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History - The City of Bartow began as Fort Blount in 1851 as a refuge from the Seminole Indians. The first permanent white settlers came to the area in 1850. In 1861, the first Board of Polk County Commissioners was organized. During the early months of 1867, with full approval of the settlers, the County Commissioners made the decision that the seat of government for Polk County would be known as Bartow, named in honor of the first confederate general to fall in the Civil War. The area is one of the largest phosphate producing industrial complexes in the world. Polk County produces more citrus than the State of California, and Bartow has large herds of range, registered beef, and dairy cattle. In addition, a growing light industry segment's financial impact increases annually.
Government - The city is governed by a commission and city manager. Five commissioners are elected, one of whom is chosen as mayor. The city manager is appointed by the commission. Regular meetings are held monthly on the first and third Mondays, 6:30pm at City Hall.
Churches - There are 37 churches representing most denominations.  Climate - The annual mean temperature is 72.2 degrees. Daily range between high and low temperatures averages 20.1 degrees in winter and 19.8 degrees in the summer. Average rainfall is 45 inches per year. The sun shines 72 percent of the daylight hours throughout the year. Average elevation is 115 feet above sea level. Cultural - The Art Guild and Imperial Symphony Orchestra provide cultural activities on a year round basis.Restaurants - A number of major food chains are represented as well as locally owned establishments. Retail - There are five main shopping areas: Bartow Center, Downtown, Golden Gate Shopping Center, Wal-Mart Shopping Plaza, and Bartow Village. |
Housing - Apartments...496 units; Condominiums...30 units; Homes...wide price range available for purchase and also custom building; Mobile Home Parks...parks; Motels...164 units.
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911 System - The County's 911 system handles all emergency phone calls from its 13 centers throughout Polk County and immediately forwards the calls to the appropriate agency.
Police - The Bartow Police Department is comprised of 50 full time officers, 7 city employees cross-trained and certified officers and 4 Police reservists. It also has an active Community Services Division comprised of 2 full-time staff and 4 volunteers. Fire - The city has one fire station with the following equipment: Two 1,250 g.p.m. and one 1,000 g.p.m. pumper/engines, one 1,000 g.p.m snorkel truck, one 500 g.p.m. rescue truck, one 250 g.p.m.brush truck and a 1,500 gallon tanker for use outside the city, and two emergency medical trucks. The City's fire service consists of 37 personnel comprised of 21 full-time firefighters and 16 volunteer firefighters who have received extensive firefighting, rescue, and emergency medical training. Emergency response time to fires and medical emergencies is 3/5 minutes. The Bartow Fire Station serves an area of 90 square miles, of which 9 square miles is the City of Bartow. The City is also a member of the State Wide Mutual Aid Agreement which offers assistance to other area departments during extreme emergencies. The Insurance Service Office rating for the City of Bartow is Class 5.  Sheriff - Bartow has the largest police agency in the County, being the home for the Polk County Sheriffs Office (PCSO). The PCSO employs 867 certified and sworn employees, 402 civilian employees, 186 part-time employees and a plethora of volunteers. Located in downtown Bartow, the PCSO Operations Center houses many of the support departments including 9-1-1 Communications, Human Resources, Records and Identification Services, Fiscal Services and many other departments. Community Services, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Crime Scene, Agricultural Unit and other Support Services are housed at the Bartow Municipal Airport. The Sheriff's Office is responsible for the jail system within Polk County, which is comprised of two main detention facilities in Bartow. The combined 1997 average monthly inmate count was 1,684. The Sheriff's Office also operates two other facilities in Bartow, the Tent City, which provides temporary housing of inmates from the overcrowded facilities, and the Boot Camp, which assists troubled youths.
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Greater Bartow Chamber of Commerce 510 North Broadway Avenue Bartow, Florida 33830-3918 phone: 863-533-7125 fax: 863-533-3793 email: discoverbartow@bartowchamber.com |
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© 1998-2004 Greater Bartow Chamber of Commerce
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