Winter Haven : Our History

Chief Chipco held a small Indian village on Bonar's Island in the middle of Lake Hamilton. According to 'A History of Winter Haven', Seminole chief Coacochee called a council of war of all tribes North of Okeechobee – one Chief Chipco refused to fight and moved to the island in the middle of Lake Hamilton until he was forewarned about a bounty hunter raid out of Ft Myers by a white settler Mr. Collins and moved to the Lake Pierce area.

Following the Seminole Wars and the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 - where those who settled 5+ acres of land in eastern and southern Florida for at least 5 years would receive 160 acres of land and one year's rations from the Federal government - settlement of the Polk County area began in earnest.

Beef was the primary export at that time, especially after the Battle of Vicksburg which cut off beef supply for the South from the West. Union forces burned the settlement of Fort Meade south of Bartow to try and cut the supply from Florida.

The map below shows Winter Haven land ownership and some key natural features such as our lakes and wetlands as they were recorded in 1883. Use the swipe function to compare the lands we have today to these areas.

“There was nothing but woods back then – big pines mostly with here and there an oak grove and spots called hammocks, where blackberries and big bush huckleberries grew...Wild game was abundant.” – John B Thornhill (son to Columbus Thornhill)

The quote above is a memory of the Winter Haven area from early settlement times, from a key pioneer family of our area - the Thornhills. Columbus Thornhill moved into the Math King homestead in Eagle Lake in 1868 and set up cattle and pig production.

From 1875 to 1895 Central Florida was experiencing what is called it's "Golden Era" as the citrus and cattle capital of the world, and many groves were planted in addition to other crops like pineapple, tomatoes, and strawberries.

In 1883, Henry Plant constructed the first railroad into Polk County, what would become known as the Atlantic Coastline Railroad (A.C.L.R.R). This rail access further spurred settlement and development of Winter Haven proper.

In 1886 the estimated population of Winter Haven was 100. A few of the lakes may have been connected - depending on seasonal water levels, and even then the connections were shallow 'runs' as recollected in the memory below, describing lake life in this era.

"There were no connections between the lakes around Winter Haven...except little runs you could push a boat through with the oars on each bank. There were no outboard motors then. These little streams were just about always loaded with baby alligators so if you wanted one or twenty-five to play with you could just pick them up." – Frank Spinning

In the 1890s Winter Haven saw a boom in agricultural production as more and more farmers moved in and began commercial production of citrus, tomatoes, banana & pineapple. The key lead producers were the Currie and Eycleshimer farms - with Winter Haven producing 125,00 crates per year of tomatoes alone!

However, The Winters of 1894 & 1895 saw some of the worst freezes the new settlers had experienced with temperatures dropping down to 18°F. This greatly affected the citrus & other crops that had begun to be productive.

The second freeze in 1895 was accompanied by a blizzard and dealt a second blow to the crops and groves that had started to recover from the first freeze. Additionally, many people in Winter Haven subsisted on their own crops, so families went hungry as well as growers business being affected.

"Many left but only the most resolute stayed...Work was scarce, times were very hard. There was a dark cloud but it had a silver lining and gradually folks began to see it. They reasoned that if Winter Haven had suffered less than other parts of the state, it had proved that the Lake Region was more immune from the cold then other sections. This gave them hope and they continued the struggle and in time they were rewarded" - Mrs. F.A.K Harris on the freezes

The early 20th Century saw Winter Haven become a town, not only with its incorporation, but with the rapid development of the downtown buildings, investments in citrus & community, and rapid population growth. It is also when the "Chain of Lakes City" was officially born as the canals were dug out to keep the lakes connected and consistently navigable.

Scroll through the tour below which walks through a 1919 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of the downtown Winter Haven area, with key points of interest marked. You can also interact with the map to pan around and discover the business & town layout from that era!

Note: This map is best viewed zoomed in to a building-level view and may not appear until you scroll through to the tour points below, or zoom in further

From 1920-1926 Florida as a region experienced a huge boom in population, as real-estate investors from the North began eyeing then relatively cheap Florida land for development of tourist destinations in Winter. Winter Haven was no exception.

From 1920-1930 Winter Haven's population had doubled from 3,404 to 7,130.

In this era, many of the town's characteristic historic buildings were constructed, a few of which are noted below.

The 30s - 40s in Winter Haven were a mixture of positive growth, and hardship and sadness from the War. Several new businesses boomed, and the combination of Cypress Gardens, Bok Tower, and the Florida Citrus Exposition put Winter Haven on the map as a popular destination.