612 S Ingraham Avenue - Built 1925

Uncovering Lakeland's Hidden Histories: The Legacy of 612 S Ingraham Avenue

As the homes slowly filled in along the edge of what would become the Biltmore Park subdivision, 612 S Ingraham Avenue was one of the very first houses built on the east side of this block (just north of 622 S Ingraham, which we've covered previously). This home, too, has a century of history to share.

The Dicksons: From Packard to Flagman

The early occupants of 612 S Ingraham were connected to a founding Lakeland business. The Dickson family—David and Coral—had a grocery business downtown by 1915, and their son, David Dickson Jr., worked there. David Jr. later moved into the burgeoning auto industry with his father and uncle, Henry, helping run the Dickson Motor Company, a dealer in Packard Motor cars.

However, as the 612 residence came to market around 1925, David Jr.'s career had shifted: he moved into the new house and was employed as a flagman for the ACL Railroad. He was joined that first year by a possible relative, J. B., who was also a railroad flagman and appears in directories only briefly—suggesting he may have been a transient worker.

David Jr. (and his wife, Jennie) remained employed by the railroad until at least 1928, even as the local economy softened and most of the original Dickson family had left Lakeland. David Jr. stayed in town for the rest of his life, and his son, David III, later attended Florida Southern in 1948.

The home shows the impact of the Land Bust era: after David Jr. moved on in 1931, there was a brief tenant, and then the home shows as "vacant" in directories all the way until 1942! It's likely there were several unlisted, temporary residents during that challenging decade.

The Harrells: A Community Cornerstone

By at least 1945, the house had its first true long-term owners: Ormand & Lucille Harrell. They would remain for the next 37 years.

It's easy to trace their story because the Harrells founded and grew a community cornerstone business that thrives today and still has family involvement (if you want to know more, you can check out Harrell's website). Sadly, Ormand was the victim of an auto accident near Haines City in 1964, but Lucille remained a steady presence at the home, living there until she sold it 23 years later.

The Baxters: Academic and Spiritual Roots

The next long-term residents were Philip & Dorothea Baxter, who anchored themselves in the house for another 26 years.

The Baxters brought deep academic and service roots to Lakeland. Philip, an ordained Reverend, had diverse postings in Central Florida following a move from Virginia. His first wife, Alice, had passed away a few years prior to his marriage to Dorothea. Dorothea’s parents had distinguished careers at Athens College, where her father served as president (a PhD) and her mother was a teacher.

A Local Connection

In between these two long-term families, and since, there have only been a handful of other owners before the present day.

One fun point of interest: two doors north, across the street, is 601 S Ingraham Avenue. Though technically in the East Lake Morton district (as it's on the west side of Ingraham), this home belonged to another famous Lakeland citizen: Joker Marchant, the namesake of the baseball stadium. Marchant lived in his house from 1952 until 1983, overlapping with nearly the entire residency of the Harrell family—they were likely neighbors!

This home, like so many others, is a thread connecting the earliest days of the car industry, the stability of the railroad, and the lasting impacts of our local business leaders and clergy.