Highland City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Polk County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, Highland City had a population of 12,355. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The modern-day area of Highland City was the site of the United States Army's Fort Fraser, established in 1837 during its war with the Seminole Indians. Zachary Taylor, former U.S. President, commanded the fort for a short period. Fort Fraser was abandoned shortly after its construction.
In 1885, the Pemberton Ferry Branch of the South Florida Railroad was completed between Lakeland and Bartow. The area now known as Highland City was the only stop between the two larger cities. The stop, and eventual village, was named for the Haskell brothers, who were early investors in the South Florida Railroad. E. B. Haskell was a newspaper publisher from Boston, Massachusetts and his brother Dr. C. C. Haskell, of Maitland, Florida, was an original stakeholder in the South Florida Railroad. In addition to the town of Haskell, the South Florida Railroad's #6 locomotive was named the E. B. Haskell.
The Haskell freight depot was built by the railroad company along the roadway that would later become U.S. Highway 98. (In 1958, the depot was demolished due to its proximity to the roadway, and was replaced by a new freight building). The first postmaster (and also the first freight agent of the depot) in Haskell, Thomas A. Goode, was appointed on February 9, 1887.
Developer W. F. Hallam had begun to develop the Lakeland Highlands area by 1924. Hallam built the Hallam Country Clubhouse in the area west of Highland City and the road accessing the clubhouse became known as Clubhouse Road. The development of the Highlands also brought an influx of new residents to the Haskell community.
Name
A common error in referring to this place is to add an 'S' to the end of "Highland", causing the name to incorrectly read "Highlands City". For example, a new train depot, constructed in 1958, originally featured a sign with the mistakenly spelled "Highlands City" name. Lakeland Ledger reporter Courtland Anderson made special note of the error in the caption of his photo of the new depot.
Modern community
The Highland City Volunteer Fire Department (HCVFD) works in conjunction with the Polk County Fire Department to provide fire protection for the Highland City area. For many years, HCVFD operated the fire service in Highland City on a completely volunteer basis. In the last quarter of the 20th century, Polk County consolidated many of its fire districts, and the Highland City fire station became an official Polk County Fire Station, under command of the Fire Chief of Polk County.
As of 1996, the Highland City community had organized an active community group. The group's goals included beautification, utility upgrades and safer neighborhoods.
On December 9, 2006, the community saw the grand opening of the Fort Fraser Trail, a 7.75-mile pedestrian and bicycle trail extending from the Polk State College campus south to Bartow.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all land.
Highland City's street addresses put them on the Lakeland street grid; most street names have "SE" in their name, indicating that they are southeast of Lakeland's "point zero" intersection of Florida Avenue and Main Street. However, Highland City is often considered to be culturally closer to Bartow than Lakeland. Highland City Elementary, primarily feeds into Bartow Middle School and Bartow High School. Unlike its nearest neighbor, Lakeland Highlands, which is somewhat affluent, Highland City is a working class area with many mobile homes.
The Highland City census designated place is located on U.S. Highway 98, northwest of Bartow and east of Lakeland Highlands. The approximate limits of the Highland City census designated place are County Road 540A to the south, Clubhouse Road to the North, Strickland Avenue to the west, and 1st Street SE to the east.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Highland City had a population of 12,355. The median age was 38.5 years. 24.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.2 males age 18 and over.
There were 4,448 households in Highland City, of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 56.7% were married-couple households, 13.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 8,411 || 68.1%
|-
| Black or African American || 1,188 || 9.6%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 32 || 0.3%
|-
| Asian || 507 || 4.1%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 2 || 0.0%
|-
| Some other race || 674 || 5.5%
|-
| Two or more races || 1,541 || 12.5%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 2,232 || 18.1%
|}
2000 census
As of the 2000 census