Learning Resources
Learn About
Lake Wales
History
Field Trips
The museum offers tours for children and student groups of all sizes and ages. We welcome visitors with disabilities, including families with children and adults on the autism spectrum. Please download the Social Story about what to expect when visiting the Museum.
To Schedule A Field Trip
please have the following information available:
Date and time options
Number of students and chaperones. We ask one chaperone for every 10 students.
Please call or email us at:
Guidelines
Field trips are available Tuesday - Saturday for groups of 10 or more.
Two weeks advanced notice is recommended.
We ask one chaperone for every 10 students.
The last entry to the museum is 4:30 PM.
Arrive 10–15 minutes early to allow time for check-in and restroom breaks.
Field trips to the Lake Wales Museum are free to the public.
Bus parking is available in the south parking area only.
Chaperones are responsible at all times for ensuring your group explores the museum in a safe and respectful manner.
Food, drinks, candy and gum are not permitted inside the galleries.
Photography is welcome. Tripods and commercial photography is not permitted.
The picnic area is available on a first-come, first served basis and accommodates about 25 people.
Museum Suitcase
The Lake Wales Museum Suitcase is a mobile exhibit case that comes to you and your students.
Suitcase Includes:
A Teacher's Guide
A Student's Guide
Built in activities and lessons
Objects, documents, and images from the Lake Wales Museum educatoin collection
Reproduction peices that are helpful for understanding the history of Lake Wales
Aligns with FDOE standards for fourth grade curriculum
Lake Wales History
1853
Survey made of region around present-day Lake Wales by W.A. Williams and J. Jackson, deputy surveyors of the State of Florida; area considered to be uninhabitable by early settlers.
1879
1885
Robert J. Ruth of Baltimore, Maryland, obtained 1,400 acres of land around Iron Mountain.
1902
1905
1910
1911
1911
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad tracks reached Lake Wailes ending isolation of the area; depot built near present-day Park Avenue.
Turpentine Still constructed with commissary, blacksmith shop, church, and living quarters for workers.
Lake Wales Land Co formed by E.C. Stuart and officers of C.L. Johnson Co.
A.C. Nydegger hired by Lake Wales Land Co. to survey and plat town site.
Streets cleared and construction of Hotel Wales began.
1912
Bartow-Lake Wales mail service inaugurated
Construction started on boardinghouse for employees of Lake Wales Land Co.
Construction started on Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church
Water works constructed
Permanent settlement in town began as families started arriving
Sawmill constructed north of town
1913
Home building commenced with construction of Wetmore houses on Twin Lake
Ice plant completed
Spelling of town’s name on depot sign changed by ACL Railroad from Lake Wailes to Lake Wales, reflecting popular usage
Banking added to services offered in T.J. Parker’s General Store
First services held in town’s first church
Hotel Wales opened for businessown
1914
School opened with 14 pupils
Organized grove planting began
Cemetery established
Organization of community social and civic groups beganMedical services provided with arrival of Dr. C.F. Griffin
Population reached 250
Volunteer Fire Department organized following first real calamity
1915
Seaboard Air Line tracks extended to Lake Wales from Bartow
Telephone line connected Lake Wales with Haines City
Lake Wales Board of Trade organized and joined Ridge Board of Trade
1916
Military company organized for rifle practice and drill; later became Home Guard
Streets in business district given hard surface
Justice of the Peace appointed in Lake Wales district
School year opened with 98 pupils; $25,000 bond issue approved for new building
1917
Asphalt road completed between Lake Wales and Haines City
Charter of Incorporation granted to Town of Lake Wales by Florida Legislature
Town Council elected: M.R. Anderson, Mayor; G.E. Wetmore, B.K. Bullard, L.L. Barnes, G. Swanke, and J.F. Townsend, Councilmen; M.M. Ebert, Clerk
The Railroad
Before the arrival of the railroad, Lake Wales could only be reached by sand trails. The extension of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad from Haines City to Lake Wales in 1911 ended the community’s isolation and encouraged early settlement. The original Atlantic Coast Line depot, a crude unpainted shack and platform, was the first building constructed in Lake Wales. It was replaced in 1913 with a large frame structure that stood on Scenic Highway near Park Avenue. The new depot was capable of accommodating both freight and passengers, and, as people and supplies began to flow in, it served as the starting point from which the present town evolved.
In April 1915, the first train over the Lake Wales section of the east-west Seaboard Air Line tracks came through from Bartow, and early residents celebrated their status as a 2-railroad town. In 1916, a small depot was constructed just east of the intersection of Kissimmee Avenue and Scenic Highway to accommodate rail traffic on this line.
In 1928, a new passenger depot was constructed several blocks south of the original depot to relieve congestion in the downtown area. A freight room and loading platform were added in 1938.
Passenger service to Lake Wales ceased in 1954. In 1966, Seaboard Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line merged to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railway. In 1974, freight service shifted to the West Lake Wales station, and trains no longer stopped in Lake Wales.