Town file
Plant City, Florida
Plant City, Florida (Hillsborough County, Florida) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 673, "The Unluckiest Winner" (12 February 2026). Abraham Lee Shakespeare was born on 24 April 1966 in Lakeland, Florida, the youngest of four children of seasonal orange pickers.
- Town
- Plant City
- County
- Hillsborough County
- State
- Florida
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 673
- Approximate location
- 28.015, -82.118
Episode 673 / 12 February 2026 / 185 min / full
The Unluckiest Winner
"this is in Plant City, Florida ... This is in Hillsborough County" about 0:04:36
The case: Murder of Abraham Shakespeare (April 2009). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2026
- Population
- 39,272
- Median age
- 36.8
- Median household income
- $57,025
- Median home value
- $322,400
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,460
- Cost of living
- 104
- Religious
- 40%
- Property crime
- ▲ about one-third above
- Violent crime
- ▲ just above
- Crime rate in Polk County
- ▼ lower 10%
History, in brief
- Originally called Itchy Puckasasa during the middle 1800s, named after a Native American village. about 0:06:14
- Renamed Cork in 1860 because the postmaster was from Ireland and that was his hometown. about 0:06:52
- Renamed Plant City after Henry B. Plant of the South Florida Railroad, who brought the railroad in so farmers could move their crops. about 0:07:06
- Reincorporated as the town of Plant City in 1911, then again as the city of Plant City. about 0:07:20
- Motto: preserving the past, embracing the future, or a great place to live, work and play. about 0:05:28
- Nicknamed the winter strawberry capital of the world. about 0:05:56
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Everyone knows everyone."about 0:07:40
5 stars
"110% country living mixed with modern amenities; the town is beautiful, especially downtown and the historical areas."about 0:07:50
5 stars
"Very quiet, peaceful and booming, an up and coming community with farms around it."about 0:09:10
3 stars
"Liked the idea of a small town but there were limited resources and a large problem with graffiti and gang violence."about 0:09:35
2 stars
"Where they live is in the woods, so there is not a lot of that stuff; at least they have not seen it."about 0:10:46
1 star
"People are rude and always in a hurry; on the bright side the schools are good and the teachers helpful, but there is not much for younger ones to do."about 0:11:01
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Alturas, Florida29 miles
- New Port Richey, Florida40 miles
- Fruitville, Florida52 miles
- Sarasota, Florida54 miles
- Chuluota, Florida75 miles
- Indialantic, Florida95 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.