Near Lake Wales in Polk County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Sumica

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 23, 2017

1. Sumica Marker

Inscription. During the early 1900s, this area’s long leaf and slash pine forests were home to several small turpentine and timber communities. One such town was Sumica, located approximately two miles south of this location. The name “Sumica” is an acronym for the French company, the Société Universelle des Mines, Industrie, Commerce et Agriculture, which built the town’s sawmill and turpentine plant. A post office was established at Sumica on March 19, 1917, and the town later grew to include approximately 50 houses, a commissary, church, and school. The Seaboard Airline Railway completed a branch line, the Kissimmee River Railway, in December 1917, to connect Sumica with the turpentine communities of Walinwa on Lake Weohyakapka and Nalaca in Highlands County. By 1922, the sawmill at Sumica had extended 4 miles of logging rails into surrounding woodlands, and was producing 35,000 feet of lumber per day. Following depletion of the region’s timber, the town’s post office closed in June 1927 and Sumica was abandoned. Today, all that remains of Sumica are foundations that mark the location of the town’s former sawmill and

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residences.

Erected 2013 by The Polk County Historical Commission and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-763.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Horticulture & Forestry • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Postal Mail and Philately series list. A significant historical date for this entry is March 9, 1917.

Location. 27° 51.395′ N, 81° 22.52′ W. Marker is near Lake Wales, Florida, in Polk County. It can be reached from Hesperides Road (State Road 60) 1.1 miles east of Tiger Lake Road, on the right when traveling east. Marker is located in the parking area of the Sumica Trailhead. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 12993 FL-60, Lake Wales FL 33898, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Florida.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the

Sumica Marker and surrounding area of parking lot. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 23, 2017

2. Sumica Marker and surrounding area of parking lot.

Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 6 other markers are within 14 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A different marker also named Fort Gardiner (approx. 8.4 miles away); Shady Oaks Fish Camp (approx. 9.9 miles away); Church of the Holy Spirit (approx. 11.9 miles away); Indian Burial Mound (approx. 12.1 miles away); Site of Fort Clinch (approx. 12.8 miles away); The Mountain Lake Sanctuary (approx. 13.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lake Wales.

Other markers no longer nearby. Fort Gardiner (was approx. 6.8 miles away but has been permanently removed); Old Indian Trails (was approx. 12.3 miles away but has been permanently removed).

Also see . . .
1. Sumica Ghost Town. (Submitted on January 1, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)
2. Sumica. Polk County Environmental Lands Program (Submitted on January 2, 2018.)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2018. It was originally submitted on January 1, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,061 times since then and 86 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 1, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.