The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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The Founding and Avon Park Beginnings of South Florida State College

Summary

South Florida State College (established by the State Board of Education on 7 July 1965 as South Florida Junior College) was created through a concerted local civic campaign led by the City of Avon Park within the statutory framework of Florida’s 1957 Community Junior College Master Plan.[wattenbarger-1957][sfsc-history] Before constructing its permanent multi-building campus on U.S. 27 south of the city, the college operated its first four academic years (1966–1970) entirely within renovated commercial buildings along Avon Park’s historic Main Street.[sfsc-history][maxwell-1976]

The 1957 Florida Master Plan and the Avon Park Initiative

In 1957, the Florida Legislature enacted Chapter 57-311, Laws of Florida (the Community Junior College Act, codified at Florida Statutes Chapter 230), adopting the comprehensive master plan formulated by Dr. James L. Wattenbarger and the Florida Community College Council.[wattenbarger-1957] The master plan envisioned a statewide network of 28 public two-year colleges designed to place accessible, low-cost higher education within commuting distance of 99% of Florida’s population.[wattenbarger-1957] Under this structure, individual colleges were authorized by the State Board of Education following local petitions from participating county school boards, with local county boards of public instruction serving as operating agents.[wattenbarger-1957]

Recognizing the transformative economic and cultural value of securing the designated junior college district for their community, Avon Park municipal officials initiated an aggressive recruitment effort early in 1960:[sfsc-history]

  1. City Council Endorsement (25 April 1960): The Avon Park City Council formally passed a resolution petitioning the State Board of Education, recording its unanimous endorsement of an area junior college to serve the educational and social needs of the Heartland region.[sfsc-history]
  2. Municipal Land Pledge (15 August 1960): To ensure that Avon Park was chosen over competing locations, the Council voted to donate a 35-acre tract of municipal land east of U.S. 27, just south of Wayside Park, for the future campus.[sfsc-history]

Statutory Organization and Leadership (1965)

During the 1965 legislative session, statutory authorization and operating revenue were finalized. In addition to statewide general appropriations, the Legislature enacted Chapter 65-1603 (House Bill 1381) on 1 June 1965, authorizing the Board of County Commissioners of Hardee County to appropriate up to $10,000 annually to support the bi-county junior college program administered jointly with Highlands County.[laws-65-1603]

On 7 July 1965, the State Board of Education formally authorized the creation of South Florida Junior College.[sfsc-history] On 16 September 1965, the State Board appointed the initial Advisory Committee to govern the fledgling institution, specifically naming it the Highlands-Hardee Junior College Advisory Committee:[sfsc-history]

  • Chairman: Rex Bond, prominent Sebring banking executive.
  • Executive Secretary: George Douglass, Highlands County Superintendent of Public Instruction.
  • Avon Park Trustees: Hue E. Nunnallee and G. Franklyn Ward.
  • Regional Trustees: Representatives from Hardee and Highlands agricultural and business communities.

At the committee’s inaugural meeting at Griffin’s Restaurant in Avon Park, Dr. James L. Wattenbarger and state administrator James Strawbridge instructed the trustees to establish immediate interim operations within Avon Park, warning that developing a permanent campus would require at least two to three years of architectural planning and site preparation.[sfsc-history]

On 18 November 1965, the board appointed Dr. William A. Stallard, then dean of specialized education at Manatee Junior College in Bradenton, as the institution’s first president at an annual salary of $15,500. Dr. Stallard assumed executive duties on 15 December 1965.[sfsc-history]

The College on Main Street (1966–1970)

To open the institution without waiting for campus construction, the City of Avon Park and the trustees leased and renovated multiple downtown storefronts along Main Street. In February 1966, the State Board approved a $50,000 renovation program, supplemented by $10,000 from the Avon Park City Council:[sfsc-history][maxwell-1976]

  • The Todd Building: A former grocery supermarket on East Main Street was refitted to serve as the college library, admissions office, and administrative headquarters.[sfsc-history]
  • The Brickell Building (1919): The second floor of the historic two-story Brickell Building was converted into classrooms, biological science laboratories, faculty offices, and a student lounge.[sfsc-history]
  • The Touchton Building: Provided additional lecture rooms and meeting space at Main Street and Lake Avenue.[sfsc-history]
  • Parking and Amenities: The parking lot of the neighboring municipal movie theater was designated for student parking.[sfsc-history]

Classes began on 22 August 1966 with 14 full-time faculty members and an inaugural student body of 283 students (164 full-time and 119 part-time).[sfsc-history] Although Florida had initially implemented the 1957 Master Plan on a segregated basis by opening twelve separate Black junior colleges between 1957 and 1962, the state ceased creating separate Black junior colleges after 1962 and dismantled its dual junior college system between 1964 and 1966 to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[johnson-2007][fish-2021] Authorized in July 1965 and opened in August 1966 under Title VI federal funding requirements, South Florida Junior College never had a parallel segregated counterpart in Highlands or Hardee counties and operated from its opening day as a unitary, non-segregated institution.[johnson-2007][fish-2021]

On 30 April 1967, the college held its first commencement in the lobby of the Brickell Building, awarding Associate in Arts degrees to its first two graduates.[sfsc-history] On 4 December 1968, South Florida Junior College earned full regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), achieving accreditation within 27 months of opening, the fastest timetable achieved by any public junior college in Florida history.[sfsc-history]

Permanent Campus and Hotel Jacaranda Stewardship

On 9 January 1967, the City of Avon Park officially deeded the original 35-acre site to the college trustees.[sfsc-history] Combined with state allocations and adjacent parcel acquisitions, the permanent campus expanded to over 160 acres fronting U.S. 27. Ground was broken in November 1968, and the initial nine-building permanent complex was dedicated on 4 December 1969.[sfsc-history] In January 1970, all instructional, administrative, and library operations moved from downtown Avon Park to the new campus.[sfsc-history]

In 1988, the South Florida Community College Foundation, Inc. entered into an acquisition agreement for the 1926 Hotel Jacaranda in downtown Avon Park, placing the building in service as student residence housing and an instructional training facility for the college’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management programs before taking fee-simple title from owner Preston B. Weeks by warranty deed on 29 June 1990 (OR Book 1114, Pages 1378–1379) for $600,000.00, supplemented on 21 March 1994 by a gift deed (OR Book 1252, Page 311) from Sun Bank/Mid-Florida, N.A. (formerly Avon Citrus Bank) conveying the adjoining West 120 feet of Lots 10 and 11 in Block 48.[sfsc-history][hcor-1114-1378][hcor-1252-311]

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. South Florida State College, History, and South Florida State College Through the Years (2026)
  2. State of Florida, Chapter 65-1603, Laws of Florida 1965 (H.B. 1381): an act relating to Hardee County, junior colleges (1965)
  3. James L. Wattenbarger and Florida Community College Council, The Community Junior College in Florida's Future (1957)
  4. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida: 1870–1976 (bundle/references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976)
  5. Larry Johnson, Deirdre Cobb-Roberts, and Barbara Shircliffe, African Americans and the Struggle for Opportunity in Florida Public Higher Education, 1947–1977, History of Education Quarterly 47(3), pp. 328–358 (2007)
  6. Tom Fish, Florida's Forgotten Jr College System (2021)
  7. Highlands County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Warranty Deed from Preston B. Weeks to South Florida Community College Foundation, Inc., 29 June 1990, Highlands County Official Records Book 1114, Pages 1378–1379 (Instrument #0711070) (1990) · official
  8. Highlands County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Warranty Deed from Sun Bank/Mid-Florida, N.A. (f/k/a Avon Citrus Bank) to The South Florida Community College Foundation, Inc., dated 21 March 1994, recorded 29 March 1994, Highlands County Official Records Book 1252, Page 311 (Instrument #0832838) (1994) · official

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