Many remember the time during January – as citrus season is fully manifest – Winter Haven would host a grand celebration featuring parades, banquets, nationally broadcast radio and television shows, massive displays of fresh fruit, and carnival shows such as the James E. Strates company with rides (including the double Ferris wheel) overlooking Lake Silver. Crowds converge on the 1949 entrance to the Florida Citrus Exposition — this scene from Third St. at Avenue D, NW. Woode

ORIGINS & EARLY GROWTH (1500S–LATE 1800S) Oranges were first planted in Florida by early Spanish explorers (near St. Augustine) and over centuries citrus spread across the peninsula; commercial-scale production expanded after the Civil War when railroads enabled shipping to northern markets. Central Florida — including Polk County — became a major citrus-growing region in the late 19th century as settlers planted groves and rail links allowed crate shipments (many of the deco

Carol Burnett recently celebrated her 92nd birthday. She is currently among the stars of “Palm Royale” on Apple TV. She spent seven decades sharing her acting and comedic talents. Winter Haven played a role with Burnett in the early days of her career. It was January 1961 and Robert “Bobby” Hiers just returned to Winter Haven from working on an oil pipeline in the western U. S.. The twenty-nine-year-old Hiers moved here from Georgia with his family in 1938 and graduated from

In the early 1940s Winter Haven was no different than many other U.S. cities as its energies were directed to the World War II effort. Citizens learned what “blackouts” were (keeping lights out and/or shades drawn at night) and how to prevent both homes and businesses from becoming bombing targets at night. Air raid warnings were practiced, and a block system of communication helped individuals and families prepare for the possibility of attack. Children in schools were finge

It is only slightly ironic that one of the oldest continuously operating restaurants in Winter Haven is the Sixth Street McDonald’s....

Yes there were. Many people do not realize that during World War II, Winter Haven was home to a POW (Prisoner of War) camp. It was...

As 1936 began, Dick and Julie Pope would host the grand opening of their park on January 2. Many local leaders had serious doubts about...

Dick and Julie Pope are remembered (respectively) by many Havenites as the flamboyant and gracious founders of Cypress Gardens. Their...

Having survived the implosion of the Florida Boom in 1926, Florida was well on its way to recovery when the factors of the Great...

As Winter Haven entered the1920s the U.S. Census listed the population at 1597 people - a small but motivated populace that had embarked...

Polk County’s population increased by 93 percent between 1900 and 1910. Winter Haven’s population more than tripled from 429 to 1436...

WINTER HAVEN’S EARLY HISTORIC AFRICAN AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Florence Villa Station In the late 1990s Winter Haven completed a series of...

HENRY SNELL OPENS WINTER HAVEN’S FIRST BANK In 1892 a man named Henry W. Snell left his home in Georgia and relocated to the Polk County...

FREDERICK INMAN, M.D. AND FLORENCE VILLA In 1887 Dr. Frederick William Inman and his wife Florence Jewett Inman came to the area from...

The railroad brought development to central Florida and Polk County. Travel guides and brochures from the 1870s and 1880s describe the...

ABOUT THE CHINABERRY TREE In the beginning years of Winter Haven’s history, the early 1900s, a Chinaberry tree grew in the east-bound...