Communities
of Orlando & Central Fl
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History
The St. Johns River historically has been a major artery into Central
Florida from the east coast. Thus, its highest navigable point, Lake
Monroe, early became the focal point for civilization.
When the United States acquired Florida real estate from Spain in 1821, General Andrew Jackson was named Provisional Governor of the territory. To keep the Seminole Indians in check, an army garrison called Camp Monroe was built on real estate on the shore of Lake Monroe in |
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1836. After a
fierce Seminole attack in which Captain Charles Mellon was killed, the
garrison was renamed Fort Mellon.
In early 1837 General Thomas Sidney Jesup held a peace conference at Fort Mellon with Chief Osceola and other Seminole leaders. Later that year, Jesup was replaced by General Zachary Taylor, who created a road between Lake Monroe and Tampa connecting Fort Mellon, Fort Reid, Fort Maitland and Fort Meade. In 1840, the federal government enticed settlers to the territory with offers of food and supplies. In 1845, Florida became a state, and Mellonville, as this section of realestate had become known, was chosen to be the county seat of then Orange County. A large general store was built , houses sprang up and Mellonville became a trading center. Then the Orange groves were planted. In 1870, General Henry Shelton Sanford, former Minister to Belgium, purchased 12,535 acres of real estate and laid out his namesake community of houses, Sanford. General Sanford arranged for a colony of Swedes to settle the area, work an orange grove and experiment with fruits and flowers from all over the world. Mellonville was incorporated in the 1870's - Sanford in 1877. In 1883, Mellonville was absorbed by the City of Sanford. In 1884, ex-President Ulysses S. Grant completed the link for the South Florida railroad, connecting Sanford and the towns of Lake Mary, Longwood and Altamonte Springs with Jacksonville. The area became the home of the largest shipper of oranges in the world, and thousands of groves brought prosperity. After 25 years of growing prosperity came a decade of disaster. In 1887, a fire destroyed all of the wooden buildings in downtown Sanford. The next year there was a yellow fever epidemic. In 1894 and 1895, two freezes wiped out the town's citrus industry. People turned to growing vegetables and in 1898 the first carload of celery was shipped.
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