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

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

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

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. 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 Kissimmee to

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 t ...

. 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 1810s births 1910 deaths {{Florida-bio-stub