Acton was a community in Polk County, Florida, United States. The town was situated two miles east of Lakeland, which it preceded. It was a settlement of English people from Great Britain. [1] It was established in 1884 named for Lord Acton. The community began dispersing to Lakeland in 1889 [2] and disappeared after the great freeze of 1894. A historical marker in Interlachen Park commemorates its history.
The South Florida Railroad advertised a route through the community. [3] An episcopal church was built in the community and later moved to Lakeland. [2]
History
Acton was platted in 1884, and named for Lord Acton. [4] A post office was established at Acton in 1884, and remained in operation until 1889. [5] Construction of a railroad shifted business activity to nearby Lakeland, and the town's population dwindled. [6]
References
- ^ Morris, Allen (October 17, 2015). Florida Place Names: Alachua to Zolfo Springs. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781561648399 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Cutler, Harry Gardner (May 3, 1923). "History of Florida: Past and Present, Historical and Biographical". Lewis Publishing Company – via Google Books.
- ^ "The American Angler". Angler's Publishing Company, Limited. May 3, 1887 – via Google Books.
- ^ Sawyer, Martha F. (May 19, 1982). "Acton – a vanished community". Lakeland Ledger. pp. 3C. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ^ "Polk County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ^ Sawyer, Martha F. (June 1, 1988). "Conversation pieces: Polk history about towns lost and found". Lakeland Ledger. pp. 10C. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
28°3.2′N 81°56.0′W / 28.0533°N 81.9333°W
Municipalities and communities of
Polk County, Florida, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Village | ||
| CDPs |
| |
|
Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
 | This United States ghost town-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |