Lake Placid is a town in Highlands County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,223, and in 2015 the estimated population was 2,164. It is part of the Sebring Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The town has two nicknames: "Town of Murals" and "The Caladium Capital of the World". Lake Placid has more than 40 murals painted on buildings throughout the town, and 98 percent of the world's caladium bulbs come from Lake Placid.
History
Lake Placid, which was formerly called "Lake Stearns", was chartered on December 1, 1925. Dr. Melvil Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, and the founder of the Lake Placid Club in Lake Placid, New York, proposed that Lake Stearns change its name to "Lake Placid". On April 29, 1927, the Lake Stearns Commissioners accepted Dr. Dewey's proposal. Subsequently, they submitted a request to the Florida State Legislature. On June 6, 1927, the community was chartered as the town of Lake Placid.
Geography
Lake Placid is located in central Highlands County at 27°17′47″N 81°21′53″W (27.296252, -81.364817). U.S. Route 27 passes through the town, leading north 16 miles (26 km) to Sebring, the county seat, and south 58 miles (93 km) to Clewiston.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Lake Placid has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6Â km2), of which 3.4 square miles (8.9Â km2) are land and 0.27 square miles (0.7Â km2), or 7.79%, are water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,668 people, 646 households, and 395 families residing in the town. The population density was 650.2 per square mile (250.6/km²). There were 776 housing units at an average density of 302.5 per square mile (116.6/km²).
As of the 2000 Census, the racial makeup of the town was 76.38% White, 9.95% African American, 0.90% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 10.43% from other races, and 1.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30.46% of the population. In 2010 Lake Placid had a population of 2,223. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 46.1% Hispanic or Latino and of race limited to non-Hispanic person was 44.6% white, 6.7% black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander and 1.2% from two or more races.
There were 646 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.26.
In the town, the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $21,178, and the median income for a family was $28,194. Males had a median income of $21,629 versus $14,650 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,855. About 22.7% of families and 34.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 55.2% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
Media
Television
Lake Placid is located in a fringe viewing area; its television stations originate in distant cities. Local television services offer signals from WFTV, the ABC affiliate in Orlando, WINK, the CBS affiliate in Fort Myers/Naples, WFLA, the Tampa Bay area NBC affiliate, and WTVT, the Tampa Bay area Fox affiliate. There are no TV stations whose studios or broadcasting towers are located in Lake Placid.
Radio
Lake Placid is part of the Sebring radio market, which is ranked as the 288th largest in the United States by Arbitron. There are no radio stations whose studios or broadcasting towers are located in Lake Placid.
Newspapers
Local print media include the weekly The Journal which has covered Lake Placid for almost 60 years; the News-Sun, a Sebring-based newspaper published on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday; and Highlands Today, a daily local supplement to The Tampa Tribune.
References
External links
- Town of Lake Placid official website
- Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce
- Lake Placid High School
- Lake Placid Memorial Library
- News-Sun newspaper
- Lake Placid Fire Department