Lakeland History Room

Hours: 

Mon - Thurs. - 9 am - 7 pm
Fri - Sat: 9 am - 5 pm
Sun: 1:30 pm - 5 pm

Lakeland History Room Service Desk: 863.834.4284

Lakeland History Room Librarian Supervisor: LuAnn Mims
Ph: 863.834.4269
Email: luann.mims@lakelandgov.net

Image from the Greetings from Lakeland postcard collection

• Using the Lakeland History Room

  Services: 

  • Research assistance with local history 
  • House/property records research 
  • Family Genealogy, Newspapers and Obituaries — please contact LuAnn Mims at 863.834.4269 or email LuAnn.Mims@lakelandgov.net
  • DIY Digitize Lab — guided assistance by appointment only to reformat analog materials to digital formats (excluding film). Please contact Rebecca Whalon to schedule an appointment in the DIY workspace at 863.834.4212 or email Rebecca.Whalon@lakelandgov.net

   

• Digital Collections

  The Lakeland History Room collection features a variety of materials—documents, photographs, maps, building plans, audio/visual media, and scrapbooks with specialty items like citrus crate labels, artwork, yearbooks, posters, and postcards. There are also 8000+ images viewable online via our Digital Collection on CONTENTdm.

  Click on the icons below to explore digital collections, photo albums, and story maps of Lakeland history:

                      

                        

   

• In-Person Classes and Self-Paced Learning

  In-Person Classes 

  Genealogy:

  • Generators – meets the first Monday of each month @6pm- is an ad hoc group that discusses genealogical topics of interest
  • Beginning Genealogy – offered twice a year – basic introduction to researching your family history
  • Get Started with Ancestry.com – offered twice a year – guided tour through the premier genealogical database
  • Focus on Family Search – offered twice a year – step by step look at this FREE family history resources

  Archival:

  • Photograph Preservation instruction offered in person twice a year to introduce reformatting from analog to digital concepts

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  Self-Paced Learning: Organizing and Preserving Your Materials

  Trying to get your personal memorabilia better organized?  Start with the Personal Archiving at Home video series. These short videos give detailed instruction on how to take care of your treasured memorabilia – photographs, slides, negatives, papers, audio and video tapes and more. Topics include preservation, storage, digitization, standard formatting, organization tips and adding to your family archives.

  Part I: Historic Preservation
  Part II: Organization & Maintenance
  Part III: Digitization

   

• Lakeland History and Culture Center Lecture Series

  Pioneering Polk County Citrus
  with Dr. Canter Brown, Jr.
  Lakeland Public Library Meeting Room 
  Thursday, January 29th at 10 AM 

  Join us at the Lakeland Public Library on Thursday, January 29th at 5:30 PM as Dr. Canter Brown, Jr. presents about how citrus developed into a premier commodity in Polk County – a top producer for the State’s citrus industry – in "Pioneering Polk County Citrus."

  Canter Brown Jr. is an historian, professor and author. He was born in Fort Meade, Florida, and earned his degrees at Florida State University. He taught at Florida A&M University and has worked at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia. He is the author or co-author of thirteen books about Florida and southern United States history. These include the book, Florida’s Peace River Frontier, which earned him the Florida Historical Society’s Rembert W. Patrick Award, and the book Ossian Bingley Hart: Florida’s Loyalist Reconstruction Governor, which won the Certificate of Commendation of the American Association of State and Local History, about Ossian B. Hart, one of Florida’s Reconstruction era governors.

  In addition to Florida’s Peace River Frontier, Dr. Brown has also written two other books specific to Polk County. At the request of the Polk County Historical Association, he prepared the county’s prized two-volume history that covers early times to 2000: In the Midst of All That Makes Life Worth Living: Polk County to 1940 and None Could Have Richer Memories: Polk County Since 1940. He has also written extensively about his hometown in the book, Fort Meade, 1849-1900. His most recent work, issued in 2019 by the University of Alabama Press, was Henry Plant: Gilded Age Dreams for Florida and a New South.

  Find out more information about "Pioneering Polk County Citrus".  No registration is required. All ages welcome.

   

• History Tours

  Lakeland History Room Staff host historical walking tours for the public featuring Lakeland history, as well as providing curated exhibit tours of the Lakeland History and Culture Center.

  • Stories and Stones – Saturdays (check dates/registration) monthly walk and talk biographical tours of Lakeland’s oldest cemeteries – Roselawn, Tigers Flowers and Lake View
  • Green Hat and White Gloves – Second Tuesdays monthly (check dates and registration) walking tour of Lake Mirror with “Serena Bailey” Lakeland’s first librarian (1929-1959)
  • From the Groves — Lakeland's Citrus Story – curated exhibit tour available by appointment

   

  For more information contact, LuAnn Mims: 863.834.4269, LuAnn.Mims@lakelandgov.net 

• Lakeland History & Culture Center

  Opened on September 8, 2022, the Lakeland History and Culture Center features a 1400 square foot exhibit space dedicated to telling the many stories of our community.

  The inaugural exhibit, Ties That Bind: 1880-1925, Lakeland's Formative Years, showcased the early days of Lakeland's founding and the role of the railroads in helping to develop the area.

  Explore the current exhibit, From the Groves — Lakeland’s Citrus Story, to discover how the citrus industry impacted Lakeland’s economy, why Lakeland was formerly called the “World Citrus Center,” the location of early groves, who helped to market the products, and what defines the local citrus industry today, as well as hear reflections through oral histories from people historically connected to citrus.

  This free, self-guided, interactive exhibit is open:

  Monday-Thursday  9am-7pm
  Friday-Saturday 9am-5pm
  Sunday 1:30pm-5pm

  For information about curated tours, call LuAnn Mims at 863.834.4269

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  Learn more about the Lakeland History & Culture Center.

Popular at the Lakeland History Room

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  Ancestry.com

  Start your family history search here at the library! Ancestry.com offers free access to all library patrons. (In library only)

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  Digital Photo Collection Feature: Child's Garden of Learning

  Explore Lakeland’s History through Photos! 

  The Child's Garden of Learning was a private elementary school in Lakeland, Florida that operated from 1926 to 1974. The school was founded in 1926 by Eva Chisholm, who was joined the following year by Genevieve Mitchell. Mrs. Mitchell took over the school in 1932 when Miss Chisholm died. The school reached an enrollment high of 60 students in first, second, and third grades, but gradually the numbers declined and the school closed in 1974 with a final term enrollment of only 10. Included in the curriculum were the subjects of French, music appreciation, art, economics, history, and the three Rs.

  This small collection includes photographs of students of the Child's Garden of Learning at graduation ceremonies, in a variety of annual programs sponsored by the school, in holiday celebrations and pageants, and in general group photos.  Students are identified in some of the photos, but in many they are not.  If you see yourself in any of the photos, let us know and we will update the description accordingly.

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  Sounds of Music

  Our story begins with you...what better way to tell the many stories of Lakeland and its history, than visually by showcasing highlights from our Digital Collection through Flickr.   

  Check out our featured album:

  Sounds of Music

  Lakeland is alive with the Sounds of Music.

  Enjoy this photographic stroll through Lakeland's local musical heritage.

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  Lakeland Stories Feature: Lakeland Public Library/Park Trammell Building

  Discover more about Lakeland’s History through Stories! 

  The Park Trammell Building, located on the shores of Lake Morton, currently serves at the home for the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce. This beautiful Mediterranean Revival-inspired structure was designed by Tampa architect Franklin O. Adams and was built in 1927 to serve as Lakeland’s first public library. From its earliest days, the citizens of Lakeland, sought to improve amenities. In 1898, The Ladies of the Lakeland Library and Improvement Society was formed and brought the concept of a circulating library to the community. With the organization of the Women’s Club of Lakeland in 1912, the popularity grew of checking out books, sewing patterns, seeds and other items, and in the early 1920s, the Women's Club began urging the City Commission to approve funding for a dedicated Public Library to serve the city.

As a convenience and for informational purposes only, the City of Lakeland provides external hyperlinks on its website, directing website users towards certain outside sites; links to these websites do not constitute the City of Lakeland’s endorsement or approval of linked websites, or the information, products or services contained therein. All links the City of Lakeland Provides are consistent with the mission of its website. However, the City of Lakeland exercises no editorial control over the information website users may find on external websites. The City of Lakeland also cannot attest to the accuracy or appropriateness of information provided by external websites and organizations.