This marker stands in Bartow Civic Plaza and points out the history of this small Central Florida…read morecity. The front reads, "Settlement of the City of Bartow began in 1850 with the arrival of James D. and Eliza W. Green. In 1851, the Blount family, led by patriarch Readding Blount, settled near the site and eventually purchased the Green homestead. This site would become the homestead for members of the Blount extended family and twelve enslaved persons forming the earliest pioneer community at what was then known as Peas Creek. "The Third Seminole War (1855-1858) brought renewed uncertainty to the growing community. Families sought safety in numbers prompting the construction of a block house at the Blount family homestead, leading to the area being known as Fort Blount. "During the American Civil War, the post office at Fort Blount was named Bartow in recognition of war veteran Francis S. Bartow (C.S.A). In 1866, wealthy cattle baron, Jacob Summerlin donated 120 acres of his land in Bartow for public use. Summerlin's land grant included 40 acres for a courthouse, establishing Bartow as the seat of government for Polk County." And the reverse, "On July 1, 1882. twenty-two male residents of the community, both black and white, voted to incorporate the City of Bartow. These residents adopted a city seal to include the Latin phrase, "Rus In Irbe" which was later rewritten to "Urbs in Rure" meaning "town in the country." 1882 Incorporation Voters: F.F. Beville, S.C. Cochran, W P. Ferrell, J.F. Gatlin, C.C. Gresham, G.A. Hanson, D.K. Hodges, D. Hughes, J. Humphries, P. Johnson, J.M. Lewis, L. Lytle, T. Mimms, P. Moore, S. Newman, T.C. Pearce, W.H. Pearce, E.S. Roden, G.W. Smith, J. Snoddy, T. Tucker, F. Wilson." This is marker number PCHC-039 and it was erected in 2024 by The City of Bartow Polk County Historical Commission. There is plenty of street parking nearby. [Review 1614 of 2025 - 2191 in Florida - 25162 overall]

This is the historic home of African-American pioneer Lawrence Bernard Brown. The house is located…read moreat 470 L.B. Brown Avenue, Bartow, Florida. Mr. Brown was born into slavery in 1856 near Gainesville and he had limited formal education during his lifetime. Despite these setbacks Mr. Brown became a self taught master carpenter. He arrived in Bartow in the late 1880's and he became one of Polk County's most successful businessmen and community leaders. At the time of his death in 1941, Mr. Brown had accumulated a half a million dollars. Lawrence Brown was named "A Great Floridian" by the Florida Department of State. Mr. Brown purchased a plot of land, cleared it and in 1892 he built a 1,700 square foot, two story Victorian. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is believed to be the only home built by a formerly enslaved person to still exist in Florida. The street going past the house was renamed L.B. Brown Ave. in his honor. Mr. Brown and his wife Anna Belle went on to have seven children but only one of them had a child. That child never had children so there are no direct family descendants. Mr. Brown and his wife are buried in Evergreen Cemetery. The house eventually became abandoned and it deteriorated. It was slated for demolition by the city but they were reluctant to destroy it.. In the late 1990's Clifton Lewis, president of Corporation Of Neighborhood Improvement and other Bartow residents began restoration on the home and over two years returned it to it's original grandeur. Every year in mid February, Bartow holds an annual L.B. Brown Festival to celebrate the life of L.B. Brown. You can call for guided tours of the home (863) 944-6136. When the house is closed you are free to tour the exterior and out buildings. Parking is available in the field next to the house.

An amazing piece of history sitting right there in Bartow, Florida…read more We went as a field trip with our homeschool group. The folks in charge here are so passionate about their work. The tours are informative and thorough. Split into a tour of the outside, downstairs inside and upstairs inside, our tour was led by three different people. All amazing, full of educational information and clearly excited to share their knowledge. Feel free to ask questions! They love to engage in conversation about Mr. LB Brown, his history and the home they've worked so hard to preserve. It's a beautiful place, inside and out. It's a little sad that it's not more popular for school field trips from schools in the area. It's sitting there waiting, with people ready to share! The kids in our group were moved and excited to learn so much. Afterwards, there was lots of conversation about LB Brown! That says something! Very happy to have had the opportunity to check out the LB Brown House!

The Saint Anne Shrine may be one of the most unique religious sites in Central Florida. There is a…read more100 year old shrine in the middle of a residential neighborhood that is across the street from a lake. The history of Saint Anne dates back to the 1920's when a contingent of French speaking Catholics came from Canada to Florida to escape winter. Six miles outside of Lake Wales they built a shrine to St. Anne de Beaupre, Mary's mother and the grandmother of Jesus at their winter retreat. On the south shore of Saint Anne Lake, fellow Canadian and winter resident Napoleon Pelletier helped them to build a white chapel, a towering grotto that was a replica of the site where the Virgin Mary appeared at Lourdes in France, a pedestal with a statue of Jesus Christ. and a tiered monument to Saint Theresa. A moat was added surrounding the grotto and a bridge to cross it was built out of native Florida rock. It didn't take long for the faithful to began to flocking to the shrine. One of the stories say these included French artist, Francies Marsollier and his son stricken with tuberculosis. He pledged to dedicate his life to beautifying the shrine if his son would live. As the son began to heal, Francies painted murals in the church and created sculptures for the grounds. Another story had Napolean Pelletier arriving at the lake with his son stricken with cancer and when the boy was healed by the water of the lake, Pelletier stayed and built the shrine. As word spread of the healing powers of the lake, more people came to visit the shrine including a Catholic Bishop to bless the cross Franciers made. At its height of fame, thousands of people would show up for the Feast of St. Anne on July 26th. During WWII people stopped coming. By the early 1960s, the Catholic Diocese of Orlando de-sanctified the church and tore it down. The sculptures made by Franciers were taken to other churches or lost. In the 1980's a priest attempted to sell the shrine as a housing lot but the neighbors came together to prevent the sale and saved what was left of the shrine. Today you can still see the remains of the shrine by the lake and the grotto. To find the grotto look for the white cross between houses 1233 and 1270. In the grotto area is the grave of Napolean Pelletie. The marker says Napolean was born in Canada in 1857 and he passed away on March 7, 1942. According to the marker he is credited with building and maintaining the shrine while he was alive. Based on the offerings left it looks like the shrine is still being used today. It is so peaceful and serene here. I was the only person on a weekday. If you are visiting downtown Lake Wales it is only about a 15 minute drive out to the shrine.

So beautiful and calming. I call myself fortunate that I live near this beautiful shine. It's a…read moreplace to go when you need peace in your soul.

The historical home El Retiro was beautiful. We paid the extra $10 per person to do the tour, and…read morewe loved it. The tiling of the home gives me true future home ideas. The tour guides were super sweet and helpful. The house had two floors and was nice and warm when we visited, which was very cold that day. I was able to take home two recipe cards that I can't wait to try. Definitely wish I lived in this home.

I don't know why it took me so long to check out this place. Maybe because I already had an annual…read morepass and I have to pay more to get in. What a pleasant surprise. This was a cool place. To be so rich that you come only in Jan & Feb to enjoy the Florida weather. This place is still functional. There outlets, & working elevators. I love the architecture of this building. I love how it was decorated for the holidays. This is now a museums. Back in the days Bok tower used to hosted dinners, a huge Christmas decorations celebrations. Now it's an official museum so it's only to walk through. $5 for members & $7 for non members. Honestly, this is one and done. It's cool but will I go back. For what not sure.

This Marker is located on West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard east of South Howard Street, on…read morethe left when traveling west. It was erected in 1985 by The First United Methodist Church, Rev. W. Ernest Dorrell, Pastor; Rev. R.C. Joyner, Parish Minister. The marker commemorates the site of Plant City's first church building. It was built in 1850 by the Methodist congregation that was established at Ichepucksassa by Rev. Samuel Knight. The congregation was an organization of the Shiloh Baptist Church. They decided to move from the small town Shiloh located two miles north, to Plant City when it was newly formed. The church was built under the supervision of Rev. T.J. Phillips. At the time it was dedicated in December 1885 by W.H. Potter, D.D. of Macon, Georgia, the membership totaled 70 people. Although the building is now longer standing there is a United Methodist Church in Plant City at 303 N Evers St. The United Methodist branch of Christianity was created by joining together The Evangelical United Brethren Church and The Methodist Church.

Located in the downtown George Town, Grand Cayman Island, Heroes Square is a plaza and memorial…read moresite created to honor the Cayman Islands' Heroes and celebrate its cultural history. It was created in 2003, and is an easy walk from the cruise port and was very well maintained. I spent time walking through the dedications and reading the inscriptions. There are sculptures there as well, with one being three spheres installation, serving as a fountain and homage to the three Cayman Islands.

I love 1920s architecture so I made a point to stop by this old school when I was in Haines City…read morefor the 39 Mile Scenic Highway Yard Sale. They don't make schools like this gorgeous beauty anymore. The Old Central Grammar School is also known as the Haines City Middle School Annex or as the Fellowship Dining-Ridge. The school was built in 1925 by Paul Smith. Edward Columbus Hosford (April 24, 1883 - January 2, 1939) was the architect on the project and he designed it in the Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Revival styles which were very ornate and popular in the 1920's. Hosford was a noted American architect who designed courthouses and many other buildings throughout Florida, Georgia, and Texas. In 1909 Hosford designed the old Polk County Courthouse now a museum in Bartow and 1926 he designed the old Lakeland High School. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 17, 1994. For several years the building was a community theatre before becoming part of Daniel Jenkins Academy of Technology, a middle school in the Polk County Public Schools District. Sadly this building looks to be abandoned and is surrounded by a fence. I hope Haines City finds a way to save this historic building and repurpose it as a history museum or cultural arts center as many other Florida towns have preserved their grand old buildings.

This historic school was built in 1925 and was added to the National Register of Historic places in…read more1994. The building looks to be in a state of disrepair but is still a beautiful example of Mediterranean and Spanish Revival style. It was used for a long time as a community theatre and later became a Haines City Middle School. This location is listed on Roadtrippers as one of the off the beaten places to visit.

I love finding a historical marker. They are filled with nuggets of interesting history about the…read moresurrounding area. I found this one while driving through Central Florida in Polk County on my way to Kissimmee. This marker was erected in 1966 by the Polk County Historical Commission. When the government enacted the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the army was sent to drive all of the Native American out west on the Trail of Tears. The Seminoles resisted and the Second Seminole War broke out. Forts like this one on Lake Alfred were set up all across Florida to aid the US army in their mission. Fort Cummings was established on January 22,1839 and named for Col. Alexander Cummings of the Fourth Infantry. It was part of the forts in Central Florida protecting the supply line from Fort Brooke, Tampa to Fort Mellon, Sanford. In 1841 the fort was moved 1/2 mile west of the original location. In 1841 it was the site of a meeting between Seminole Chief Coacochee and Colonel William Jenkins Worth. The fort was abandoned later that year. There are no remains of the fort today, but the site is designated by a historic marker located at the intersection of South Lake Shore Way and West Pierce Street in present-day Lake Alfred, Florida.