Avon Park is a city in Highlands County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,658, up from 8,836 at the 2010 census but down from the 2018 estimated population of 10,695. It is part of the Sebring, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the oldest city in Highlands County, and was named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

History

The first permanent white 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. As president of the Florida Development Company, he recruited settlers to the area, many of whom were from England, including many from the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, who gave the town its name.

Gough v. State

In September 1949, the city elected the youngest mayor in United States history at the time, 21-year-old Wiley Sauls Jr., largely due to the votes of the second precinct, which was populated mostly by black residents. Sauls Jr. received 76% of the precinct's votes, and he went from third out of five candidates to first and usurped incumbent mayor O. C. Wilkes, who only received 20 votes from the second precinct.

In the following city-wide election on September 11, 1951, the second precinct was allowed for the first time to be staffed and managed by its majority black populace. The overseeing inspector of the second precinct and the second precinct's clerks were all black. Wilkes challenged Sauls Jr. for the mayorship, and he received a slim eight vote majority in the first precinct, but Sauls Jr. received 92.5% of the votes in the second precinct and comfortably defeated Wilkes. Two new city councilmen, Mannin Kirkland and J. B. Sparks, were also elected to the city council largely due to the votes of the second precinct.

The incumbent city council met four days after the election and heard Wilkes' protest, who claimed that there were voter irregularities in the second precinct and that they should install him as mayor. The city council refused Wilkes' demands, but he began lobbying local influencers and convinced the council to convene a special session on September 25. Wilkes alleged in this second meeting that the second precinct had not returned all of its blank ballots after the election and that this called into question the validity of the results. The council voted 3–1, with one abstention, to throw out the votes of the second precinct, which prompted Wilkes to immediately begin acting as mayor, while Kirkland and Sparks were to be replaced by E. W. Gough and Oscar Wolff.

Sauls Jr., Kirkland, and Sparks hired attorney Keith Collyer, who argued that it was unlawful that a mere claim of irregularities would give the council the authority to install themselves into office in the face of a challenge to their power. While the circuit court sided with Sauls Jr., Kirkland, and Sparks, and demanded that the three be put into power, Wilkes and the council through attorney S. C. Pardee Sr. pushed the case upwards through the judicial system and also began to argue that the second precinct's inspector, W. J. Robinson, had helped people to cast their ballots. The Supreme Court of Florida also voted in favor of Sauls Jr., Kirkland, and Sparks, and the three were then installed as mayor and councilmen respectively and put municipal governments on notice that they did not have the authority to invalidate an election in order to remain in power.

1950s military plane crashes

On November 4, 1950, a Republic F-84 Thunderjet being flown by 22-year-old Donald Floyd Whiston of the United States Air Force from Naval Air Station Albany (formerly Turner Air Force Base) during training for the Korean War, crashed into the ground, killing Whiston, at the Avon Park Air Force Range, just northeast of the city, after apparently stalling in the sky.

Less than eight years later, on March 21, 1958, a Boeing B-47 Stratojet being flown from MacDill Air Force Base crashed into the ground at Avon Park Air Force Range. All four occupants were killed in the resulting explosion.

2006 Illegal Immigrant Relief Act

In 2006, then mayor Thomas Macklin proposed City Ordinance 08-06, or the Illegal Immigrant Relief Act, which would have blocked the issuance or renewal of city licenses to businesses that hired undocumented aliens, fined any property owner who rented and leased property to undocumented aliens, and established English as the city's official language, banning the use of other languages during the conduct of official business except where specified under state or federal law. In the weeks before the vote, local businesses saw a drop in sales as immigrants became wary of coming into shop and droves of workers stopped showing up to local farms out of fear of being arrested. The ordinance was defeated by the city council, on a 3–2 vote.

Geography

Avon Park is located in northwestern Highlands County at 27°35′40″N 81°30′12″W / 27.59444°N 81.50333°W / 27.59444; -81.50333 (27.594418, –81.503437). 27/98 is the main highway through the city, leading north 23 miles (37 km) to Lake Wales and south 10 miles (16 km) to Sebring. Florida State Road 17 (Main Street) leads east through the center of Avon Park, then south 10 miles to the center of Sebring. Florida State Road 64 leads west from Avon Park 19 miles (31 km) to Zolfo Springs.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Avon Park has a total area of 8.2 square miles (21.2 km²), of which 7.1 square miles (18.5 km²) are land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km²), or 12.43%, are water.

The city is located in a karst landscape underlain by the limestone Florida Platform, and numerous circular lakes are either within the city limits (Lake Tulane, Lake Verona, and Lake Isis) or border the city (Lake Anoka, Lake Lelia, Lake Glenada, Lake Lotela, Lake Denton, Little Red Water Lake, Pioneer Lake, Lake Brentwood, Lake Byrd, Lake Damon, and Lake Lillian).

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and warm winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Avon Park has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa).

Climate data for Avon Park, Florida, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–2022
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	90 (32)	94 (34)	96 (36)	98 (37)	102 (39)	103 (39)	103 (39)	102 (39)	101 (38)	98 (37)	93 (34)	92 (33)	103 (39)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	84.1 (28.9)	85.8 (29.9)	88.4 (31.3)	91.6 (33.1)	94.9 (34.9)	96.4 (35.8)	96.1 (35.6)	96.0 (35.6)	94.5 (34.7)	91.2 (32.9)	87.6 (30.9)	85.0 (29.4)	97.6 (36.4)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	73.0 (22.8)	76.4 (24.7)	80.0 (26.7)	84.7 (29.3)	89.4 (31.9)	91.4 (33.0)	91.8 (33.2)	92.3 (33.5)	90.2 (32.3)	86.1 (30.1)	79.7 (26.5)	75.4 (24.1)	84.2 (29.0)
Daily mean °F (°C)	61.1 (16.2)	64.2 (17.9)	67.7 (19.8)	72.6 (22.6)	77.8 (25.4)	81.3 (27.4)	82.4 (28.0)	82.8 (28.2)	81.2 (27.3)	76.1 (24.5)	68.9 (20.5)	64.2 (17.9)	73.4 (23.0)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	49.2 (9.6)	52.0 (11.1)	55.4 (13.0)	60.5 (15.8)	66.1 (18.9)	71.3 (21.8)	73.0 (22.8)	73.3 (22.9)	72.3 (22.4)	66.2 (19.0)	58.1 (14.5)	53.0 (11.7)	62.5 (16.9)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	31.1 (−0.5)	34.7 (1.5)	39.4 (4.1)	46.4 (8.0)	55.8 (13.2)	66.2 (19.0)	68.9 (20.5)	69.0 (20.6)	66.1 (18.9)	51.3 (10.7)	42.8 (6.0)	35.5 (1.9)	29.6 (−1.3)
Record low °F (°C)	18 (−8)	23 (−5)	23 (−5)	34 (1)	44 (7)	51 (11)	60 (16)	61 (16)	58 (14)	38 (3)	29 (−2)	20 (−7)	18 (−8)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	2.42 (61)	2.01 (51)	2.61 (66)	2.63 (67)	3.86 (98)	9.24 (235)	7.41 (188)	7.56 (192)	7.45 (189)	3.26 (83)	2.16 (55)	2.07 (53)	52.68 (1,338)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.7	6.7	14.6	16.3	15.7	13.8	7.8	5.6	5.8	109.9
Source: NOAA

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1920	890	—
1930	3,355	277.0%
1940	3,125	−6.9%
1950	4,612	47.6%
1960	6,073	31.7%
1970	6,712	10.5%
1980	8,026	19.6%
1990	8,042	0.2%
2000	8,542	6.2%
2010	8,836	3.4%
2020	9,658	9.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 and 2020 census

**Avon Park racial composition**
(Hispanics excluded from racial categories)
(*NH = Non-Hispanic*)
Race	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White (NH)	3,647	3,933	41.27%	40.72%
Black or African American (NH)	2,363	2,544	26.74%	26.34%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)	20	25	0.23%	0.26%
Asian (NH)	70	55	0.79%	0.57%
Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)	1	4	0.01%	0.04%
Some other race (NH)	21	17	0.24%	0.18%
Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)	138	267	1.56%	2.76%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2,576	2,813	29.15%	29.13%
Total	8,836	9,658

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,658 people, 3,787 households, and 2,420 families residing in the city.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 8,836 people, 3,146 households, and 2,146 families residing in the city.

Transportation

Avon Park Executive Airport is a public-use airport located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the central business district.

Education

Public schools

Avon Elementary School
Park Elementary School
Memorial Elementary School
Avon Park Middle School
Avon Park High School

Private schools

Walker Memorial Academy
Central Florida Academy
Parkview Pre-K LLC
Community Christian Academy
Cornerstone Christian Academy

Colleges

South Florida State College

Media

Television

Avon Park is located in a fringe viewing area; its television stations originate in distant cities. Local television services offer signals from WFTV, the ABC affiliate in Orlando; WINK-TV, the CBS affiliate in Fort Myers/Naples; WFLA-TV, the Tampa Bay area NBC affiliate; and WTVT, the Tampa Bay area Fox affiliate.

Radio

Avon Park is in the Sebring radio market, which is ranked as the 288th largest in the United States by Arbitron. Radio stations broadcasting from Avon Park include WAVP/1390 (Adult Hits), WAPQ-LP/95.9 (Religious), WWOJ/99.1 (Country) "OJ99.1" & WWMA-LP/107.9 (Religious).

Newspapers

Local print media includes the News-Sun, a newspaper published on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Highlands Today, a daily local supplement to The Tampa Tribune that covered events in Highlands County, was bought by and merged into The Highlands News Sun in 2016.

Points of interest

Lake Verona is located within the city of Avon Park.

Avon Park Air Force Range
Avon Park Historic District
Lake Adelaide
Lake Isis
Lake Tulane
Lake Verona

Notable people

David A. Brodie (1867–1951) – agriculturist and college football coach
Red Causey (1893–1960) – MLB player
Eric Cheape (1885–1973) – college football player
Derrick Crawford (born 1979) – NFL player
Shelby Dressel (born 1990) – country singer-songwriter
Nick Gordon (born 1995) – MLB player
Tom Gordon (born 1967) – MLB player and sports commentator
Ben H. Griffin Jr. (1910–1990) – businessman, philanthropist, and politician
Dee Hart (born 1992) – NFL player
Hal McRae (born 1945) – MLB player and manager
Conrad H. Moehlman (1879–1961) – Baptist author and emeritus professor of church history
Bernice Mosby (born 1984) – WNBA and WKBL basketball player
Deanie Parrish (1922–2022) – U.S. Army Air Force aviator for WASP during World War II
Charles K. Pringle (1931–2024) – politician
Howard E. Skipper (1915–2006) – U.S. Army Chemical Corps researcher and oncologist
Dee Strange-Gordon (born 1988) – MLB player
Ernie Steury (1930–2002) – physician and Christian missionary
Leslie Wolfsberger (born 1959) – Olympic gymnast

Avon Park, Florida facts for kids

Contents