A survey by W.A. Williams and J. Jackson, deputy surveyors of the State of Florida was made of the region around present-day Lake Wales. The area was considered to be uninhabitable by early settlers. By 1879, the land around the present city was surveyed again by Sidney Irving Wailes, an agent for the Florida Land and Improvement Co., who changed the name of a lake, then known as Watts Lake, to Lake Wailes.[4]
In 1902, G.V. Tillman scouted the region of Lake Wales and saw the potential for turpentine, citrus, and other industries. He developed the idea to settle the area around Lake Wailes.
Settlement
The B. K. Bullard House
The city of Lake Wales was established near the lake in 1911–1912, planned by the Lake Wales Land Company.[5] The spelling Wales was used for the city, although the lake is still generally spelled Lake Wailes. Allen Carleton Nydegger, a civil engineer, was contracted by the Lake Wales Land Company to plot out the community of Lake Wales.[6] He and his crew camped on the shores of Crystal Lake and spent months plotting out the new community.
"It was a foggy morning and having been a rainy fall, the water was up to both sides of the R.R. in many places causing us to almost regret having come to Florida. But just before coming to Lake Wales, the sun came out in all its glory and banished our idea of being in a swamp; we expected snakes and alligators to be running around like chickens and of course found that a great mistake...
The train stopped at the platform north of the little station (used to load and unload barrels of turpentine from the still) where they unloaded our trunks before we could get off... There were no sidewalks, no lights or hard roads just deep sand everywhere with hogs and cattle roaming all over, but when I stepped from the car door and saw how beautiful the view was over the two lakes, this big moss draped pine and oak and a church under construction, I was content..." - Excerpt from "Rose Wetmore's Diary", Autumn 1912.[7]
The City of Lake Wales was officially incorporated as a town in May 1917.[8]
In 2004, Lake Wales endured the effects of three hurricanes which came through the area: Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne.[9] The three hurricanes brought hurricane-force winds to the Lake Wales area within a space of 44 days. In 2017, Hurricane Irma brought more hurricane-force winds to Lake Wales.
Geography
The town lies near the geographical center of the Florida peninsula. Lake Wales is located on the Lake Wales Ridge,[10] a sandy upland area running roughly parallel to both coasts in the center of the peninsula. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.0 square miles (36 km2), of which 13.4 square miles (35 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) (4.71%) is water.
Grassy Lake Preserve is a 185 acres (0.75 km2) preserve located behind Janie Howard Wilson Elementary School. Grassy Lake is primarily made up of Lake Wales Ridge scrub land.
Government and politics
Municipal government
Lake Wales is governed by a five-person city commission under the Commission-Manager form of government. The day-to-day operations of the city are run by a professional city manager who is appointed by the elected city commission.[14]
Elected officials and elections
City Commission
There are five commission members, of which four are city commissioners and one mayor. The legislative power of the city is vested in the city commission and it determines policies to be implemented by the City Manager.
The city commission is responsible for adopting ordinances, adopting an annual budget, developing an overall vision for the city, zoning changes, comprehensive plan amendments, certain types of development, redevelopment, franchises for provision of public services, bid awards, water and sewer rate changes, and changes in tax rate. The commission is also responsible for appointing the City Manager, the City Clerk, and the City Attorney.[15]
Lake Wales City Commission
Seat
Office Holder
In Office Since
1 / At-Large
Jack Hilligoss
2022
2
Daniel Williams
2021
3
Keith Thompson
2023
4
Carol Gillespie
2024
5
Robin Gibson
2016
Mayor
The mayor is presiding officer of the city commission and has a voice and a vote in its proceedings but no veto power.[16] The current mayor is Jack Hilligoss, who took office in May 2022.
Each member of the commission is elected to serve a 3-year term.[17] The five commission members are elected at large, of which four commission members must reside and be nominated in the district represented by the seat to which they are elected. The mayor and can reside in any district of the city.
The commission shall elect from among its members a deputy mayor who shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the mayor, and if a vacancy occurs, shall become mayor for the remainder of the unexpired term.
Law enforcement
In 2016, a Lake Wales police officer, Travis Worley, was accused by a whistleblower on the Lake Wales police force of calling a black suspect a "nigger". The department suspended Worley for one day, but denied that he had used a racial slur. In 2019, he was named Lake Wales’ Officer of the Year. The whistleblower said she was subsequently targeted for punishment by the Lakes Wales police department and ultimately resigned. Worley has subsequently been accused on at least two occasions of using the N-word, including once in front of students at the local high school.[18]
The commercial historic district in the heart of the old town contains important examples of architecture from the period of the Florida land boom of the 1920s. The district's tallest building, the Walesbilt Hotel, has been boarded up for many years but has been purchased and is in the process of being restored.
The Lake Wales History Museum is a history museum funded by a public-private partnership. It is housed in the old Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot (Lake Wales, Florida). It offers exhibits and artifacts from the pre-Columbian era to modern.
State Road 60 – Also known as Hesperides Road, it leads eastward to Florida's Turnpike and Vero Beach. Westward the highway leads to Bartow and the Tampa Bay region.
State Road 17 – The Scenic Highway running through the center of town, paralleling US 27 southward to Frostproof and northward to Haines City
Lake Wales Municipal Airport (FAA LID: X07) is a public-use airport located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the central business district of the city of Lake Wales in Polk County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned.
Chalet Suzanne Air Strip This single grass strip four miles north of downtown serves light aircraft arriving at the Chalet Suzanne Inn and Restaurant, a local landmark.
Lake Wales is part of the Tampa/St. Pete television market, the 13th largest in the country and part of the local Lakeland/Winter Haven radio market, which is the 94th largest in the country.[31][32]
Education
Lake Wales is home to twelve schools, six of which are charter, three of which are traditional public schools and three private schools. Dale R Fair Babson Park Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, Janie Howard Wilson Elementary, Polk Avenue Elementary and Lake Wales High School were converted to charter status in the Fall of 2004.[33] Edward W. Bok Academy Middle opened in the Fall of 2008 to create a seamless K–12 charter system.[34]McLaughlin Middle School and Fine Arts Academy, Roosevelt Academy Of Leadership And Applied Technology School, and Spook Hill Elementary School are still traditional public schools. Lake Wales Lutheran School, Candlelight Christian Academy, and The Vanguard School are private.[35]
