack Taylor of Moore Haven. Senator Frank M. Cooper of the 27th district introduced them in the Senate and Dr. E. J. Etheredge, representative from DeSoto County, in the House; both chambers passed them in late April 1921.[wpa-hrs-highlands]

Chapter 8513 (No. 118), Laws of Florida 1921, approved 23 April 1921, divided DeSoto County into five: a reduced DeSoto, plus Hardee, Highlands, Glades and Charlotte.[lof-1921-8513] Highlands County’s boundary begins at the north-west corner of Township 33 South, Range 28 East — the township that holds Avon Park — runs east to the Kissimmee River, and follows the river and a staircase of township and range lines south and west.

The Governor appointed the county’s first officers: D. V. Rouse, county judge; C. F. Saunders, clerk of the circuit court; W. M. Griffin of Avon Park, sheriff; DeForest Canfield of Avon Park, tax collector; Cyril Baldwin, tax assessor; I. C. M. Ellenberger of Avon Park, superintendent of public instruction; L. L. Henderson, supervisor of registration.[fl-secstate-1921-1922][wpa-hrs-highlands] When Ellenberger resigned on 9 September 1921 under constitutional dual-officeholding limits to retain the principalship of Avon Park High School, William A. Marshall of Avon Park was commissioned county superintendent on 23 September 1921.[fl-secstate-1921-1922] Sheriff Griffin resigned on 23 February 1922 due to personal operating losses under Florida’s statutory fee system and was succeeded by his chief deputy, Robert H. Hancock.[fl-secstate-1921-1922] Supervisor Henderson resigned on 28 June 1922 ahead of the county-seat referendum, succeeded by James Carlton of Sebring (Henderson returned to county government in June 1923 as District 4 county commissioner). District 1 (Avon Park) Constable Curtis Mathews resigned on 22 September 1921, leaving the post vacant as municipal policing handled in-town needs. The five inaugural county commissioners were Wm. King of Avon Park (District 1), John E. Graham (District 2), Perry Etheredge (District 3), A. M. McAuley (District 4) and W. W. Williams (District 5). The board first met on 23 May 1921 and the county began functioning from that date.[fl-secstate-1921-1922][wpa-hrs-highlands]

The original voting precincts were Avon Park, Sebring, DeSoto City, Bassinger, Lake Stearns, Venus and Hicoria. Lake Stearns was later renamed Lake Placid.[wpa-hrs-highlands]

The county seat

Section 3 of the act made Sebring the temporary county seat. Section 5 required an election for a permanent seat, to be held no later than the second Tuesday in February 1923.[lof-1921-8513] From 1 September 1921 the county rented the second floor of the Sebring-Hainz Building on north Ridgewood Avenue for its offices.[wpa-hrs-highlands]

The election was held on 21 November 1922 and canvassed on 23 November 1922: Sebring 844, Avon Park 777, Lake Stearns 8, DeSoto City 3. Sebring won by sixty-seven votes over Avon Park and by a majority of fifty-six over all votes cast.[wpa-hrs-highlands] Avon Park was the larger town — 890 people to Sebring’s 812.[nrhp-90000486]

On 8 August 1923 the board bought Block 74 in Sebring for $10,000 for a courthouse and jail. The courthouse was built in 1926 for $212,000 raised by bonds, to a design by Fred A. Bishop of Richmond, Virginia, with D. J. Phipps as contractor.[wpa-hrs-highlands]

Records

Sections 13 to 15 of the act required each new county to obtain certified transcripts of the DeSoto County records affecting it, with “the same force and effect as the original records.” A local account says the plat books were the class of DeSoto record actually copied over — which is where the missing Avon Park town plat should be. See the finding on the transcribed plat books.

A note on the county’s name

The act’s own title and Section 3 say “Highlands County.” Its boundary paragraph in Section 1 says “Highland County,” singular. The plural has always been used in practice.

References

• lof-1921-8513 — Legislature of the State of Florida. Chapter 8513 (No. 118), Laws of Florida 1921, General Laws. 23 April 1921. laws-of-florida-chapter-8513-1921.md
• wpa-hrs-highlands — 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. https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/343160
• nrhp-90000486 — United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Avon Park Historic District. 22 March 1990. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/90000486_text
• fl-secstate-1921-1922 — State of Florida, Office of the Secretary of State. Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Florida for the Period Beginning January 1, 1921, and Ending December 31, 1922. 1923. https://archive.org/details/reportofsecr19211922flor

Related

• Finding: Highlands County Inaugural Officer Resignations and the Fee System (1921–1922)
• Finding: Inaugural Officers of Highlands County and the First County Judge (1921)
• Reference: Chapter 8513, Laws of Florida 1921
• Finding: Avon Park lost the county seat by sixty-seven votes
• Finding: DeSoto County’s plat books were transcribed into Highlands County
• Entity: William and Mary King

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

1. Legislature of the State of Florida, Chapter 8513 (No. 118), Laws of Florida 1921, General Laws (1921)
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. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Avon Park Historic District (1990)
4. State of Florida, Office of the Secretary of State, Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Florida for the Period Beginning January 1, 1921, and Ending December 31, 1922 (1923)

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