Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
53
and churches sprang up to serve the new-
comers, many of whom replanted defunct
cotton fields with citrus groves. Orlando
was incorporated under state law in 1875,
and boundaries and a city government
were established.
New settlers poured in from all over the
country, businesses flourished, and by the
end of the year the town had its first news-
paper, the
Orange County Reporter.
The
first locomotive of the South Florida Rail-
road chugged into town in 1880, sparking
a building and land boom—the first of
many. Orlando got sidewalks and its first
bank in 1883, the same year the town
voted itself “dry” in hopes of averting the
fist fights and brawls that ensued when
cowboys crowded into local saloons every
Saturday night for some rowdy R&R. For
many years, the city continued to vote
itself alternately wet and dry, but it made
little difference. Legal or not, liquor was
always readily available.
FIRE & ICE
In January 1884, a grocery
fire that started at 4am wiped out blocks
of businesses, including the
Orange County
Reporter.
But 19th-century Orlando was a
bit like a Frank Capra movie. The town
rallied, providing a new location for the
paper and presenting its publisher, Mahlon
Gore, with $1,200 in cash to help defray
losses and $300 in new subscriptions. The
paper not only survived, it flourished. And
the city, realizing the need, created its first
fire brigade. By August 1884, a census
revealed a population of 1,666. That same
year, 600,000 boxes of oranges were
shipped from Florida to points north—
most of those boxes originating in Orlando.
By 1885, Orlando was a viable town,
boasting as many as 50 businesses. This
isn't to say it was New York. Razorback
hogs roamed the streets and alligator wres-
tling was major entertainment.
Disaster struck a week after Christmas
in 1894, when the temperature plum-
meted to an unseasonable 24°F (-4°C).
Water pipes burst and orange blossoms
froze, blackened, and died. The freeze
continued for 3 days, wrecking the citrus
crop for the year.
Many grove owners went bust, and those
who remained were hit with a second dev-
astating freeze the following year. Tens of
thousands of trees died in the killing frost.
Small growers were wiped out, but large
conglomerates that could afford to buy up
the small growers' properties at bargain
prices and wait for new groves to mature
assured the survival of the industry.
SPECULATION FEVER: GOOD DEALS,
BAD DEALS
As Orlando entered the
20th century, citrus and agriculture sur-
passed cattle ranching as the mainstays of
3
■
1939-45
World War II
revives Orlando's ailing
economy.
■
1964
Walt Disney begins
surreptitiously buying Cen-
tral Florida farmland, pur-
chasing more than 28,000
acres for nearly $5.5 million.
■
1965
Disney announces his
plan to build the world's
most spectacular theme
park in Orlando.
■
1966
Walt Disney dies of
lung cancer.
■
1971
The Magic Kingdom
opens its gates for the first
time.
■
1972
A new 1-day atten-
dance mark is set December
27, when 72,328 people visit
the Magic Kingdom. It will
be broken almost every year
thereafter.
■
1973
SeaWorld opens with
a splash in Orlando.
■
1982
Epcot opens with vast
hoopla.
■
1989
WDW launches Dis-
ney-MGM Studios (offering
a behind-the-scenes look at
Tinseltown), Typhoon
Lagoon (a 56-acre water
theme park), and Pleasure
Island (a nightclub district
for adults).
continues
