The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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The South Florida Sun

A newspaper published at Avon Park in the first decade of the twentieth century. While original printed files from Avon Park remain exceedingly rare, the paper’s contents survive substantially through its syndicated weekly department printed in the county seat newspaper between 1905 and 1906[dsc-1905-08-18].

The Evidence and Masthead

Through 1905 and 1906, The De Soto County News of Arcadia dedicated a full page in most weekly issues to a standing department under its own masthead:

Department of The South Florida Sun, Avon Park, Florida
The Beautiful Lake Region
Conducted by O. R. Thacher
“All communications intended for this department should be addressed to O. R. Thacher, Avon Park, Fla.”[dsc-1905-08-18]

Beneath the masthead ran the regular column “Avon Park Locals.” The department has been verified on pages of 18 August, 8 September, 22 September, 29 September, 6 October, 13 October, 20 October, 15 December, and 29 December 1905, as well as 5 January (where page 8 is a standing-type reprint of the 18 August 1905 column), 26 January, 2 February, 16 March, 23 March, 11 May, 18 May, and 1 June 1906[dsc-1905-08-18][dsc-1905-12-29][dsc-1906-01-05][dsc-1906-05-18].

An extant copy of the standalone paper surfaced in the antiquarian trade: Volume 1, Number 41 (1901), published as a broadsheet at Avon Park and devoted to promoting the “Excelsior Lake Region” of South Florida[ebay-1901-sun]. Contemporary exchange reprints prove that the paper was already in circulation by June 1900: on 23 June 1900, The Savannah Morning News quoted the South Florida Sun of Avon Park directly on the recovery of the town’s citrus groves (“The weather has been very favorable to the orange groves, and a large crop will be harvested. Already the buyers have started. James McBride sold his crop to E. A. Thomas for $5,000. W. H. Heard, Ralls, Reynolds, and S. J. Carlton have also bought several crops”)[savannah-1900-06-23].

Historical Significance

The South Florida Sun represents the primary surviving continuous journalistic chronicle of Avon Park between the 1897 collapse of the Florida Development Company and the 1912 arrival of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The weekly columns document:

  • The Haines City railroad survey party arriving in Avon Park in May 1906[dsc-1906-05-18].
  • Pioneer builder John C. Burleigh expanding his residence in May 1906 with contractor Dilley[dsc-1906-05-18].
  • The Union Evangelical Church and early Congregational services.
  • The operation of the pioneer Hotel Verona on Lake Verona.
  • Local quarantine regulations during the 1905 yellow fever scare.
  • Pioneer civic advocacy for dividing DeSoto County to create a new ridge county (realized in 1921 as Highlands County)[dsc-1906-05-18].

Publication Run and Editor’s Death

The paper continued publication through at least 1911, as recorded in the biennial Florida Gazetteer and Business Directory (“South Florida Sun, O R Thacher editor”)[gaz-1907][gaz-1911].

The publication concluded upon the death of its founding editor, O. R. Thacher, who passed away in Avon Park on March 11, 1912, at the age of 75[nygenweb-thatcher-death]. Following Thacher’s death and the arrival of the railroad in 1912, local journalism was succeeded by the Avon Park Press and later the Highlands County Pilot and Avon Park Sun.

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. R. L. Polk & Co., Florida Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1907, s.v. Avon Park (1907)
  2. R. L. Polk & Co., Florida Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1911, s.v. Avon Park (1911)
  3. O. R. Thacher (department editor), The De Soto County News, Arcadia, Fla., The De Soto County News, 18 August 1905, page 8: Department of The South Florida Sun, Avon Park, Florida (1905)
  4. O. R. Thacher (department editor), The De Soto County News, Arcadia, Fla., The De Soto County News, 29 December 1905, page 6: Department of The South Florida Sun (1905)
  5. O. R. Thacher (department editor), The De Soto County News, Arcadia, Fla., The De Soto County News, 5 January 1906, page 8: Department of The South Florida Sun (standing-type reprint of 18 August 1905) (1906) · newspaper
  6. O. R. Thacher (department editor), The De Soto County News, Arcadia, Fla., The De Soto County News, 18 May 1906, page 8: Department of The South Florida Sun, Avon Park Locals (1906)
  7. eBay seller listing, 1901 The South Florida Sun Newspaper Avon Park DeSoto County Excelsior Lake (dealer listing) (2026)
  8. Ontario County NYGenWeb, Ontario County Newspaper Death Notices, s.v. Thatcher (1912)
  9. The Savannah Morning News, quoting The South Florida Sun, The Savannah Morning News, 23 June 1900, page 8: Florida column quoting the South Florida Sun of Avon Park on orange crop sales (1900) · newspaper

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