Lakeland

History

The city was the location of the now defunct Lakeland Amusement Park. The Lakeland Factory Outlet Mall closed around 2011 and the property was subsequently targeted for redevelopment. The city was originally themed around the Lake now called Garner Lake. It had two railroads within the park property, including the narrow-gauge Huff 'n' Puff Railroad and a separate miniature railway railroad made by the Allan Herschell Company. In June 2024, Lakeland resident and US Navy veteran Julie Pereira sued the city of Lakeland for violating her First Amendment rights when it fined Pereira hundreds of dollars for violating the city's regulation against obscene content on signs, after she displayed a political sign in her yard that read 'Fuck Em' Both 2024', referring to 2024 US presidential election candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump. In July 2024, US District Judge Mark Norris ruled that Pereira's sign was not obscene and that it was unconstitutional for the city to regulate political points of view, citing as precedent the 1971 decision by the US Supreme Court in the case of Cohen v. California, and ordered the city to reimburse Pereira nearly $700 in fines and to pay her $31,000 in legal fees and $1 in damages.

Geography

Lakeland is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (2.33%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Bartlett High School
  High · Bartlett · 2,851 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Cordova High School
  High · Cordova · 2,110 students · 20.7:1 ratio
• Arlington High
  High · Arlington · 2,063 students · 18.9:1 ratio
• Dexter School
  Elementary · Cordova · 1,513 students · 18.9:1 ratio
• Macon-Hall Elementary
  Elementary · Cordova · 1,141 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• Lakeland Preparatory School
  Middle · Lakeland · 1,094 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Lakeland Elementary School
  Elementary · Lakeland · 1,038 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Kate Bond Middle School
  Middle · Memphis · 1,009 students · 16.5:1 ratio