Editing Winter Haven, Florida (section)

===Pughsville===
Pughsville was a neighborhood of Winter Haven where [[African Americans]] built a community after the Civil War. A historical marker on Highway 17 at Avenue O commemorates the community.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historic Pughsville Neighborhood|url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMN50V|publisher=Waymarking|access-date=28 December 2017}}</ref> According to the marker, Pughsville was one of Winter Haven's earliest neighborhoods and was settled by African Americans who cleared the land in the southwest section of the city.

Pughsville was named for an early black pioneer, Reverend Charles Pugh, who was a founder of Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church. Pughsville was also home to Bethel A.M.E., St. Paul Holiness, and Church of Christ. The community was most active from the 1900s until the 1950s and had an African-American school, social halls, small grocery stores, and restaurants where some residents worked.<ref>{{cite web|title=Remembering Pughsville: Annual event brings history to life|url=http://www.newschief.com/news/20170524/remembering-pughsville-annual-event-brings-history-to-life|publisher=News Chief|access-date=28 December 2017|date=May 24, 2017}}</ref> Others worked in the citrus industry or in state or federal jobs. Pughsville produced Winter Haven's first African-American commissioner and mayor Lemuel Geathers, medical doctor, fire fighter and postal worker. The community declined in the late 1970s as larger commercial establishments began arriving in the area.