Auburndale is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,616 at the 2020 census. Auburndale was founded in 1880 by Frank Fuller, who was seeking refuge from chilly winters in the Northeast United States. The place was originally named Sanatoria, from a hotel located there. When the railroad arrived in the 1880s, the town was renamed Auburndale at the suggestion of settlers from Auburndale, Massachusetts. The New England town had been named from the opening line of the poem "The Deserted Village" by Oliver Goldsmith. Early on, the city became a chosen destination for a number of America's most prominent artists.