![Florida-heartland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Florida-heartland.jpg)
The Florida Heartland (also known as South Central Florida) is a region of
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 ...
located to the north and west of
Lake Okeechobee
Lake Okeechobee (), also known as Florida's Inland Sea, is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the tenth largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwa ...
, composed of six inland, non-metropolitan counties—
DeSoto,
Glades,
Hardee,
Hendry,
Highlands, and
Okeechobee. In 2000, The
US Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
recorded the population of the region at 229,509. In 2010, The
US Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
recorded the population of the region at 253,399, a growth rate of 11.0%. The most populous county in the region is Highlands County, and the region's largest cities are
Avon Park and
Sebring, both with slightly more than 10,000 people. Unlike the coastal areas to the east and west, the rural nature of the Florida Heartland is culturally closer to the
Deep South
The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the wa ...
than the rest of South Florida and has traditionally been inhabited by Americans of predominantly
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
ancestry. While located in
Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...
, the nearby rural cities of
South Bay,
Belle Glade and
Pahokee as well as the census-designated place of
Lake Harbor, located on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee, are more associated with the Florida Heartland than the remainder of
South Florida
South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...
. The same could also apply to the
Collier County
Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from ...
communities of
Immokalee
(your home)
, nickname =
, settlement_type = Census-designated place
, motto =
, image_skyline = File:Immokalee-Zocalo Plaza 2018.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption ...
,
Ave Maria
The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...
and
Harker as well as to the
Martin County community of
Port Mayaca.
Development
The region is primarily rural in nature, with the primary economic driver being
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
. Important products grown in this area include
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
es,
beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus'').
In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...
,
sugarcane,
cucumbers and
citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...
products including
oranges
An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...
.
In Hardee county,
phosphate
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...
mining is also a substantial industry, particularly along the
Peace River
The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...
basin.
Demographics
As of the
2000 United States Census
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...
, there were 229,209 people living in the Florida Heartland.
The racial makeup of the region was:
65.6% White (150,302)
22.2% Hispanic (50,817)
9.8% Black (22,510)
1.2% Other/Pacific Islander (2,687)
0.7% Asian (1,701)
0.5% Native American (1,192)
Government
Each county in the region has its own county government. Within each county, there are also self-governing cities and towns. The majority of land in each county is controlled directly by the county government. It is common for incorporated municipalities to contract county services in order to save costs and avoid redundancy.
Education
Each of the six counties has its own school board, with four of the county school systems consisting of one high school, one alternative school and no more than two middle schools. Highlands County has three high schools while Hendry County has two.
The six school districts are all members of th
Heartland Educational Consortium located i
Lake Placid Florida. The Consortium is one of three educational consortia in the state, created by state legislature to provide support to small and rural school districts.
South Florida State College
South Florida State College is a public college in Florida with campuses in Highlands, DeSoto and Hardee counties. It is part of the Florida College System.
South Florida State College was founded in 1965 and serves around 16,000 students a ...
, the largest post-secondary institution based within Florida's Heartland, is located in
Avon Park and has campuses in
Lake Placid,
Bowling Green
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
and
Arcadia.
Other community colleges that have campuses in the Florida Heartland include the
Indian River State College's Dixon Hendry Campus in
Okeechobee, and the
Fort Myers
Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
-based
Florida SouthWestern State College
Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW or Florida SouthWestern) is a public college with its main campus in Fort Myers, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college has satellite campuses in Charlotte County and Collier Cou ...
with its Hendry/Glades Center in
LaBelle.
Regional Transportation
Highways
There are no interstate Highways in the Florida Heartland. The
Florida's Turnpike passes through the northeastern corner of Okeechobee County, and includes the
Fort Drum
Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, on the northern border of New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. It is home ...
service plaza, but there are no exits along that segment. Interstate 75 briefly passes through extreme southwestern DeSoto County, but there are no exits in the county.
Airports
There is no scheduled airline service in the Florida Heartland. The following General Aviation airports operate in the region:
Seaports
There are no seaports, as there is neither a seacoast nor navigable rivers, but the
Okeechobee Waterway
The Okeechobee Waterway or Okeechobee Canal is a relatively shallow artificial waterway in the United States, stretching across Florida from Fort Myers on the west coast to Stuart on Florida's east coast. The waterway can support tows such as ...
is a navigable canal which crosses the region, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean through Lake Okeechobee. There is a proposal underway for a potential "Inland Port" to be located in the Florida Heartland. This inland port would be an extension of the Ports of West Palm Beach, Everglades and Miami which lack the current and available real estate to expand their facilities.
Railway
There are three freight lines operating in the Florida Heartland, with approximately 190 miles of track:
CSX Transportation,
Seminole Gulf Railway
The Seminole Gulf Railway is a short line freight and passenger excursion railroad headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, that operates two former CSX Transportation railroad lines in Southwest Florida. The company's Fort Myers Division, whic ...
, and
South Central Florida Express.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
service operates on CSX tracks, with stops in Sebring and Okeechobee.
Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
is an economic driver in the area, but far less so than most of the rest of the state. The lack of development and amenities results in fewer tourists visiting the area, and there are no oceanfront beaches to attract nearby residents.
The largest tourist attraction is the
Sebring International Raceway, southeast of Sebring in Highlands County. There, the
12 Hours of Sebring, an
American Le Mans Series race usually held in the second week of March, drew a "paying crowd" of more than 169,000 in 2006.
Many seasonal residents live in the area during the winter months only, as temperatures in south Florida stay very moderate during that time of year. Lake Okeechobee and
Lake Istokpoga attract fishers to the area.
Area codes
Area code 863 is used throughout the region.
Regional media
Newspapers
There are two daily newspapers published in the Heartland, the ''
Okeechobee News'' (Okeechobee), and ''
Highlands News-Sun'' (Sebring).
Other daily newspapers that serve the Heartland include:
Television stations
There are no local television stations in the Florida Heartland. TV service originates in
Fort Myers
Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
,
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
,
Tampa, and
West Palm Beach
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
.
Radio stations
The following radio stations operate in the Heartland:
WRMI
WRMI (Radio Miami International) is a shortwave radio station broadcasting from Okeechobee, Florida, United States. WRMI is a commercial radio station that sells airtime to businesses and organizations.
Programming
WRMI relays several internatio ...
, a Miami-based shortwave radio station, broadcasts from facilities near Okeechobee. The Okeechobee site was previously the longtime home of
Family Radio
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
's
WYFR from 1977 to 2013.
Florida Heartland Population Data
Counties
Incorporated municipalities
Metropolitan and micropolitan areas
There are no United States Census Bureau-designated
Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
s in the Florida Heartland. However, the Census Bureau has identified five
Micropolitan Statistical Areas:
*Arcadia, Fla. Micropolitan Statistical Area (DeSoto County, Florida)
*Clewiston, Fla. Micropolitan Statistical Area (Hendry County, Florida)
*Okeechobee, Fla. Micropolitan Statistical Area (Okeechobee County, Florida)
*Sebring, Fla. Micropolitan Statistical Area (Highlands County, Florida)
*Wauchula, Fla. Micropolitan Statistical Area (Hardee County, Florida)
References
External links
FHREDI - Florida's Heartland Rural Economic Development InitiativeFHRCH - Florida's Heartland Rural Consortia for the Homeless, Inc.Heartland Library Cooperative- Public Library System for Highlands, Hardee, Desoto and Okeechobee counties
{{coord missing, Florida
Highlands County, Florida
Hardee County, Florida
Okeechobee County, Florida
DeSoto County, Florida
Glades County, Florida
Hendry County, Florida
Regions of Florida
South Florida