 Owners were bought out in 1967 by eminent domain for county civic development of a conference center and the later Veterans Memorial Park.Some members of the black community have objected to the Confederate monument being relocated to the land of what had been their historic community in Lakeland, saying it would be more appropriate to be located in the cemetery with numerous Confederate graves.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (10.6%) is water.