POLK CITY, FLORIDA

If you are traveling on I-4, you can look north and see Polk City across Lake Agnes.  You can get off I-4 east of Lake Agnes and go north on State Road 559 to Polk City. 

Isaac Van Horn was a developer who traveled through Polk County in the summer of 1922. He liked the rolling hills of the area and the beauty of Lake Agnes.

He was an executive in the Florida State Chamber of Commerce and had helped develop Haines City, Florida along with drilling for oil. 

That experience convinced him that the area around what is now Polk City would be a good site for a new city.

Van Horn believed there was oil in the ground north of the area and brought in an oil drilling company to explore the area. The oil workers needed a place to live, so Mr. Van Horn purchased two square miles south of the oil fields to locate his new town.

In addition to his oil exploration activities, Van Horn also planted tung trees which had proven to be a valuable crop in other parts of Florida.

The land was cleared and by 1925 Polk City was a thriving little village.  It was incorporated on April 3, 1925.  Mr. Van Horn named the city for Polk County, which was named for U.S. President James Knox Polk.

The railroad came to town and Polk City had electricity, city water and sewer, a school, a small lodging house, a sawmill, and a general store.

Things were going well in the late 1920s, but Mr. Van Horn realized there was no oil and shut down the drilling operations. On top of that, the tung orchards did not work out and people were beginning to lose their farms. 

Mr. Van Horn ran out of money.  To make things worse, the Florida land boom ended and the stock market crashed in 1929.

The country and world entered the Great Depression and the city went bankrupt and sold off most of its land.

The population of the community dropped from 600 people at its peak to only 200 in 1960.

Polk City has experienced the growth that is typical of Florida since the end of World War Two.  Since its low point in 1960, the city has grown to a population of more than 3,000.

His record of 12 wins, 3 losses, and 4 ties ranks him among the best of Gator coaches. He's only topped by all time great Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier with 122 wins, 27 losses, and 1 tie.

Polk City is the trailhead of the James A. Van Fleet State Trail.  This 29.2 trail on a former railroad route is renowned for its remoteness.

It travels through the Green Swamp, cattle ranches, and some of the most rural land remaining in Central Florida.

Polk City has some of the businesses typical of very small Florida towns.  There is a local store - Parrish Grocery, along with a Dollar General, an Ace Hardware, a Circle K, Domino's Pizza, and others.

I travel through Polk City quite often on my Florida back road trips, and can recommend three restaurants I've tried: Country Angels, Castro's Cafe, and Hungry Howies.

Some locals work in light industry and warehousing that is located in the area.  There are also several large RV parks and mobile home communities in Polk City and surrounding area.

In recent years the area around Polk City has grown with new residential neighborhoods and modern mobile home communities. Many newer homes have been built along the shore of Lake Agnes.

I believe Polk City has only one traffic signal and that's at the pedestrian crossway at Polk City Elementary School. This small community lives up to the motto on its city seal as a place of peace and serenity.

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