The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Highlands County Legislative Delegation, 1921–1967

From the partition of DeSoto County on April 23, 1921, until federal court-ordered reapportionment transformed the Florida Legislature in 1967, Highlands County held a single, dedicated representative in the Florida House of Representatives and shared representation in the Florida Senate through District 27.[lof-1921-8513][flhouse-membership-county]

Under the 1885 Florida Constitution, every county, regardless of population, was guaranteed at least one House member, creating a county-unit system that gave rural interior counties significant influence in Tallahassee.[people-of-lawmaking] During this forty-six-year era, citizens of Avon Park repeatedly served as Highlands County’s legislative delegates, shaping local governance, land laws, state hospital site acquisitions, and infrastructure across south-central Florida.[sos-reports-1921-1962]

Creation and Early Representation (1921–1926)

When the Florida Legislature convened in April 1921, the territory that became Highlands County was represented in the House by Dr. E. J. Etheredge of DeSoto County.[sos-reports-1921-1962] Etheredge worked alongside regional delegates and local leaders to sponsor Chapter 8513, approved April 23, 1921, which divided DeSoto County into five separate counties: DeSoto, Charlotte, Hardee, Glades, and Highlands.[lof-1921-8513]

Following the death of State Senator Frank M. Cooper in 1921, Dr. Etheredge was elected to fill the unexpired term in the Florida Senate representing District 27, serving across the 1923, 1925, and 1927 sessions.[flsenate-journal-dist27]

In November 1922, Highlands County held its first general election for its dedicated House seat. John A. Taylor of Sebring was elected and served two consecutive terms in the 1923 and 1925 legislative sessions.[flhouse-membership-county] During this period, the Legislature passed basic enabling acts organizing Highlands County’s court terms, school districts, and road financing districts.

Avon Park Leadership in the Florida House

Avon Park residents repeatedly won election to Highlands County’s House seat, providing legislative leadership during periods of major economic and social transition.

J. M. Lee (1927, 1929, 1931 Sessions)

In November 1926, Avon Park civic figure J. M. Lee won election to the House, becoming the first Avon Park resident to hold the seat.[sos-reports-1921-1962] Reelected in 1928 and 1930, Lee served across three consecutive regular sessions (1927, 1929, and 1931).[flhouse-membership-county]

Lee’s tenure coincided with the aftermath of the 1926 Florida real estate collapse, devastating hurricanes, and the onset of the Great Depression. In the Legislature, Lee concentrated on state gas-tax allocations for county road bonded debt relief, school equalization funding, and measures protecting interior citrus growers.[sos-reports-1921-1962] In 1932, Lee leveraged his legislative record into a successful statewide campaign for Florida State Comptroller, taking office in January 1933 and serving until his death in 1946.

C. E. Lanier (1941 and 1945 Sessions)

Charles Everett Lanier of Avon Park, who had served as the town’s first tax collector upon municipal incorporation in 1913, cashier of the First National Bank of Avon Park, and a member of the county Highway Beautification Board, was elected to the Florida House in November 1940.[flhouse-membership-county] He represented Highlands County during the 1941 session and returned to serve during the 1945 session.[sos-reports-1921-1962]

Lanier’s wartime service was tied directly to state institution siting at Avon Park. During the 1945 session, the Legislature repealed a 1943 wartime act for a venereal disease hospital and passed Chapter 22696, designating Avon Park as the site for the South Florida State Hospital on 210 acres donated by the City of Avon Park.[sos-reports-1921-1962]

J. Morris Adams, Jr. (1963 and 1965 Sessions)

Joseph Morris Adams Jr. (1916–1989) of Avon Park, a World War II armored officer who served with the 717th Tank Battalion and local business owner, was elected in November 1962 to succeed Howard G. Livingston.[people-of-lawmaking] Adams served during the 1963 and 1965 legislative sessions, becoming the final legislator to represent Highlands County as a single-county House district before judicial reapportionment dismantled the historic system.[flhouse-membership-county]

Sebring, Lake Placid, and Basinger Representatives

Between the Avon Park delegations, representatives from Sebring, Lake Placid, and the rural eastern Kissimmee River basin held the county seat:

  • J. E. Sims (Lake Placid): Elected in 1932 and 1934, Sims served in the 1933 and 1935 sessions, focusing on agricultural protection and Lake Placid municipal debt adjustments during the mid-Depression.[sos-reports-1921-1962]
  • Dr. A. T. Eide (Lake Placid): A physician who represented the county in the 1937 session.[flhouse-membership-county]
  • M. C. Whitehurst (Sebring): Served in the 1939 session before continuing a long career as Highlands County Judge.[sos-reports-1921-1962]
  • Howard G. Livingston (Sebring): A Sebring attorney and founder of the county’s oldest law firm, Livingston served five terms in the Florida House: the 1943 wartime session, and four consecutive terms from 1955 through 1962 (1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961 sessions).[flhouse-membership-county] Livingston was an influential voice on legal procedures, local option dry laws, and the establishment of South Florida Junior College in 1958.
  • James W. Moore (Sebring): Served in the House during the 1947 session and was subsequently elected to the Florida Senate for District 27, serving from 1949 to 1951.[sos-reports-1921-1962][flsenate-journal-dist27]
  • Edna Pearce Lockett (Fort Basinger): Cattlewoman Edna Pearce, daughter of pioneer rancher Clifford Pearce, was elected in 1948 and reelected in 1950 and 1952, serving through the 1949, 1951, and 1953 sessions.[people-of-lawmaking] During her tenure as the only woman in the Legislature, she championed cattle industry branding laws and successfully authored Florida’s 1949 statute permitting women to serve on juries.

The Florida Senate: District 27

Throughout the 1921–1967 era, Highlands County was grouped with neighboring rural counties—principally DeSoto, Hardee, and Glades—into the 27th Senatorial District.[flsenate-journal-dist27] Because the district rotated among local leaders across county borders, Highlands County residents held the Senate seat periodically:

  • 1922–1927: Dr. E. J. Etheredge (Sebring / DeSoto City)
  • 1929–1931: W. D. Bell (Arcadia)
  • 1933–1939: H. G. Murphy (Zolfo Springs)
  • 1941–1943: William Cliett (Bowling Green)
  • 1945: Wilbur C. King (Zolfo Springs)
  • 1947: Jeff Flake
  • 1949–1951: James W. Moore (Sebring)
  • 1953–1959: Doyle E. Carlton Jr. (Wauchula)
  • 1961–1963: G. W. (Dick) Williams (Wauchula)
  • 1965: Doyle E. Carlton Jr. (Wauchula)
  • 1967: Ben Hill Griffin Jr. (Frostproof)

Complete Roster of Representation (1921–1967)

Legislative Session Florida House Member Residence Florida Senate District 27 Member Residence
1921 Dr. E. J. Etheredge (DeSoto) DeSoto City Frank M. Cooper / E. J. Etheredge Arcadia / Sebring
1923 John A. Taylor Sebring Dr. E. J. Etheredge Sebring
1925 John A. Taylor Sebring Dr. E. J. Etheredge DeSoto City
1927 J. M. Lee Avon Park Dr. E. J. Etheredge DeSoto City
1929 J. M. Lee Avon Park W. D. Bell Arcadia
1931 J. M. Lee Avon Park W. D. Bell Arcadia
1933 J. E. Sims Lake Placid H. G. Murphy Zolfo Springs
1935 J. E. Sims Lake Placid H. G. Murphy Zolfo Springs
1937 Dr. A. T. Eide Lake Placid H. G. Murphy Zolfo Springs
1939 M. C. Whitehurst Sebring H. G. Murphy Zolfo Springs
1941 C. E. Lanier Avon Park William Cliett Bowling Green
1943 Howard G. Livingston Sebring William Cliett Bowling Green
1945 C. E. Lanier Avon Park Wilbur C. King Zolfo Springs
1947 James W. Moore Sebring Jeff Flake —
1949 Edna Pearce Fort Basinger James W. Moore Sebring
1951 Edna Pearce Fort Basinger James W. Moore Sebring
1953 Edna Pearce Lockett Fort Basinger Doyle E. Carlton Jr. Wauchula
1955 Howard G. Livingston Sebring Doyle E. Carlton Jr. Wauchula
1957 Howard G. Livingston Sebring Doyle E. Carlton Jr. Wauchula
1959 Howard G. Livingston Sebring Doyle E. Carlton Jr. Wauchula
1961 Howard G. Livingston Sebring G. W. Williams Wauchula
1963 J. Morris Adams, Jr. Avon Park G. W. Williams Wauchula
1965 J. Morris Adams, Jr. Avon Park Doyle E. Carlton Jr. Wauchula

Reapportionment and the End of County Seats (1966–1967)

Following the United States Supreme Court’s landmark Baker v. Carr (1962) and Reynolds v. Sims (1964) decisions requiring equal population apportionment under the “one person, one vote” doctrine, federal courts struck down Florida’s 1885 legislative structure in Swann v. Adams (1967).[people-of-lawmaking]

During a transitional 1966–1967 plan, Highlands was joined with DeSoto and Hardee under Representative S. Chesterfield Smith.[flhouse-membership-county] In March 1967, the federal court instituted a sweeping redistricting plan that eliminated single-county House seats. Highlands County was merged into multi-county districts shared with Charlotte, DeSoto, and Sarasota counties, ending forty-six years of exclusive county representation and shifting the legislative center of gravity toward rapidly growing coastal populations.[flhouse-membership-county]

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.
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society

Sources

  1. Florida Secretary of State, Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Florida (Biennial series 1921–1922 through 1961–1962): Rosters of the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate (1963)
  2. Office of the Clerk, Florida House of Representatives, Membership of the Florida House of Representatives by County, 1845–2026 (2026)
  3. Office of the Clerk, Florida House of Representatives, The People of Lawmaking in Florida, 1822–2024 (2024)
  4. Florida Senate, Historical Records of the Florida Senate: District 27 Membership, 1885–1967 (2026)
  5. Legislature of the State of Florida, Chapter 8513, Laws of Florida 1921: An Act to Create and Establish the County of Highlands in the State of Florida (1921)

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