History of the Lake Miriam neighborhood -

We are taking you back in time to share some interesting history about the Lake Miriam neighborhood, which is bordered by Hallam Drive on the north

The Hallam name comes from Willard Fordyce Hallam, a wealthy Washington D.C. publisher who bought 13,000 acres six miles southeast of downtown Lakeland for $5.25 an acre in 1910 (what a deal!)

His daughter, Helen Miriam Hallam Gladman (pictured below) spent part of her childhood in Lakeland Highlands and eventually became a teacher at Medulla Elementary and then Dixieland Elementary before retiring in 1966 at 68 years old. She lived to be 105! Below is a map of the Lake Miriam neighborhood around the same time Ms. Hallam Gladman retired.