The Sebring Historical Society, 321 West Center Ave., Sebring Florida 33871, 863-471-2522Sebring Circle, Circa 1915 - 2004
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Welcome to the Sebring Historical Society's web site. Here you will find just some of the enormous amount of history on the city of Sebring. All of the research materials listed here (and more) are available to the public at the Sebring Historical Society.

Please visit us and learn the history of Sebring!

 Sebring Slide Show
The Sebring Historical Society Archives hours are:

Monday through Friday, 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Other days and times, by appointment

NOTE:
The Sebring Historical Society Archives will be closed from Monday, May 12, 2008, until Tuesday, May 27, 2008, at which time we will resume our regular operating hours from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

NEW SEBRING BOOK PUBLISHED!


"Sebring"
by Susan Priest MacDonald and Randall M. MacDonald
Susan Priest MacDonald, 1976 Sebring High School graduate, and her husband, Randall MacDonald have co-authored a new pictorial history of Sebring from its beginnings in 1911 through the 1960s. The book, entitled "Sebring", is one of the Images of America series published by Arcadia publishing in South Carolina.

The book contains approximately 200 vintage photographs provided primarily by the Sebring Historical Society, and is available at the Society Archives for a minimum donation of $20.00

OLD SEBRING SCHOOL, KENILWORTH LODGE & HARDER HALL
COLLECTIBLES NOW AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES!


Old Sebring School Collectibles - minimum donation $15.00
The Sebring Historical Society has contracted with a company in Pennsylvania to create colored wood collectibles of certain historic buildings in Sebring. The first in the series is the Sebring School, home of grades 1 through 12, formerly on Pine and Center Street. It was later known as the Sebring High School. This beautiful piece is 10" X 4" and stands upright. The back of the piece tells the history of this building. These beautiful school collectibles are now available in the Historical Society Archives (phone 863-471-2522). Minimum donation is $15.00 each. The Archives are open from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday.

Other buildings being considered for this project include the Sebring Fire House, the Courthouse, the former George E. Sebring home, the Hotel Sebring, historic churches, etc. These would be unique gifts as singles or as a collection for those who have everything.


Kenilworth Lodge Collectibles - minimum donation $15.00
Constructed in 1916 by City of Sebring founder George Sebring, the Kenilworth is one of the finest examples of Mediterranean-Revival architecture in the city. In 1919, wings were added to each side of the hotel, bringing it to 117 guest rooms, a 4,000 square foot lobby featuring a large stone fireplace, a library, and two ballrooms. A large porch extended from end to end of the building, and provided residents with a comfortable venue from which to enjoy the spectacular sunsets over Lake Jackson. Set upon 320 acres of dairyland overlooking Lake Jackson, there were formal gardens from which a resident gardener cut fresh flowers for each guest room daily. There was a 27 hole golf course, and a beach on the shore of Lake Jackson. The Kenilworth has hosted thousands of guests and many meetings and conventions. In 1924, the National Governors Conference was held at the Lodge, and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad arranged a special party for 500 guests, including Governor John Martin of Palm Beach. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the guest rooms are furnished with pre-war Nouveau white oak furniture and include air conditioning, television sets, phones, refrigerators, and Internet access. There is an 80-foot swimming pool, the largest in the area. The Lodge has never closed since its opening, and is owned and operated by Mark and Madge Stewart. Kenilworth Lodge is open year-round and provides a true "historical hotel" experience for its guests. For more information about Kenilworth, visit www.kenilworthlodge.com


Harder Hall Collectibles - minimum donation $15.00
Begun in 1925, Harder Hall opened its doors to the first guests in January, 1928. The massive Mediterranean Revival style building featured a 630 foot frontage overlooking Lake Jackson. Its main tower rose 108 feet and provided a spectacular view of the lake and surrounding area from the seventh floor Observation Tower. A series of porches, patios, arcades and porte cochere projected from each elevation. Winding paths led guests through tropical flowering plants and palm trees. Additional amenities for guests included golf (the hotel eventually built its own 18 hole course), motorboating, sailing, boating, canoeing, and swimming (both in the lake and in the large hotel pool). A natural white sand beach was a welcoming spot for sunbathers, and the hotel yacht club added a pleasant touch to the social life. The more adventurous guests enjoyed baseball, football, basketball, tennis and horseback riding on the miles of roads and trails in every direction. Built by Lewis Harder and Vincent Hall, both of West Palm Beach, the building was originally a warm buff color. The hotel was eventually given the coral pink color it sports today, hence the local moniker "The Pink Lady". The hotel was opened only for the "winter season", which was usually January through March, and remained closed for the rest of the year. Falling on hard times, the majestic property was closed in May, 1986, and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.


1980 Vanguard Comuta
A 1980 Comuta Car is now on indefinite display in the Historical Society Archives. This electric car was manufactured by the Vanguard Corporation of Sebring, Florida. Vanguard, founded by Robert Beaumont, operated their business at the Sebring Airport circa 1979 to 1983.

James D. and Lola (Hamrick) Adams, Sr., of Haines City, Florida and Hanover, Pennsylvania kindly donated this vehicle to the Sebring Historical Society in 2006. The vehicle was delivered to the Society on September 1, 2006, by Marvin Kahn and his associate, David Williams.

Brief History of the
City of Sebring

George E. Sebring was captivated by the area surrounding Lake Jackson (then Lake Hare), which he first saw during a fishing trip and purchased in 1911 for the location of his dream city.  Sebring, a pottery manufacturer from Sebring, Ohio, founded his dream city in 1912 and named it Sebring also.  Sebring was chartered in 1913 by the Florida legislature.  The arrival of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad gave Sebring a jump start.  The aggressive advertising campaign launched in the northeastern United States increased the town population quickly.  Mr. Sebring was a devout Christian, and gave property to denominations wishing to locate in the new town.  He instructed his developers to plant a citrus tree in every residential lot, some of which were still producing in the 1990s.  The Sebring area continues to grow and boasts a population of over 35,000.

OFFICERS 2008

President - Marvin Kahn
Vice President - Wanda Whitehouse
Secretary - Jacquie Trevelyan
Treasurer - Shirley Kitchings

DIRECTORS 2008

Allen C. Altvater, III
Martha Bagnato
Ruth K. Davis
Robert Freeland
Gary Harnage
Celeste Mabe
Jackie Webster

ARCHIVIST and
EDITOR of The Historian

Carole Goad

Volunteers

Joyce Bovard
Betty Hall
Gary Harnage
Joyce Spinning
Elizabeth Walker

Purpose 

To protect, preserve and to share records, photographs and stories of people, events and customs of the history of Sebring and Highlands County.

To promote interest in the collection of historic material and to issue a quarterly publication to its members.

Brief History of the
Sebring Historical Society

Participants in a class reunion in 1962 enjoyed reminising so much that Floyd Schumacher (of Withers & Harshman Citrus Company) invited a few friends to a party where conversation for the entire evening was centered around the events of the early days of Sebring.  As a result of the interest, Schumacher gathered a few friends at Ford Heacock’s office and a plan was developed to organize the Sebring Historical Society.  The Society was chartered August 7, 1968, with Ray Graddy as president.  Meanwhile, Allen Altvater had been meticulously collecting Sebring’s history.  This priceless heritage was donated to the Society and stored in the basement of the old Sebring Post Office.  The collection remained in the basement until the new library was built on Lakeview Drive in 1989.  The generosity of Woodrow Harshman’s financial contribution made possible the Society Archive’s present location in the downtown Library building.  Archivist is on duty during the regular hours when the Society is open.  State-of-the art equipment (including a microfilm reader/printer) is available for researchers.

Former Presidents

  • 1967, 68 Ray Graddy
  • 1969, 70 Leila Sebring
  • 1971, 72 ,73 Marguerite Skipper
  • 1974, 75 Dr. H.V. Weems
  • 1976, 77 Jack Ingle
  • 1978 Dr. Henry Mitchell
  • 1979 Ruth Sebring
  • 1980, 81, 82 Joe MacBeth
  • 1983, 84 Dr. Howard Crawford
  • 1985 Jack Ingle
  • 1986, 87 Marty Young
  • 1988, 89, 90 Arlene Commings
  • 1991 Linda Duncan
  • 1992 Joanne McAfee
  • 1993, 94 Dr. Howard Crawford
  • 1995 Susan Foster; A.W. Pollard
  • 1996 Ted Shoemaker
  • 1997 Linda Duncan Pierce
  • 1998, 99 Billy Waggaman
  • 2000 Dr. Billy Cason
  • 2001 Haywood Taylor
  • 2002 Bob Brown
  • 2003, 04, 05 Wanda Whitehouse

DISPLAYS

  • EARLY SEBRING – FOUNDED IN 1912
  • GEORGE E. SEBRING FAMILY – CITY FOUNDER
  • TOMMY MCGUIRE – WORLD WAR II FLYING ACE
  • SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
  • USS HIGHLANDS – WORLD WAR II PACIFIC TRANSPORT
  • HENDRICKS FIELD – WORLD WAR II B-17 BOMBER PILOT  TRAINING BASE
  • MODELS OF SEBRING CIRCLE AND HIGHLANDS COUNTY COURTHOUSE
  • HARDER HALL  - HISTORIC LUXURY HOTEL
  • BLACK HISTORY
  • MUSIC IN SEBRING
  • HISTORY OF FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SEBRING
  • MANY MORE...

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

January, April, July, October (the last Saturday of month, at 12:00 PM noon), Quarterly Luncheon Meeting, carry-in covered dish, historic program, in downtown Allen Altvater Civic Center.

RESEARCH  MATERIALS  AVAILABLE

Books Published by the
Sebring Historical Society

  • DeVane’s History of Early Florida, Volumes I & II (Albert and Park DeVane)
  • Good Old Days of Sebring, The
  • Hall of Fame – Sebring City Officials
  • Heartland Heritage
  • Highlands Hammock – State Park
  • Leftovers
  • Newcomb & Baker Collection
  • Olio
  • Sebring Folks
  • The Way It Was, First Years of The Sebring Chamber of Commerce
  • Twice Told Tales

 Books Published by others

  • Amanda Berry Smith, From Washerwoman to Evangelist (Adrienne M. Israel)
  • Archbold Biological Station (Fred E. Lohrer)
  • Around The World in Eighty Rhymes (Verna Weems MacBeth)
  • Boggess, F.C.M., the Autobiography of (F.C. Boggess)
  • Consequences of Crime (Judge C. Kelly & W. Wantz)
  • Consolidated Financial Corporation – A Partial Story (James F. Holsonback)
  • Consolidated Financial Corporation History (James F. Holsonback)
  • Country Was Ours, This (Virgil, J. Vogel)
  • Cracker Cures (C.S. Wood)
  • Enemy, The (Nina Quambuschine Thompson)
  • Everglades, and other essays relating to Southern Florida, The (John Gifford)
  • Everglades, River of Grass, The (M.S. Douglas)
  • Fifty Years of Pleasure – History of Publix (Pat Waters)
  • First Hundred Years of Avon Park 1880-1980 (Leoma Maxwell)
  • Florida (Norman D. Ford)
  • Florida, A History of (Caroline M. Brevard)
  • Florida, A History of (Charlton W. Tebeau)
  • Florida Anthropologist, The – Vol. 20 #1,2,3,4; Vol. 21 #2,3,4 (Florida Anthropological Society)
  • Florida Becomes A State (Florida Social Life)
  • Florida Bicentennial Trail: A Heritage Revisited, The (Bicentennial Commission of Florida)
  • Florida, Volumes I, II, III, IV (J.E. Lovell)
  • Florida Cattle Frontier Symposium, Proceedings 1945-1995 (Elliot & Knetsch)
  • Florida Cowhunter – Life and Times of Bone Mizell (Jim Bob Tinsley)
  • Florida Cracker Trail – 1998
  • Florida for Floridians (Florida Endowment for Humanities)
  • Florida for Tourists, Invalids, and Settlers - published 1882 (George M. Barbour)
  • Florida Gardens, In (Mrs. Millar Wilson & Mrs. John Ferguson)
  • Florida, History and Government (Caroline M. Brevard)
  • Florida Historic Markers, A Guide to (Florida Division of Archives)
  • Florida In the Making (F.P. Stockbridge, J.H. Perry)
  • Florida Indian and His Neighbors (J.W. Griffin)
  • Florida, Land of Enchantment (Nevin O. Winter)
  • Florida, Land of Romance, The (Dr. Dorothy Dodd)
  • Florida, Old and New (Rufus R. Wilson)
  • Florida, The Territory of (John Lee Williams)
  • Florida’s Trails to History’s Treasures (James R. Keel)
  • Florida War, The Origin, Progress & Conclusion of (John T. Sprague)
  • Florida Wilds, In Lower (Charles T. Simpson)
  • Florida's Past, People & Events Vol. I & II (Gene M. Burnett)
  • Four Years of Progress – Hendricks Field (Laura Hendricks)
  • Ghost Town Locations in Florida (Jim Warnke)
  • Goodnow Mound, The (John W. Griffin)
  • Grier’s Almanac 1965
  • Harshman, Hashman, Hershman, Husman Family, The – Vol. I & II (Col. C.C. Harshman and Mrs. Harshman)
  • Heacock Family (Martee Heacock & Betty Atkinson)
  • Head & Tail Lights of History (Matthew Francis Lathus)
  • Hendricks Field, A Look Back (A.W. “Spizz” Pollard)
  • Highlands County Golden Jubilee
  • Highlands Little Theater (1974-1985) Vol. I (Roy Riedy)
  • His Band Marches On (Jennie B. Gustat)
  • History, Property Surveys of Avon Park, Sebring, Lake Placid & Highlands County (Historic Properties Association)
  • If Nothin' Don't Happen (David M. Newell)
  • Iron Trail, The (Rex Beach) Tales of Alaska
  • Killing Mr. Watson (Peter Matthiessen)
  • Kissimmee Island, The – Piney Woods Rooters (Doris Lewis)
  • Lake Annie Tract, Natural Features of (Archbold Biological Station)
  • Land Remembered, A (Patrick Smith)
  • Manuscripts, Guide to Care and Editing of (L.M. Kane)
  • Massacre (Frank Laumer)
  • McClelland, Silas and Penelope (Anderson) (Clifton A. McClelland)
  • Murder in the Tropics, The Florida Chronicles  Vol. 2 (Stuart B. McIver)
  • Pinellas County, Images of America (A.M. deQuesada, Jr. & Vincent Luisi)
  • Pioneer Families of the Kissimmee River Valley (Kyle S. VanLandingham)
  • Railroads of Southwest Florida (Gregg M. Turner)
  • Rails of Heartland (Sebring Model Railroad Club)
  • Red Patriots – The Story of The Seminole Indians (Charles H. Coe)
  • Rinaldi’s Official Guide of Florida (Hollin, Murray & Rinaldi)
  • Rolling Stones (Fred Stone)
  • Scenic Highlands Florida (H. Faber & R. Lansley)
  • Sebring: City on the Circle (Stephen Olausen)
  • Sebring Collections (Walter Wilson Sebring, John Cletus Sebring)
  • Sebring Collections, Addendum to (Wilson Sebring, John Sebring)
  • Sebring, Fifty Years of (1912-1962)
  • Sebring Lions, Fifty Years of (Tom W. Jones)
  • Sebring Men Who Gave All (A.W. “Spizz” Pollard)
  • Sebring, Ohio, Images of America (Craig S. Bara)
  • Sebring, Seventy Five Years of (1912-1987)
  • Seminole Indians in Florida (Federal Writers Program)
  • Southern Florida Pioneers, Tales of (Jack Beater)
  • Southern Florida, Natural Features of (John H. Davis, Jr.)
  • Tequesta, Volumes I, II, III, IV, V, VI (Carlton W. Tebeau)
  • The Trouble of It Is (David M. Newell)
  • USS Highlands (Wayne Kilmer)
  • USS Highlands Ship Log
  • Vegetation, History Southern Lake Wales Ridge, Highlands County, Florida (Patricia A.Peroni)
  • Verses, Verses, Verses (George W. Gage)
  • Wagons South! (Adora Mitchell Bayles) 2005
  • Watch Wauchula Win (Margaret Stringer)
  • Way Things Were, The (Robert J. Walker)
  • Woodward’s Reminicenses of the Creek or Muscogee Indians (Thomas W. Woodward)
  • Yesterday, A Family Album of Highlands County (Larry and Elaine Levey)

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS:

Schools,  Churches,  Devane,  Black History,  Highlands Little Theater,  Civic Organizations,  Sebring Races,  Sebring Fire Department,  Sebring High School Band,  Hendricks Field,  Tommy McGuire,  Sebring High School Yearbooks,  Postcards,  over 5,000 Photographs,  and files on Individual Citizens, Subjects and Events.

ORAL HISTORIES:

Binder containing interviews with long-time citizens of Sebring, along with videotapes showing these interviews. This project is the result of a gift to Sebring Historical Society from Karen Oldham in memory of her mother,
Betty Lewis Westberg.

REX BEACH COLLECTION

  • The Auction Block
  • The Barrier
  • Flowing Gold
  • The Goose Woman
  • The Iron Trail
  • Jungle Gold
  • Laughing Bill Hyde and other stories
  • Masked Women
  • Men of the Outer Islands
  • Money Mad
  • The Ne’er-Do-Well
  • The Net
  • Oh, Shoot!
  • Pardners
  • Personal Exposures
  • Rainbow’s End
  • Son of the Gods
  • The Spoilers
  • Wild Pastures
  • The Winds of Chance
  • The World in His Arms

CITY DIRECTORIES 

  • First City Directory, 1926 (Sebring’s first City Directory was published in 1926.) 1942, 1956-57-59-60, 1962-63, 1965-66-67, 1969-70-71
  •  Avon Park & Lake Placid included in: 1972 through 1989, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002  

LISTING OF
HIGHLANDS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

  • 1921 TO PRESENT

MAPS 

  • Early Florida
  • Desoto County
  • Highlands County
  • City of Sebring
  • Platts, certain sections
  • Blueprints, certain businesses, churches, etc.

NEWSPAPERS

  •  Local, loose or bound: 1912 through 2004
  • On Microfilm: local newspaper fom 1953 to 1998

TELEPHONE BOOKS

  • Sebring, Avon Park, Lake Placid: 1947-52, 1954-88, 1990-96, 1998, 2000-04

 QUARTERLY BULLETINS 

The first hand-printed publication by the Society was issued April 1969.  The Bulletin is now known as THE HISTORIAN, and it has grown to 12-16 pages with photographs and graphics.

 POST OFFICE RECORDS

  • 1893-1951; 1909-1910

 TAX RECORDS

  • Sebring Tax Rolls 1913-14, 1916-25

TEEN TOWN

  • Sign-in Sheets – 1946, 1948-52

 VIDEO TAPES

  • Edna Pearce Lockett – life, dedication Kissimmee River Bridge, 1940s, 1950s, 1996
  • Veterans Day Ceremony – Memorial Gardens, Tuskegee Airman, 1996
  • Highlands County 75th Anniversary – Courthouse April 19, 1996
  • H. Orvel Sebring – home & local scenes (from old movies, early Sebring) 

Tapes of Historical Society Programs

  • Ruth K. Davis – Kahn Family, 1986
  • Not So Long Ago – Hendricks Field
  • Library Expansion – Pete Pollard, DeVane Lawsuit Papers – Ross MacBeth, 1988
  • Society Annual Meeting – Albert DeVane Papers – Patsy West, October 1988
  • Henry Flagler Program – Sophie May Mitchell Honoree, January 1980
  • Tom & Sophie Mae Mitchell Family – Interview at Kenilworth Lodge, January 1989
  • Sebring Airport – Hendricks, May 1989
  • Lanier Family – Jacaranda Hotel, July 1989
  • Allen Altvater Cultural Center Dedication – July 1989
  • Society Annual Meeting – Alsmeyer/Jernigan Honorary Pioneer Family, October 1989
  • Alsmeyer/Jernigan Family – in Jernigan home reminiscing & viewing slides, 1989
  • Archeology – January 27, 1990
  • Ground breaking – New Library for Archives, 1990
  • Lauri Williams Family – Carl Cool at Highlands Hammock State Park, April 1990
  • Allen Altvater Award – Heacock Family History, October 1990
  • Report on Edna Pearce Lockett party – Sally Giffard, Betty Atkinson & report on Race history, July 1990
  • Sebring Family – Leila Sebring, January 1991
  • Weems/MacBeth Family – April 1991
  • Archive Dedication Ceremony – State dignitaries, March 1991
  • Mrs. Vail Weems (wife of Dr. Weems), April 1991
  • Sebring High School – Don Hansen & Fred Wild, July 1991
  • Sebring Old Seaboard Airline Train Station, October 1991
  • Sebring Police Department History, January 1992
  • Staff & Book Club – Ruth Sebring, Earl Rich (Clerk of Court) – Records, April 1992
  • John Jovich’s Presidential History – July 1992
  • Annual Meeting – October 1992
  • Collier Automotive Museum – CAMM-Otto
  • Presentation to Mayor Rudasil & Shirley Kitchings, Tom Mitchell on Sebring High School Reunion, January 1993
  • Park & Albert DeVane – Kyle Tolar, on Great Grandfather and Great Uncle Jack Hancock on Baseball in Sebring, April 1993
  • Sebring Lions Club – Ruth Sebring’s memories, Jack Hancock’s memories – July 1993
  • USS Highlands (Transport ship in Pacific World War II) – Larry Levey, January 1994 Memorabilia placed in Archives.
  • Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), A Vacation From Poverty, National CCC Reunion, Larry Levey, December 2003
  • Sebring Historical Society Documentary by Sebring High School students, Danielle Plank and Dawn Moore, 2003
  • Betty Haynes – Early Sebring, Oral History Project 2003
  • Elizabeth M. Burton – Early Sebring, Oral History Project 2003
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