Abraham Munn (1818 – 1910) was the founder of the city of

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

. Hailing originally from New Jersey, Munn gained notoriety as a producer of agricultural implements, through Munn & Company, in

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. This company was incorporated into Brennan & Co. Southwestern Agricultural Works when Thomas Brennan became a partner in 1882. In 1884, at the Munn property that is now part of Lakeland, the

South Florida Railroad The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. It served as the southernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's ma ...

passed through, connecting

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Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

. Munn provided local amenities and a railroad station to supplement the line, as well as plots of land adjacent to the line. In 1885, the area was incorporated as Lakeland, Florida. The central park of Lakeland is named Munn Park in honor of the city's founder.The Filson Historical Society - Manuscripts & Photos

References

Lakeland, Florida American city founders 1818 births 1910 deaths {{Florida-bio-stub