Did You Know... Lakeland

Did you know the City of Lakeland is home to royal descendants? Known as the "City of Swans," Lakeland's many lakes are graced by white mute swans descended from a pair donated by England's Queen Elizabeth in 1957. The city's original swan population is thought to have originated as pets of lakefront residents around 1923. Lakeland city government purchased an additional two pairs of swans in 1926 and appointed a "superintendent of swans" to care for them. By the mid-1930s the swan population had grown to 20 on six city lakes, but by 1954, through combined contact with humans and predatory animals, it had dwindled to one. A Lakeland resident living in England wrote to the queen in hopes of buying a pair of the royal swans living on the Thames River. The queen offered to donate a pair if the cost of capturing, crating and shipping was paid. A former visitor of Lakeland read of the effort and donated the necessary $300. The pair was released on the city's Lake Morton on February 9, 1957. The swan population in Lakeland has since grown to 200, including descendants of the royal swans and several other varieties added by the city. Reprinted from Quality Cities May/June 2004 Back to City Trivia Home