Bartow, FL

Bartow is the county seat of Polk County, about 15 miles south of downtown Lakeland. Known as the City of Oaks and Azaleas, it is a quiet government and phosphate-industry town with historic homes and one of the handsomest old courthouses in Central Florida. It suits a half day of history and architecture rather than a resort stay.

Things to do in Bartow

Start at the neoclassical Old Polk County Courthouse, built in 1909 and pictured on the city seal, which houses the county’s history museum and a genealogical library with more than 40,000 items. Bartow has three districts on the National Register of Historic Places: the Bartow Downtown Commercial District and the Northeast and South Bartow residential districts, all easy to walk or drive. Look for the L.B. Brown House, a Victorian home built by a freedman, and the Mission Revival Thompson and Company Cigar Factory. Outdoors, Mary Holland Park covers 119 acres with three lakes, a playground, camping and a skate park, Bartow Park has ball fields, and the paved Fort Fraser Trail runs 7.7 miles toward south Lakeland. Bartow High School, which began as the Summerlin Institute, is the oldest high school in the county.

Getting to Bartow

US 98 runs north to Lakeland, US 17 serves the east side of town toward Winter Haven, and SR 60 crosses east and west on a bypass around downtown. Tampa International (TPA) is about an hour away and Orlando International (MCO) a little over an hour; Lakeland Linder International (LAL), about 20 minutes north, has limited Avelo Airlines service. Late winter and early spring bring the azaleas, and November through April is the most pleasant time to walk the historic districts.