Hicoria went from sleepy settlement to boom town overnight in 1929. Six years later, it again retreated into obscurity.
Highlands County
Highlands County in Central Florida boasts a rich history. Originally inhabited by Seminole Indians, the area was officially established in 1923 when it broke away from DeSoto County. Known for its rolling hills, lakes, and wetlands, Highlands County has traditionally thrived on cattle ranching and citrus groves.
Hicoria, Florida went up in smoke
Reed’s Motel and its Diving Lady
In 1957, W. L. and Ruth Bennett constructed a roadside hotel on US Highway 27 in Avon Park. They called it the Bennett Motel. In the days before interstates, Highway 27 was a primary artery for folks traveling to South...
Racial Violence Threatened in 1925 Sebring
Many people in Sebring today like to have rose-colored glasses about race relations in the town's history. Inescapably, Sebring was a typical segregated Southern town with plenty of racist ideals. In September of 1925, the finishing touches were being put...
Lorida Memories Book: June 26, 1976
This is a small-run book that was written by a typewriter. Copies were made and hand-stapled to be distributed to local pioneers at the First Annual Lorida Schoolhouse Reunion in 1976. A second book was printed for the 1977 reunion....
Early Population of Highlands County
Highlands County PopulationYearTotalWhiteBlackHispanicNativeAsianOther18801885189019001910192019309,1936,5112,677004193511,0867,8613,224000119409,2877,3391,889230036194516,25213,3552,8930004Sebring Population19201,3131,13717619303,2502,42881819353,6752,6281,04719403,1552,41773719457,1896,0711,115Avon Park Population18901900191028519201,6981,2744041919303,3552,42892719353,4232,48194219403,1652,42374219454,3573,432924Lake Placid (Lake Stearns) Population19201930819536283193594869325519403403221819451,252870382Venus Population19201930193537733740194035526986194524019743Hicoria Population192019305501633871935622287335194012912541945655114Lorida (Istokpoga) Population19201930991935111111019402011891219452362360Bassenger (Ft. Bassenger) Population1920193019351501005019401945Cornwell Population1920193019351940194550500Brighton Population19201930193511092181940194532320DeSoto City Population1920193038029882193529121180194013189923101945246116130Avon Park Lakes Population1920193019351,24979345619401945
Cardinals Played in Avon Park from 1927-1929
The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 1926, so it was with much excitement in Avon Park when the tiny "scenic ridge" town was announced as their spring home. The Red Birds signed a three-year contract to play...
Mary Toney was a bus driver turned six-term politician
Mary Toney was born in 1933 and moved to Sebring as a toddler. She graduated from E. O. Douglas High School in Sebring, class of 1951. At 48, she worked as a school bus driver and decided to run for...
Avon Park City Council Throws Out All Black Votes in 1951 Election
The good old boy system of Avon Park was shaken to its core in 1949. That September, five out of six incumbents were voted out of office. Among the newly-elected was young Wiley Sauls, who was just 21. The story...
Lastinger Family were first to settle pioneer Lake Placid
Joshua Berrien Lastinger decided that his idea of a garden paradise was the wild lake country of southern Highlands County. One of the few surviving photos of Lake Placid’s first white settler, Joshua Berrien Lastinger, comes from a 1904 family reunion....
Tom the Turkey of Pabor Lake
Every town needs a mascot. In the Pabor Lake, it was a friendly fowl who narrowly evaded becoming Thanksgiving dinner. Every town needs a mascot, and the Pabor Lake Colony had a right-friendly one named Tom. Arguably the fowl became...