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

Winter Guest Club

The Winter Guest Club was the organized form of the town’s oldest trade. Avon Park had taken in winter visitors since the Verona opened in 1889, at first in apartments the permanent residents made over in their own homes; the visitors organized a club of their own in 1937, and the city provided it a clubhouse and recreational facilities on the shores of Lake Verona in Donaldson Park.[maxwell-1976]

The courts and the clubhouse

The city built extensive shuffleboard courts for the club, which became a centerpiece of winter recreation in the town.[maxwell-1976] The first of these were a federal relief project. On 16 November 1938 the Works Progress Administration’s Florida administrator approved, among nine projects across the state, one at Avon Park to “improve Donaldson Park, build addition to clubhouse, construct pier, three shelters, three shuffleboard courts and other facilities,” employing twenty men for three months at a cost of $3,495, of which the WPA paid $2,694.[bj-1938-11-17]

The permanent clubhouse used by the club after the Second World War was the building erected by the city in Donaldson Park during the war as a recreation center for military personnel stationed in the area, at a time when the park also hosted a municipal trailer park. Following the departure of the wartime trailers, the municipal building was turned over to the club as the Winter Guest Club house.[maxwell-1976]

Growth and tournament play

By the mid-1970s about eight hundred seasonal residents belonged to the club, while many others who wintered in the town participated without formal membership. The clubhouse remained active through the winter season with community dinners, card parties, and tournaments. The club fielded teams in competitive shuffleboard matches against winter guest clubs throughout Central Florida, and the municipal recreational calendar consistently listed shuffleboard as the flagship winter activity.[maxwell-1976] The club was incorporated with the state as The Avon Park Winter Guest Club Inc.[sunbiz-winter-guest-club]

The club became a defining feature of winter life for decades. Obituaries of longtime winter residents frequently highlighted their membership and activities in the Avon Park Winter Guest Club, particularly their participation and trophies won in its competitive shuffleboard matches.[bangor-obits-colson][trumbull-obits-waters]

Transition to the Senior Activities Center

The Donaldson Park clubhouse and shuffleboard courts at 109 East Main Street transitioned from a strictly seasonal winter-resident facility into the municipal Avon Park Senior Activities Center & Shuffleboard.[hns-2026-senior-center][ap-city-facilities] The shuffleboard club established by the winter visitors continued operations on site as the Avon Park Shuffleboard Club, affiliated with the Central District of the Florida Shuffleboard Association.[fsa-central-district] The City of Avon Park continues to maintain the courts and the lakefront clubhouse at Donaldson Park for senior recreation and community gatherings, including completing extensive canopy and structural restorations after severe storm damage.[ap-city-facilities][hns-2026-senior-center]

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. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida) (1976) · book
  2. The Brooksville Journal, Nine Projects Are Approved By WPA Head, The Brooksville Journal (Brooksville, Fla.), 17 November 1938, page 7 (1938) · newspaper
  3. Highlands News-Sun, Avon Park is making progress on renovations to Senior Activities Center & Shuffleboard (2026) · newspaper
  4. City of Avon Park, City of Avon Park: Senior Activities Center & Shuffleboard, 109 E. Main Street (2026) · official
  5. Florida Shuffleboard Association, Florida Shuffleboard Association Central District Club Directory: Avon Park Shuffleboard Club (2026) · secondary
  6. Bangor Daily News, Obituary: Oliver B. Colson (2008) · newspaper
  7. GenealogyBuff.com, Obituary: Mildred A. Waters (2003) · secondary
  8. Florida Department of State, Corporate Records: The Avon Park Winter Guest Club Inc., Document Number 703348 (sunbiz.org) (2026) · official

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.