Editing Bartow, Florida (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Bartow Downtown Comm dist Stuart bldg01.jpg|thumb|right|alt= an old two story brick office building|Stuart Building, downtown Bartow]]

The economy of Bartow is driven by four sectors: government, mining, agriculture, and tourism. While Bartow's population is less than 20,000, it is shaped by its proximity to several large centers of population. Within a {{convert|100|mi|km|adj=on}} radius of the center of town, there are close to 8 million people.<ref name="Polk's Profile"/><ref name="Economy of Bartow">{{cite web
| url = http://www.bartowchamber.com/economy.htm
| title = Economy of Bartow
| access-date = 2010-09-12
| publisher = Bartow Chamber of Commerce
| url-status = dead
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110622091956/http://www.bartowchamber.com/economy.htm
| archive-date = June 22, 2011
}}</ref>

The dominant force in the economy of Bartow is city, county and state government.<ref name="Economy of Bartow"/> As a small city which is the seat of a county with over half a million people. In addition to city and county offices, there are also a number of regional, state, and federal offices located within Bartow city limits. Nine of the seventeen largest employers in Bartow are government entities.<ref name="Major Employers">{{cite web
| url = http://www.bartowchamber.com/major-employers.htm
| title = Major Employers
| access-date = 2010-09-12
| publisher = Bartow Chamber of Commerce
| url-status = dead
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110622092035/http://www.bartowchamber.com/major-employers.htm
| archive-date = June 22, 2011
}}</ref> The largest by far is the [[Polk County School Board]] with over 12,000 employees. Other county entities which employ many people in the Bartow area include the county commission, the sheriff's department, the clerk of court, the tax collector, and the property appraiser.<ref name="Major Employers"/> The [[Florida Department of Transportation]] District One office is located in Bartow and is responsible for southwest Florida's transportation needs.<ref name="FDOT District One">{{cite web
| url = http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinformationoffice/moreDOT/districts/dist1.shtm
| title = FDOT District One
| access-date = 2010-09-12
| publisher = Florida Department of Transportation
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100826004004/http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinformationoffice/moreDOT/districts/dist1.shtm| archive-date= August 26, 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

There are several large businesses with headquarters elsewhere which were founded in Bartow. The large international law firm of [[Holland & Knight]] was founded in Bartow in 1929.<ref name="Biography of Stephen Grimes">{{cite web
| url = http://www.hklaw.com/id77/extended1/biosSGRIMES/
| title = Biography of Stephen Grimes
| access-date = 2010-09-12
| publisher = Holland & Knight
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120203204810/http://www.hklaw.com/id77/extended1/biosSGRIMES
| archive-date = February 3, 2012
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> What eventually become the large [[Burdines|Burdines and Sons]] department store chain was founded in Bartow in 1896 as Payne and Burdines.<ref name="History of Burdines">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.polkcountyhistory.org/pdf/june96.pdf
 |title=History of Burdines
 |pages=1–3
 |date=June 1996
 |access-date=2010-09-26
 |publisher=Polk County Historical Association
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727182710/http://www.polkcountyhistory.org/pdf/june96.pdf
 |archive-date=July 27, 2011
}}</ref> A couple years after opening his store, William M. Burdines opened a store in Miami and relocated his operations there.<ref name="History of Burdines"/>

[[File:Bartow crths new01.jpg|thumb|left|alt= a ten-story building with sable palms, a Spanish moss-drapped oak tree, hedges, and a court yard|The current Polk County Courthouse]]

Phosphate mining has been a major player in Bartow's economy since the discovery of phosphate rock in 1881.<ref name="Polk's Profile"/>
Polk County is part of the [[Bone Valley]] which is the richest source of phosphate rock in the world;<ref name="Polk's Profile"/> 75% of the United States's supply and 25% of the world's supply come from the Bone Valley.<ref name="Polk's Profile"/> The largest employer in the phosphate industry is Mosaic which employs over 3,000 people in the area.<ref name="Major Employers"/>

In terms of area, Polk County has {{convert|600000|acre|km2}} dedicated to agriculture.<ref name="Polk's Profile"/> According to the US Census of Agriculture, Polk County is the top citrus production county in Florida.<ref name="Polk County Ag Statistics">{{cite web
| url = http://www.pcfb.org/polkagriculture.htm
| title = Polk County Ag Statistics
| access-date = 2010-10-14
| publisher = Polk County Farm Bureau
| url-status = dead
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110727165707/http://www.pcfb.org/polkagriculture.htm
| archive-date = July 27, 2011
}}</ref> Polk County is also ranked second in the state in production of honey and fourth in number of heads of cattle.<ref name="Polk County Ag Statistics"/> Since 1997 the new bumper crop in the area is blueberry.<ref name="Clear Springs Sees Gold In Blueberries">{{cite web
| author = Townsend, B.
| url = http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/story/clear-springs-sees-gold-in-blueberries/
| title = Clear Springs Sees Gold In Blueberries
| access-date = 2010-09-12
| publisher = Tampa Bay Online
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130203222925/http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/story/clear-springs-sees-gold-in-blueberries/
| archive-date = February 3, 2013
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> From 2000 to 2007 the area has more than doubled its production of blueberries and accounts for more than 35% of the state's production of the fruit.<ref name="Polk County Ag Statistics"/> While spring is usually a "dead" time for every other blueberry growing area in North and South America, Polk County blueberries peak from March to May.

Although there are no major tourist attractions in the immediate Bartow area, the city is located less than {{convert|50|mi|km}} from both the [[Walt Disney World Resort]] and [[Busch Gardens Tampa Bay]].<ref name="Distance from Bartow to Tampa"/><ref name="Distance from Bartow to Lake Buena Vista, FL">{{cite web
| url = http://www.indo.com/cgi-bin/dist?place1=Bartow,+Fl&place2=Lake+Buena+Vista,+Florida
| title = Distance from Bartow to Lake Buena Vista, FL
| access-date = 2010-10-17
| publisher = indo.com
}}</ref> The city is also less than {{convert|20|mi|km}} from [[Legoland Florida]] in Winter Haven and [[Bok Tower Gardens]] in Lake Wales.<ref name="Distance from Bartow to Winter Haven">{{cite web
| url = http://www.indo.com/cgi-bin/dist?place1=Bartow,+Fl&place2=Winter+Haven,+Florida
| title = Distance from Bartow to Winter Haven
| access-date = 2010-10-17
| publisher = indo.com
}}</ref><ref name="Distance from Bartow to Lake Wales">{{cite web
| url = http://www.indo.com/cgi-bin/dist?place1=Bartow,+Fl&place2=Lake+Wales,+Florida
| title = Distance from Bartow to Lake Wales
| access-date = 2010-10-17
| publisher = indo.com
}}</ref> As a city with many historical sites dating back over 100 years, Bartow is also a point of interest for those interested in historical sites and monuments.<ref name="Florida's History Through Its Places, Bartow">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.flheritage.com/facts/reports/places/index.cfm?fuseaction=ListAreas&county=polk
 |title=Florida's History Through Its Places, Bartow
 |access-date=2010-10-14
 |publisher=Florida Department of State
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123054335/http://flheritage.com/facts/reports/places/index.cfm?fuseaction=ListAreas&county=Polk
 |archive-date=November 23, 2010
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref>