Central Florida History

Modern Central Florida history began with the many small forts from the Seminole Wars that became the towns of today.

Fort King is now Ocala, Fort Gatlin is now Orlando, Fort Pierce is still Fort Pierce.

Fort Drum, Fort Christmas, Fort Ogden, Fort Meade and other old forts are now either small villages or just place names in Florida history.

The first settlers began arriving in Central Florida in the years just after the final Seminole War through the end of the the Civil War.

Many of the pioneers began to homestead and start ranches in the prairie lands around Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Orlando and Ocala.

In later years, they and other settlers planted citrus.

The area led the world in citrus production until several freezes and epidemics of citrus canker devastated the groves and pushed the operations further south.

At one time Kissimmee was connected to the Gulf of Mexico near Fort Myers by a navigable waterway.

Ships traveled along the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee and west through the Caloosahatchee River.

Kissimmee was a large port with many passenger and freight ships stopping by on a regular basis.

Cattle and citrus were shipped out to ports around the world.

The cowboy heritage is still very evident today in St. Cloud and Kissimmee.

The annual Silver Spurs rodeo event is still a huge happening in these Central Florida Cracker towns.

The bucolic nature of Central Florida began to change when Martin Marietta built a huge defense plant in Orlando in the 1950's.

The next big change was the development of Canaveral Air Station and Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County.

These two projects had major impacts on Orlando's population.

The biggest changes of all came when Walt Disney World opened in October 1971.

The population boomed and so did the traffic problems. The success of Disney encouraged other competitors to join in the fun and profit.

Central Florida is now the location of the largest theme parks in Florida.

Florida travel for most tourists includes visits to Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida and SeaWorld.

Central Florida history took place in 9 counties that sprawl along the high sand ridge that is Florida's spine.

This ridge was the beach in ancient times, and its surface is made of old rolling sand dunes.

This large region starts between Ocala and Gainesville in the north, and extends south to the citrus country around Lake Placid and Sebring.

Ocala's rolling hills and pastures are known for producing some of the finest thoroughbred horses in the world.

A wonderful Central Florida travel experience is to drive among the horse farms that surround Ocala.

The center part of this region, around Orlando and Clermont, was the citrus capital of the state until a big freeze changed things forever.

Devastating freezes in Central Florida in the early 1980's destroyed many thousands of acres of groves.

These old grove lands have been replaced in many cases by modern subdivisions.

Florida history has abundant examples of towns that thrived until their underlying resources were gone.

Citrus and cypress boom towns are two examples.

Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld and the other attractions transformed the area around Orlando into the sun and fun capital of the world.

The early chapters of "What Would Walt Do?" describe what Lake Buena Vista and Vineland were like shortly before the construction of Walt Disney World.

Although Central Florida thrives on tourism, it is also the agricultural center of Florida.

Oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, watermelon, peppers, tomatoes, celery and watercress are all grown in this area along the ridge and in the adjacent flatlands and valleys.

Not so far south of Orlando you can still see cowboys at work in the vast pastures that range all the way down to Holopaw, Yeehaw Junction and beyond.

Even with the population explosion around Orlando, the rural regions south of Kissimmee and St. Cloud still enjoy some of the quietest places in Florida.

Since it is near the center of the State, many Floridians think it should be the state capital instead of Tallahassee.

US-27 is a major north-south four lane highway that meanders along the ridge part of the region.

This is where some of the major citrus groves are located.

The major tourist attractions in Orlando put a tremendous traffic load on I-4 and US-27.

There are plenty of back roads in Orange County and surrounding counties that will help you avoid the traffic.

Don't be afraid to explore.

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