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Acton was a community in
Acton was a community in Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk:
* Polk County, Arkansas
* Polk County, Florida
* Polk County, Georgia
* Polk County, Iowa
* Polk Count ...
, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, United States. The town was situated two miles east of Lakeland which it preceded. It was a settlement of English people from Great Britain. It was established in 1884 named for Lord Acton
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he w ...
. The community began dispersing to Lakeland in 1889 and disappeared after the great freeze of 1894. A historical marker in Interlachen Park commemorates its history.
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 m ...
advertised a route through it. An episcopal church was built in the community and later moved to Lakeland.
History
Acton wasplat
In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...
ted in 1884, and named for Lord Acton
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he w ...
. A post office was established at Acton in 1884, and remained in operation until 1889. Construction of a railroad shifted business activity to nearby Lakeland, and the town's population dwindled.
References
Ghost towns in Florida Former populated places in Polk County, Florida Populated places established in 1884 1884 establishments in Florida {{US-ghost-town-stub