Sebring’s heritage of cattle and orange groves rings similar to other Central Florida communities, only with a famous road racing course tossed into the mix for spice. The Sebring International Raceway was fashioned from an abandoned World War II Army Air Forces base in 1950 for staging sports car endurance races. In 1959, the track roared to life with the first Formula One Grand Prix race ever staged in the United States.
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George E. Sebring was already in his fifties in 1887 when he purchased a small kiln near the Ohio River to make dinnerware. The pottery business did so well that just before his death in 1915, George was able to develop a small town in Florida on the shores of Lake Jackson. When Highlands County formed a decade later, Sebring became the county seat. The 12 Hours of Sebring sports car championship would carry the name of the potter from Ohio around the world with its “once around the clock” action.
For all its vroom-vroom reputation, Sebring is a low-key, placid place on non-race days. Some 80 percent of the landscape boasts soft pines and crystalline lakes. The remainder is speckled with orange groves and residential communities. Highlands Hammock State Park, four miles west of town, was promoted as a potential national park before settling for preservation as one of the Sunshine State’s first parks with 9,000 acres and 15 distinct natural communities.
The Downtown Historic District revolves—literally—around Circle Drive that lends Sebring its nickname—“The City on the Circle.” Twenty-two heritage buildings have been identified. These are highlighted by the grand Kenilworth Lodge on Lakeview Drive, designed in the Mediterranean Revival style in 1916. The drive takes its name honestly—the roadway hugs the water all the way around Lake Jackson, including its inland beach.
As expected from a city that has been hosting the world’s sports car enthusiasts for more than 60 years, Sebring knows how to throw a celebration. The years melt away in February for the annual Roaring 20s Festival and the Annual Fine Arts & Crafts Festival in the fall has been spreading out from the Allen Altvater Cultural Center since the 1960s. And every March Race Week tunes up in the Downtown Circle for what race fans everywhere just call “Sebring.”
