Lake Placid, Florida

Lake Placid is a town in Highlands County, Florida, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the town's population as 1,818 on 1 July 2006.^[4] It is part of the Sebring Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 97,987.^[7]

The town has two nicknames—"Town of Murals" and "The Caladium Capital of the World." Lake Placid has more than 40 murals painted on buildings throughout the town,^[8] and 98 percent of the world's caladium bulbs come from Lake Placid. ^[9]

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Media
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Lake Placid was formerly called Lake Stearns, chartered on December 1, 1925. Dr. Melvil Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, and the founder of the Lake Placid Club, proposed that Lake Stearns change its name to Lake Placid. On April 29, 1927 the Lake Stearns Commissioners accepted Dr. Dewey's proposal to change the town's name from Lake Stearns to Lake Placid. Subsequently, they submitted a request to the Florida State Legislature. On June 6, 1927 The Town of Lake Stearns was chartered as Lake Placid.

[edit] Geography

Lake Placid is located at 27°17′47″N, 81°21′53″W (27.296252, -81.364817)^[10]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.84 mi² (7.4 km²). 2.57 square miles (6.7 km²) of it is land and .27 square miles (0.7 km²) of it (9.51%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 1,668 people, 646 households, and 395 families residing in the town. The population density was 650.2/mi² (250.6/km²). There were 776 housing units at an average density of 302.5/mi² (116.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 76.38% White, 9.95% African American, 0.90% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 10.43% from other races, and 1.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30.46% of the population.

There were 646 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $21,178, and the median income for a family was $28,194. Males had a median income of $21,629 versus $14,650 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,855. About 22.7% of families and 34.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 55.2% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Media

[edit] Television

See also: List of TV stations in Florida

Lake Placid 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, the CBS affiliate in Fort Myers/Naples, WFLA, the Tampa Bay area NBC affiliate, and WTVT, the Tampa Bay area Fox affiliate.

[edit] Radio

See also: List of radio stations in Florida

Lake Placid is part of the Sebring Radio market, which is ranked as the 288th largest in the United States by Arbitron.^[11] There are no radio stations whose studios or broadcasting towers are located in Lake Placid.

[edit] Newspapers

Local print media include the News-Sun, a newspaper published on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, and the weekly Lake Placid Journal. Highlands Today is a daily local supplement to The Tampa Tribune, which covers newsworthy events in Highlands County.

[edit] References

^ Town of Lake Placid Departments. Town of Lake Placid. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.
^ Florida by Place. Population, Housing, Area, and Density: 2000. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
^ Lake Placid, United States Page. Falling Rain Genomics. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.
^ ^a ^b Annual Estimates of the population for the Incorporated Places of Florida (XLS). US Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
^ ^a ^b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 (XLS). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
^ Florida for Visitors: Lake Placid, Florida. About.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.
^ Swanson, Yvonne. "Caladiums please the eye", St. Petersburg Times, 11 August 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.
^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ Ratings–Sebring Market. Arbitron. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.

[edit] External links

Lake Placid, Florida is at coordinates 27°17′47″N 81°21′53″W / 27.296252, -81.364817 (Lake Placid, Florida)Coordinates: 27°17′47″N 81°21′53″W / 27.296252, -81.364817 (Lake Placid, Florida)

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Highlands County, Florida

County seat: Sebring

Cities	Avon Park \| Sebring

Town	Lake Placid

CDPs	Placid Lakes \| Sylvan Shores

Communities	Lorida \| Spring Lake \| Sun 'n Lake of Sebring \| Venus