Plant City, Florida facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Plant City, Florida
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Plant City's city hall
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Location in Hillsborough County and the U.S. state of Florida
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 Plant City, Florida
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  Florida |
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| County |  Hillsborough |
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| City |  Plant City |
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| Area | ||
| • Total | 29.12 sq mi (75.43 km2) | |
| • Land | 28.19 sq mi (73.02 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.93 sq mi (2.41 km2) | |
| Elevation | 128 ft (39 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 39,764 | |
| • Density | 1,410.42/sq mi (544.57/km2) | |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) | |
| ZIP codes |
33563-33567
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| Area code(s) | 813 | |
| FIPS code | 12-57550 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 0289021 | |
Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. The population was 34,721 at the 2010 census.
Despite many thinking it was named for flora grown at plant nurseries (especially vegetables and fruits, as well as tropical houseplants) in its tropical Gulf Coast climate, it was named after prominent railroad developer Henry B. Plant (see Plant System). Plant City is known as the winter strawberry capital of the world and hosts the annual Florida Strawberry Festival in the late winter (usually in February or early March), which is attended by people from all over the United States as well as many people from around the world.
Contents
History
Plant City's original name was Ichepucksassa (also known as Idasukshed) after the Indian village that once occupied the territory. Its name caused so much confusion that the city was renamed Cork, after the postmaster's Irish hometown. It was finally given the name Plant City in commemoration of Henry B. Plant and his railroad, which significantly boosted the commerce in this primarily agricultural community by incorporating it with the South Florida Railroad.
The columnist John Keasler, who wrote 7,000 columns over 30 years for The Miami News, hailed from Plant City.
Country singer Pam Tillis was born in Plant City.
Plant City was the spring training home of baseball's Cincinnati Reds, who played exhibition games at Plant City Stadium from 1988 to 1997.
In popular culture
- The 2012 cult classic film, Rock Bottom Creek was filmed mostly in Plant City.
Geography
Plant City is located at 28°1′N 82°8′W / 28.017°N 82.133°W (28.0142, -82.1289).
According to the United States Census Bureau the city has a total area of 22.8 square miles (59 km2), of which 22.6 square miles (59 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2), or 0.53%, is water.
The city and its surrounding area are in the Southern Flatwoods ecological community as defined by the US Department of Agriculture. [1] The region as a whole is noted for its sandy, infertile, and poorly drained soils. In and around Plant City, however, high organic matter content and scattered phosphate nodules make many of the soils more fertile than typical for the flatwoods.
Climate
Plant City, as does most of Florida, has a humid subtropical climate with humid and hot summers and warm, drier winters. Since the coolest month mean temperature is 61 °F, it narrowly misses the definition of a true tropical climate.
| Climate data for Plant City, Florida | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 88 (31) |
91 (33) |
94 (34) |
99 (37) |
101 (38) |
102 (39) |
102 (39) |
99 (37) |
98 (37) |
95 (35) |
92 (33) |
89 (32) |
102 (39) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 72 (22) |
74 (23) |
78 (26) |
83 (28) |
88 (31) |
90 (32) |
91 (33) |
90 (32) |
89 (32) |
85 (29) |
79 (26) |
74 (23) |
83 (28) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 50 (10) |
51 (11) |
55 (13) |
59 (15) |
65 (18) |
71 (22) |
72 (22) |
73 (23) |
71 (22) |
65 (18) |
58 (14) |
52 (11) |
62 (17) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 17 (−8) |
22 (−6) |
24 (−4) |
32 (0) |
43 (6) |
49 (9) |
59 (15) |
61 (16) |
52 (11) |
38 (3) |
21 (−6) |
18 (−8) |
17 (−8) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.73 (69) |
3.05 (77) |
3.39 (86) |
2.20 (56) |
3.58 (91) |
7.35 (187) |
7.51 (191) |
7.71 (196) |
6.62 (168) |
2.36 (60) |
2.12 (54) |
2.55 (65) |
51.17 (1,300) |
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1890 | 349 | — | |
| 1900 | 720 | 106.3% | |
| 1910 | 2,481 | 244.6% | |
| 1920 | 3,729 | 50.3% | |
| 1930 | 6,800 | 82.4% | |
| 1940 | 7,491 | 10.2% | |
| 1950 | 9,230 | 23.2% | |
| 1960 | 15,711 | 70.2% | |
| 1970 | 15,451 | −1.7% | |
| 1980 | 17,064 | 10.4% | |
| 1990 | 22,754 | 33.3% | |
| 2000 | 29,915 | 31.5% | |
| 2010 | 34,721 | 16.1% | |
| 2020 | 39,764 | 14.5% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 18,735 | 47.12% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 5,388 | 13.55% |
| Native American | 75 | 0.19% |
| Asian | 641 | 1.61% |
| Pacific Islander | 21 | 0.05% |
| Other/Mixed | 1,427 | 3.59% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 13,477 | 33.89% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 39,764 people, 13,966 households, and 9,699 families residing in the city.
Transportation
Aviation
Plant City Airport is a public-use airport located 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of the central business district.
Railroad
Plant City Union Depot served both the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) and Seaboard Air Line Railroad even after their merger into the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad until passenger service ceased operations in 1971. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. The east-west ACL tracks cross the north-south Seaboard tracks at a 90-degree angle at the southeast corner of the station, forming a diamond junction. Both tracks are now owned and run by Class 1 railroad CSX. Amtrak's Silver Star uses the line's west-to-eastbound ACL tracks, although it does not stop at the station.
At the station, a train observation deck is present where one can watch CSX freight trains and Amtrak's Silver Star train pass, as well as the Tropicana Juice Train. The closest other passenger stations are Tampa or Lakeland.
Major highways
Interstate 4
U.S. Route 92
State Road 39
State Road 39A
State Road 553
State Road 566
State Road 574
Parks, culture, recreation and attractions
National Register of Historic Places
There are several locations in Plant City which have been included in the National Register of Historic Places. They are:
- Bing Rooming House
- Downtown Plant City Commercial District
- Downtown Plant City Historic Residential District
- Glover School
- Hillsboro State Bank Building
- Historic Turkey Creek High School
- North Plant City Residential District
- Plant City High School
- Plant City Union Depot
- Standard Oil Service Station
Attractions
Parks
- Alderman's Ford Park
- Edward Medard Park and Reservoir, a 1,284 acre preserve with 3.25 mile bridle path, fishing, and trails.
Alafia River State Park and Alderman's Ford Regional Park are located nearby.
Mural ban
On October 12, 2009, the Plant City Commissioners voted 4-1 to essentially ban all new murals in the Historic District of Plant City. Current murals being painted are not affected by this ban, but no new murals can be painted unless the owner of the building can prove there was an already existing mural on the wall before 1994. The ban was set in motion by a complaint about a recent mural by Blake Emory- a rendition of Norman Rockwell's "April Fools" - contained a sex organ in the painting. Even though the creators of the mural insisted it was not intentional, and immediately altered the section of the mural, City Commissioners hastily cast the vote adding that they may revisit this ban in the future. City Commissioner Bill Dodson was the only vote against the ban saying he was looking for a more thought out and complete ordinance over an immediate and outright ban.
Sister cities
Plant City has formalized sister city agreements with the following city:
Economy
Wish Farms, the largest strawberry producer in Florida, has a large presence in Plant City.
Education
The Hillsborough County School District operates all public schools in Plant City.
Public schools
- Simmons Career Center (6–12)
- Durant High School (9–12)
- Plant City High School (9–12)
- Strawberry Crest High School – Dover, FL (9–12)
- Simmons Exceptional Center (K–12)
- Teen Parent East Program (K–12)
- Tomlin Middle School (6–8)
- Turkey Creek Middle School (6–8)
- Marshall Middle School (6–8)
- Plant City Adult Learning Lab (GED Prep)
- Walden Lake Elementary (K–5)
- Burney Elementary School (preK–5)
- Stonewall Jackson Elementary (K–5)
- Cork Elementary School (K–5)
- Woodrow Wilson Elementary (K–5)
- Knights Elementary School (K–5)
- Springhead Elementary School (K–5)
- Trapnell Elementary School (K–5)
- Bryan Elementary School (K–5)
Private schools
- Autumn Leaf Academy (PK)
- Evangelical Presbyterian Church Learning Center (PK)
- First Presbyterian Learning Center II (PK–K)
- Faith Christian Academy of Plant City (K–12)
Notable people
- Quintilla Geer Bruton, library advocate and philanthropist
- John Keasler, columnist who wrote 7,000 columns over 30 years for The Miami News.
- Ashley Moody, attorney and 38th Attorney General of Florida
- Clay Roberts, professional soccer player and coach
- Pam Tillis, country singer
Images for kids
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Plant City Police patch
See also
In Spanish: Plant City para niños
