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 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

   

• 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)
  • Ties that Bind, 1880-1925 – Lakeland’s Formative Years – 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: Lake Gibson High School Yearbooks

  Explore Lakeland’s History through Photos! 

  Originally planned to open in the fall of 1979, construction delays pushed that back so Lake Gibson High School students shared the adjacent Lake Gibson Junior high School campus until January 1980, when the doors opened to students. Located at 7007 North Socrum Loop Road, this became the third high school for Lakeland, which helped alleviate overcrowding due to rising population. The school mascot is the Brave and school colors are garnet and gold, both very similar to Florida State University. The stadium, named after 33-year career educator Virgil Ramage, opened in 1981.

  The Lakeland Public Library has Lake Gibson High School yearbooks, named “Legend,” from 1981-2007 and digital from 1980-1999 featuring only the "Seniors" section.

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  Lakeland and Its Lakes

  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:

  Lakeland and Its Lakes

  The City of Lakeland is home to thirty-eight named lakes and a few unnamed ones. Many of the names tell part of the history of the city. These prominent geographical features vary in sizes, with Lake Parker being the largest within the city limits. A large portion of the lakes are natural, while others are man-made. People enjoy their beauty, fish in the waters and play on their shores.

  Enjoy this photographic album of our area's lakes spaces and lakefront recreation places.

   

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  Lakeland Stories Feature: Road to Lakeland

  Discover more about Lakeland’s History through Stories! 

  The idea of a transcontinental highway routes for automobiles connecting the northern to the southern states began before World War I. Post WWI Florida saw an increased interest in travelers wanting to spend winters in a milder climate. Road improvements would also create an alternative means of moving local commodities. Getting to central Florida was improved with the Good Roads Program, championed by Lakeland’s Park Trammell (1876-1936). During his tenure as Governor (1913-1917), Polk County saw a much improved road system which connected the county’s municipalities. In the 1920s, the idea of the Dixie Highway, a patchwork of two-lane roads with several spoke-like branches, connected cities from Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, through the Carolinas, Georgia, and points in Florida as a way to bring in tourists from the Midwest. Cities throughout Florida clamored to connect to this major thoroughfare with tertiary streets, and in Lakeland, Main Street served as the link to the Dixie Highway.

   

   

  Standing at the entry archway of Lakeland’s downtown city park we know as Munn Park is a large metal and brick entry way was constructed in 1990 as part of a revitalization effort. This park, in the core of Lakeland’s business district, was established in 1884 and shares over 100 years of our local history. Through those years many changes have occurred to bring us this community space of today.

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.