Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
52
died later, in South Carolina. It's assumed
the name carved in the tree was a marker
for others who were on the Indians' trail.
Whatever the origin, Orlando was offi-
cially recognized by the U.S. postmaster in
1857.
THE 1860S: CIVIL WAR/CATTLE
WARS Throughout the early 1860s,
cotton plantations and cattle ranches
became the hallmarks of Central Florida.
A cotton empire ringed Orlando. Log
cabins went up along the lakes, and the
pioneers eked out a somewhat lonely exis-
tence, separated from each other by miles
of farmland. But there were troubles brew-
ing in the 31-state nation that soon devas-
tated Orlando's planters. By 1859, it was
obvious that only a war would resolve the
slavery issue. In 1861, Florida became the
third state to secede from the Union, and
the modest progress it had achieved came
to a standstill. The Stars and Bars flew
from every flagpole, and local men enlisted
in the Confederate army, leaving the fledg-
ling town of Orlando in poverty. A federal
blockade made it difficult to obtain neces-
sities, and many slaves fled. In 1866, the
Confederate troops of Florida surrendered,
the remaining slaves were freed, and a
ragtag group of defeated soldiers returned
to Orlando. They found a dying cotton
industry, unable to function without slave
labor. In 1868, Florida was readmitted to
the Union.
Its untended cotton fields having gone
to seed, Orlando concentrated on cattle
ranching, a business heavily taxed by the
government, and one that ushered in an
era of lawlessness and violence. A famous
battle involving two families, the Barbers
and the Mizells, left at least nine men dead
in 2 months in a Florida version of the
Hatfields and McCoys.
Like frontier cattle towns out West,
post-Civil War Orlando was short on
civilized behavior. Gunfights, brawls, and
murders were commonplace. But as the
1860s came to an end, large-herd owners
from other parts of the state moved into
the area and began organizing the industry
in a less chaotic fashion. Branding and
penning greatly reduced rustling, though
they didn't totally eliminate the problem.
Even a century later—as recently as
1973—soaring beef prices caused a rash of
cattle thievery. Some traditions die hard.
Even today, there are a number of rustling
complaints each year.
AN ORANGE TREE GROWS IN
ORLANDO In the 1870s, articles in
national magazines began luring large
numbers of Americans to Central Florida
with promises of fertile land and a warm
climate. In Orlando, public roads, schools,
3
DATELINE
1843 Mosquito County in
Central Florida is renamed
Orange County.
1856 Orlando becomes the
seat of Orange County.
1875 Orlando is incorpo-
rated as a municipality.
1880 The South Florida Rail-
road paves the way for the
expansion of Orlando's agri-
1910-25 A land boom hits
Florida. Fortunes are made
overnight.
1926 The land boom goes
bust. Fortunes are lost over-
night.
1929 An invasion of Medi-
terranean fruit flies devas-
tates Orlando's citrus
industry. But, who cares?
Here comes the stock market
crash.
cultural markets. Swamp
cabbage hits an all-time high
on the commodities market.
1884 Fire destroys much of
Orlando's fledgling business
district.
1894-95 Freezing tempera-
tures destroy the citrus
crops, wreaking havoc on
the groves and causing
many growers to lose every-
thing.
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