Lake Placid is a town in Highlands County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,223 and in 2018 the estimated population was 2,439. It is part of the Sebring Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town has two nicknames: "Town of Murals" and "The Caladium Capital of the World". Lake Placid has 47 murals painted on buildings throughout the town, and 98 percent of the world's caladium bulbs come from Lake Placid. There are 14 caladium farms, spanning 1,200 acres, and these plants have been grown in the area since the 1940s. In 2013, Reader's Digest named Lake Placid America's Most Interesting Town. The town is home to the Lake Placid Tower, a closed concrete block observation tower that is tall according to early sources or tall according to late sources. However, government sources exclude a 270-foot height, allowing only a 240-foot height. History Lake Placid, which was formerly called "Lake Stearns", was chartered on December 1, 1925. Dr. Melvil Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, and the founder of the Lake Placid Club in Lake Placid, New York, proposed that Lake Stearns change its name to "Lake Placid". On April 29, 1927, the Lake Stearns Commissioners accepted Dr. Dewey's proposal. Subsequently, they submitted a request to the Florida State Legislature. On June 6, 1927, the community was chartered as the town of Lake Placid. Geography Lake Placid is located in central Highlands County at (27.29525, –81.37263). U.S. Route 27 passes through the town, leading north to Sebring, the county seat, and south to Clewiston. According to the United States Census Bureau, Lake Placid has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.4%, are water. Demographics As of the census of 2010, there were 2,223 people, 841 households, 490 family households, and 1,040 housing units in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 69.6% White, 7.1% Black and African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 18.9% Some Other Race, and 2.7% from Two or More Races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 46.1% of the population. There were 841 households, of which 58.3% were family households – with one or more people related to the householder or related to one of a same-sex couple by birth, marriage or adoption; and 41.7% were nonfamily households – including same-sex