Lakeland’s Growing: Check Out These Awesome Facts
Lakeland, Florida and its Growth History of Lakeland, Florida Florida became a state in 1845, and Polk County was established in 1861. After the American Civil War, the county seat was established southeast of Lakeland in Bartow. While most of Polk County’s early history centered on the two cities of Bartow and Fort Meade, eventually, people entered the areas in northern Polk County and began settling in the areas which became Lakeland. Lakeland was first settled in the 1870s and began to develop as the rail lines reached the area in 1884. Freedmen settled here in 1883, starting the development of what became the African-American neighborhood of Moorehead. Lakeland was incorporated on January 1, 1885. The town was founded by Abraham Munn (a resident of Louisville, Kentucky), who purchased 80 acres (320,000 m2) of land in what is now downtown Lakeland in 1882 and platted the land for the town in 1884. The name of the Lakeland is due to the many lakes near the townsite. Introduction Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. The westernmost city in Polk County, is part of the Tampa Bay Area. According to the 2013 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 100,710. Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area (coterminous with Polk County). Which had an estimated population of 623,009 in July 2013 based on data from the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research. The …