Settlement of Bartow began in 1850 with the arrival of James D. and Eliza W. Green. In 1851, the Blount family, led by Readding Blount, settled near the site and eventually purchased the Green homestead. This site became the homestead for members of the Blount extended family and twelve enslaved persons, forming the earliest pioneer community at what was then known as Peas Creek. The Third Seminole War from 1855 to 1858 brought renewed uncertainty to the growing community, and families sought safety in numbers by constructing a block house at the Blount family homestead, leading to the area being known as Fort Blount. During the American Civil War, the post office at Fort Blount was named Bartow in recognition of war veteran Francis S. Bartow of the C.S.A. In 1866, wealthy cattle baron Jacob Summerlin donated 120 acres of his land in Bartow for public use, including 40 acres for a courthouse, which established Bartow as the seat of government for Polk County. On July 1, 1882, twenty-two male residents of the community, both black and white, voted to incorporate the City of Bartow and adopted a city seal with the Latin phrase “Rus In Irbe,” later rewritten as “Urbs in Rure,” meaning “town in the country.”