I have moved a couple times within a year, having to update my new bank (which is Bank of America)…read morewithin 10 days and my SS ckg was almost immediately! Praise the Lord. There IS a Lord!

It's never fun to plan a trip to Social Security, but if you cooperate with the new appointment…read moresystem, you get through in good time. I've observed the officer on duty to be professional and helpful, even when dealing with emotional clients. The staff has always been efficient & friendly in solving my concerns.

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!

Along US-98, the Lorida School House in Lorida, Florida, is a preserved historic rural school…read morebuilding dating back to 1925 and rebuilt in 1934. It quickly became the center of community life. Beyond teaching grades one through eight, it hosted church services, socials, elections, and holiday events. During the Depression, the outdoor canning kitchen behind the school was vital, giving families a place to preserve food together. The marker reads, "The first school house in the Lorida community, the Sunnyland School, was built on this site in 1925. A 1933 hurricane destroyed the school, and the Civilian Conservation Corps rebuilt it using the original plans and identical materials. The school reopened from April 1934 until early 1956 for grades one through eight, and later kindergarten. The Rev. Joseph Reish was the principal and his wife, Margaret, was a teacher. The school term was six months long with four teachers and about 80 students. During the Great Depression, an outdoor community canning kitchen was built behind the school house. This four-room vernacular school house was built of cedar and pine on a brick pier foundation. It exhibits a low-pitched hip roof with exposed clipped rafter ends, and was covered with diamond-shaped, tin shingles. The floors are varnished wood with a recessed front entrance. The building has remained essentially unchanged. The community restored the school house in 1976 as a project for the United States Bicentennial. Over the years, it served as a place for the community to gather for a variety of purposes and represents one of the few remaining rural school houses in Florida." Its cedar and pine construction, diamond tin shingles, and varnished floors reflect both durability and simplicity. Students often helped maintain the building, and the short school term matched the rhythms of farm life. After closing in the 1950s, the school continued as a gathering place until its restoration in 1976. Today, it stands largely unchanged, a rare surviving rural schoolhouse that embodies both education and community resilience in small-town Florida. [Review 1456 of 2025 - 2140 in Florida - 25009 overall]

Closed on the Monday when I was passing through Bartow but I got to at least enjoy the outside of…read morethis massive structure that used to be the Polk County Courthouse and is now the History Center. The new Justice Center towers above, across the street. There is a historical marker out front that provides some history. It reads, "Polk County was established February 8, 1861 formed from eastern Hillsborough County and western Brevard County and comprised one of two counties created after the state's secession from the union. Polk County was named after James Knox Polk the eleventh president of the United States. Polk served from 1845 to 1849, and was the first president to hold office after Florida achieved statehood. The turbulent 1860's saw Polk's seat of government changed several times. Located first at Mud Lake, the county seat soon moved to Jefferson, a surveyed town site within the present day limits of Bartow. Court and County records were maintained in the home of the county clerk the Reverend Jeremiah Hayman at Six Mile Creek. In 1867 cattleman Jacob Summerlin donated 120 acres of land at Bartow for a town site and seat of county government. Several courthouses have existed at this site, built in 1867, 1884 and 1909." It is marker number F-549 and was erected in 2005 by the Polk County Historical Commission and the Florida Department of State. The building was designed by Edward Columbus Hosford with contributions from Francis J. Kennard in a Classical Revival composition. The style is unmistakable: a symmetrical facade, strong classical massing, and a clock tower rising above the roofline. A series of earlier courthouses stood on this same ground, beginning with an 1867 structure, then an 1884 replacement, and finally the 1909 building that survives today. The facade's classical detailing, the clock tower, and the building's balanced proportions all reflect a period when counties across the South were asserting their permanence through monumental architecture. Inside, the building now houses the Polk County History Center, and the county offers regular architectural tours that highlight the structure's Neo‑Classical features and the stories behind its construction. Just not on Monday. [Review 1612 of 2025 - 2189 in Florida - 25160 overall]

The Polk County History Center is located in the historic 1908 Courthouse located on Main Street in…read moreBartow. I love this trend of turning these historic courthouses into history museums when their cities outgrow the space. These old courthouses are designed in an elegant Neoclassical design. They also made courthouses into museums in Orlando and West Palm Beach. The 1908 courthouse in Bartow served as the Polk County Courthouse from 1908 until 1987. In 1988 the building was turned into the Polk County History Center and Genealogical Research Library. In 1989 the courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Admission to the museum is free and there is free street parking. You start your self guided tour with a video exhibition guide. The museum has 11 permanent and four temporary galleries over two floors.On the first floor is a gift shop and 7 galleries that cover history from the pioneers to the industrialists. Displays include what school was like at the turn of the century, early 1900's women's fashion, World Series championships, area landmarks, fishing, lost attractions, historic Dixie Hwy, Publix, Coke a Cola, trains, the citrus industry, cattle ranching, pioneers, and African-Americans in early Polk County. On the second floor there are two restored courtrooms, one from 1908 and one from 1926, the genealogical library, displays about Polk County's military history and the paleo Indians including, a dugout canoe from 400-570 AD, an arts and culture gallery, and displays about women's suffrage, In the temporary gallery they were having a quilt exhibit. I love that the courthouse is rumored to be haunted. A lady in white has been reported on the second and third floors and screams have been heard in the basement. Some guests have reported cold spots. As you walk around the galleries it is not too difficult to imagine that this building is haunted. I had a very nice time exploring the museums collection of fossils, clothing, military relics, and household items. The Polk County History Center is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. This is a really great museum with a wide range of items s that will appeal to everyone and it's free. Come out and learn about the history of Polk County and Florida's heritage.

Beautiful historic home. Would love to tour the inside but a drive by in the beautiful neighborhood…read morewill have to do.

This is a historic house located in downtown Bartow at 590 East Stanford Street. Named the Benjamin…read moreFranklin Holland House,, it is also known as The Gables and the Roy Trent Gallemore House. The house was built in 1895 and was designed by architect E.R. Wharton. The two and a half story house is in the frame vernacular style with shingle elements and it is considered one of the best examples of a shingle style home in Florida. There is a one story wraparound screen entrance porch. Benjamin Franklin Holland was known in Bartow as a pioneer and a public servant. He was born in Carroll County, Ga., in 1846. When he was 17 he was a Confederate soldier in a battle at Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia that saw half of his company killed. During the battle he was wounded and by the time he recovered the Civil War was over. To heal from a shattered hand and tuberculosis he moved to Polk county where he married and had three children. He founded Polk's first abstract business and served in three county offices: school board member, county commissioner and county treasurer. One of his children became Florida governor Spessard Holland who grew up in the home. The house was listed on the US Register of Historic Places in 1975. It is a private residence so you can only view it from the street but it is a beautiful home and worth a drive by if you are in the area.