BARTOW, Fla. — Bartow, Florida sits about 60 miles from Orlando and 40 miles from Tampa, but the city of just under 24,000 people carries a history and community spirit that stretches well beyond its size.
"It's the hometown feel. Everybody knows everybody, everybody looks out for everybody. And we want everybody to be successful," said Kyle Laseck, the assistant director of Parks and Recreation in Bartow.
WATCH Bartow, Florida: Small-town pride, a century of golf and 175 years of history
Founded by Readding Blount, Bartow was originally called Fort Blount, then Peas Creek.
In 1867, following the end of the Civil War, Polk County commissioners renamed the town after General Francis Bartow, the first Confederate brigade commander killed in the war. Nearly two centuries later, the city's character is visible around every corner.
One of Bartow's biggest calling cards today is golf. The Bartow Golf Course opened in 1926 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary this December.
"In 1919, it was originally a dairy farm. A local phosphate company actually gave us over 200 acres," Grace St. Lassiter, the general manager of the Bartow Golf Course.
The course is listed on the Florida Historic Golf Trail and has helped produce nationally recognized golfers over its nearly 100-year history.
"We've actually had two Bartow natives actually go on to the African American Golf Hall of Fame. That's going to be Herbert Dixon and Richard Lewis," said St. Lassiter.
Dixon recently passed away at the age of 103, but his legacy, like Bartow's, lives on.
The city's history also lives inside its buildings. The Unfiltered Coffee House in downtown Bartow operates out of a 120-year-old building, complete with a pulley elevator — a detail that speaks to the layers of history tucked throughout the community.
For more stories from Bartow, visit tampabay28.com/bartow.
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