Lake Wales Facts:
According to the 2000 census, the population of Lake Wales, Florida was 9,670 and the median age was 36.4 years. The population figure represents a growth of 14% over the past decade. Polk County's 2000 population was placed at 405,382 and its residents' median age was 36.5 years.
Of Lake Wales' 9,670 residents, 4,404 were male and 5,266 female. Total households numbered 3,789. Of these, 2,538 were family households and 1,251 were non-family households, with an average of 2.47 people per household.
Because of Lake Wales' moderate climate, heating and cooling costs for businesses and homes tend to be constant and reasonable. Also, in the absence of temperature extremes, outdoor industries, such as construction, can maintain a year-round schedule.
Years of growth have been experienced by the central Florida area, leaving Lake Wales situated near major metropolitan markets. Approximately 4.8 million people now reside within a 60-mile radius of the city. Nearly half of, Florida's resident population and most of the state's tourists can be found within a 100-mile radius.
Today, Lake Wales is the fastest growing community in Polk County, with a population that is expected to quadruple by 2010. While facing many challenges associated with such dramatic growth, community leaders are working together to meet those challenges while preserving the unique qualities that have made Lake Wales a great place to live, work, and visit.
Historic Bok Sanctuary:
According to the 2000 census, the population of Lake Wales, Florida was 9,670 and the median age was 36.4 years. The population figure represents a growth of 14% over the past decade. Polk County's 2000 population was placed at 405,382 and its residents' median age was 36.5 years.
While in Lake Wales, visit historic Bok Santuary a National Historic Landmark, located just north of Lake Wales on the Florida peninsula's highest point. The gift of publisher and author Edward W. Bok, a Dutch immigrant, the gardens and Tower were Mr. Bok´s gift of gratitude for the opportunities he´d been given as an American. The words of his grandmother were the inspiration of the Sanctuary, "Make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you´ve lived in it."
The majestic bell tower, a visual centerpiece of a historic Olmsted-designed landscape garden, houses one of the world's great carillons. Sixty bronze bells, ranging in weight from 17 pounds to nearly 24,000 pounds, fill the garden with beautiful carillon music with concerts daily at 1 and 3 p.m. as well as brief recordings throughout the day.
Pinewood Estate is a classic 20-room Mediterranean Revival winter estate that offers walking tours. For availability and rates, inquire in the Visitor Center upon arrival. Along with museum-quality exhibits in the Visitor Center, visitors to Historic Bok Sanctuary may enjoy the Pine Ridge Nature Preserve Trail, Window by the Pond nature observatory, guided garden walks (seasonally), and a panoramic view from Iron Mountain located 298 feet above sea level. The Carillon Cafe offers lunch and refreshments and the Tower & Garden Gift Shop showcase unique museum-quality gifts.
Special events include daily carillon concerts, seasonal guided tours, moonlight recitals, Easter Sunrise service, Christmas at Pinewood Holiday Home Tour and other holiday programs, the International Carillon Festival, Garden Campus lectures and workshops and much more. This National Historic Landmark is located three miles north of Lake Wales off C.R. 17A (Burns Avenue), and is open to the public every day of the year, with admission from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Arts:
The Lake Wales Art Center is a private, tax-exempt non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and encourage the arts for the enhancement of community life.
The Arts Council adapted the former Holy Spirit Catholic Church, one of the finest examples of Spanish Mission-style architecture in the state of, Florida, into its operating Arts Center. The Center, built in 1927, is the location of rotating exhibitions, concerts, workshops, family days, and a film series and also sponsors the annual Lake Wales Art Show, a juried fine arts festival held on the shores
Spook Hill:
Cars don't roll uphill by themselves ...or do they? Legends about Spook Hill, between Lake Wailes and Iron Mountain at Bok Tower Sanctuary, abound in Lake Wales.
Legend has it that the area around the lake was once the home of a tribe of Calusas, led by a great and powerful Chief Cufcowellax. The tribe lived happily until a huge bull alligator moved into the lake and began to raid the Indian village. To save his people, the chief set out to find and destroy the giant reptile, and, after much searching, found the creature and engaged it in battle. Cufcowellax fought the gator for many days. As the tribe watched, the chief finally emerged from the lake victorious.
By the turn of the century, horses pulling loads on the road by the lake were observed laboring when traveling what should have been an easy route: downhill. Locals took note of the unusual phenomenon, attributing it to Chief Cufcowellax, and a local attraction was born. Years later, when the road was paved, residents found that their cars rolled uphill by themselves. Ever since, investigators have tried in vain to discover what really lies behind the mystery of Spook Hill.
