History
Highlands County
is northwest of Lake Okeechobee and is bordered by Okeechobee, De Soto,
Glades, Hardee, and Polk counties. The county has 78 square miles of
water. The average January temperature is 63.2 degrees F, and the average
August temperature is 81.8 degrees F. The average
annual rainfall is 52.22 inches.
Avon Park,
The first permanent settler in Avon Park was Oliver Martin Crosby,
a Connecticut native who moved to the area in 1884 to study the wildlife
of the Everglades. By 1886, enough people had followed that the town
of "Lake Forest" was founded. An English woman who had settled
in the area convinced Crosby that the area was reminiscent of her home
of Stratford-upon-Avon, and persuaded him to change the name of the
settlement to Avon Park.
The City of Avon Park operates under a Council-Manager form of government,
with a City Manager who operates under the direction of an elected four-member
council and mayor. The city also provides police and fire protection,
and water and sewer service to its residents
Lake Placid
Lake Placid was formerly called Lake Stearns, chartered on December
1, 1925. Dr. Melvil Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal System,
and the founder of the Lake Placid Club, proposed that Lake Stearns
change its name to Lake Placid. On April 29, 1927 the Lake Stearns Commissioners
accepted Dr. Dewey's proposal to change the town's name from Lake Stearns
to Lake Placid. Subsequently, they submitted a request to the Florida
State Legislature. On June 6, 1927 The Town of Lake Stearns was chartered
as Lake Placid.
Sebring
Sebring was founded in 1912. It was named after George Sebring, a pottery
manufacturer from Ohio who developed the city. It was chartered by the
state of Florida in 1913, and was selected as the county seat of Highlands
County. when the county was created in 1921
Sebring is nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference
to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring
Downtown Historic District.
Sebring is the home of the Sebring International Raceway, created on
a former airbase, first used in 1950. It hosted the 1959 Formula One
United States Grand Prix, but is currently best known as the host of
the 12 Hours of Sebring, an annually held American Le Mans Series race.
Venus is an unincorporated community in southeastern Highlands
County, Florida, United States. It is located on County Road 731 off
US 27.
Major industries in Venus include citrus growing and cattle raising.
Venus also boasts a private campground and a general store. Due to the
availability of one-acre mobile home sites in the area, Venus has recently
attracted a growing, diverse population.
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