The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
Menu
Admin Sign-In

William Reck

William Reck was an Illinois transplant, real estate developer, and civic booster whose advocacy during the 1910s and 1920s shaped the municipal landscape of Avon Park and supported the political division that created Highlands County.[nrhp-90000486]

Relocation to Avon Park

Reck moved his family from Illinois to Avon Park circa 1913, coinciding with the completion of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad’s Haines City branch and the town’s initial incorporation under a municipal charter.[nrhp-90000486] Recognizing the developmental potential of the interior Lake Wales Ridge, Reck invested in residential and commercial real estate, becoming one of the town’s most energetic community promoters.

Promotion of the Mile Long Mall

Reck is historically recognized as one of the primary civic champions behind the establishment of the Mile Long Mall (the landscaped 100-foot central parkway running along Main Street).[nrhp-90000486] When the municipal government sought to transform Main Street from a dusty, unpaved right-of-way into an attractive boulevard in the early 1920s, Reck actively campaigned for the initial municipal bond issues—including the May 1920 issue and the $20,000 bond election of October 1921—that funded the grading, concrete curbing, and early jacaranda and palm plantings designed by the City Council and local beautification committees.[nrhp-90000486][let-1922-04-17]

His lobbying contributed to the passage of the October 1924 $175,000 municipal improvement bond, which dedicated $55,000 specifically to completing the Mall’s twenty-five landscaped blocks, bandshell, and public monuments.[nrhp-90000486]

Lobbying for Highlands County Division (1921)

During the post-World War I movement to partition the vast territory of DeSoto County, Reck served on the Avon Park civic committees organized through the local Board of Trade.[nrhp-90000486][maxwell-1976] He lobbied legislators in Tallahassee in the spring of 1921 for the passage of Chapter 8513, Laws of Florida 1921, which officially created Highlands County alongside Hardee, Charlotte, and Glades counties on 23 April 1921.

East Circle Street Residence and Architectural Legacy

Reck established his prominent family residence in Block 4 of the original Town of Avon Park plat, occupying Lots 3, 4, and 5 fronting Verona Circle (now East Circle Street). As documented on Sheet 3 of the November 1920 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, the property consisted of a substantial two-story wood-frame residence with a full-width one-story veranda facing the circular parkway, flanked by private outbuildings.[sanborn-1920][maxwell-1976]

In 1929, Dr. J. A. (Joe) Lander purchased the Reck residence and leased it to mortician Jack M. (J. M.) Stephenson to establish the town’s primary funeral home, which operated directly out of the pioneer residence for over a quarter-century.[maxwell-1976] In 1955, Stephenson relocated the Reck house to the northwest portion of the property along North Verona Avenue to construct the modern 111 East Circle Street mortuary facility; the relocated home stood through subsequent site paving projects in 1960 and 1989 before being dismantled and replaced by commercial concrete parking and walkways during the facility’s 1991 remodeling.[maxwell-1976]

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. National Park Service / Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Avon Park Historic District (1990)
  2. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida) (1976)
  3. Lakeland Evening Telegram, Lakeland Evening Telegram, 17 April 1922, page 2: Avon Park bonds for paving and parks (1922)
  4. Sanborn Map Company, via Library of Congress, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Avon Park, DeSoto County, Florida, November 1920 (Sheet 3) (1920) · archival

Something here wrong, or incomplete? The Society would rather know. Tell a volunteer.

Have a question about this record?

← Back to collection

Ask A.P.

Ask the archive

    Try asking:

    0 / 500

    A.P. answers only from the Society's own archive and cites what it used. Questions are not linked to you; search history is stored on your device only (how it works).Ask a volunteer for anything it cannot answer.