Lakeland in Polk County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Second Mass. Infantry Camp

May 17-30, 1898

Photographed By AGS Media, December 22, 2011

1. Second Mass. Infantry Camp Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Camp Massachusetts, one of the five encampments in Lakeland during the Spanish-American War, bordered part of Lake Morton. Pvt. Wesley S. Brass, of Company I, died here and was given "a funeral that a Marshal of France might have deserved..." The 71st New York Infantry encamped by this lake, west of Massachusetts Avenue.

Erected 1948 by the City Library.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, Spanish-American.

Location. 28° 2.4′ N, 81° 57.237′ W. Marker is in Lakeland, Florida, in Polk County. Marker is at the intersection of Lake Morton Drive and South Massachusetts Avenue, on the left when traveling east on Lake Morton Drive. The marker sits along the north side of Lake Morton, outside the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 35 Lake Morton Drive, Lakeland FL 33801, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Women's Club of Lakeland (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Oates Building (approx. ¼ mile away); Allen Kryger (approx. ¼

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mile away); The Sorosis Club Building (approx. ¼ mile away); ‘Mute Swan Protecting Her Cygnets’ (approx. 0.3 miles away); Polk Theatre and Office Building (approx. 0.3 miles away); Munn Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); Munn Park Historic District (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lakeland.

More about this marker. The marker was manufactured by the Salem Foundry, of Salem, Virginia, and is capped with the Great Seal of the State of Florida.

The marker is located outside the Park Trammell Building, formerly the Lakeland City Library (which erected the marker) and today home to the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce. Park Trammell (1876 - 1936) was Mayor of Lakeland at the turn of the 20th century and he went on to serve in the Florida State House and Senate, then as Florida Attorney General, Governor of Florida, and U.S. Senator. The library building, built in Mediterranean-revival around the 1920's Florida Land Boom, was named in Trammell's memory in 1955. The building is a Contributing Structure within the East Lake Morton Residential District (a National Historic District).

Photographed By AGS Media, December 22, 2011

2. Second Mass. Infantry Camp Marker

Photographed By AGS Media, December 22, 2011

3. Second Mass. Infantry Camp Marker

The marker is just right of the street signs on the left. Beyond them stands the Park Trammell Building (Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce).

Photographed By AGS Media, December 22, 2011

4. Lake Morton

Credits. This page was last revised on June 5, 2018. It was originally submitted on January 9, 2012, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. This page has been viewed 890 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 9, 2012, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.