MUSEUM OF SEMINOLE COUNTY HISTORY

links
Significant and important events have been bolded
2000BC - 1700s Timucuan Indians lived on the shores of Lake Monroe.
1760s Timucuans disappeared from Florida and the Seminoles came to Florida from Ala. & Ga.
1817 Philip R. Young receives the Spanish Land Grant.
1821 Governor Andrew Jackson establishes territorial Government. At this time, this part of Florida is part of St. Johns County.
1824 Mosquito County is created.
1834 The Younge Land Grant becomes the Moses E. Levy Grant.
1835 Seminole Indian War.
1836 Camp Monroe established.
1837 Captain Charles Mellon is killed on Feb. 8 during a battle with the Seminoles at Camp Monroe. The Fort is renamed Fort Mellon.
1840 The Town of Mellonville is formed around Fort Mellon but does not incorporate until June 27, 1876.
1841 Fort Mellon is closed.
1845 Florida becomes a state on March 3. Orange County is carved out of Mosquito County with Mellonville as the county seat.
  Enterprise post office est. April 2, 1845.
  Enterprise post office changed to Mellonville March 31, 1846 Re-est. July 31, 1876 and changed to Sanford on Sept. 9, 1873.
1849 General Joseph Finegan purchases the Levy Grant.
1856 Orlando becomes the county seat.
1870 Henry Sanford purchases 12,547 acres of land from General Finegan. Sanford is founded but does not incorporate until 1877.
1871 Swedish immigrants arrive to work for General Sanford.
1874 Lake Jesup post office est. Nov. 3 later to be known as Oviedo on May 18, 1886.
1875 Sylvan Lake post office est. July 15. Discontinued Aug. 31, 1906.
  Dispute between General Sanford and Jacob Summerlin (of Orlando ) over where the Court House and county seat should be located. Summerlin offers a gift of $10,000 to Orlando. The Court House is built in Orlando .
1876 Longwood established.
1879 Oviedo post office established March 13.
1880 Snowville later to be known as Altamonte Springs in Dec of 1884.
  Paola post office est. April 30, 1880; discontinued Oct. 19, 1882. Re-est. Aug 7, 1883; discontinued March 1920. Re-est. Dec. 7, 1932 and discontinued June 30, 1955.
  Geneva established May 25, 1880.
1883 Mellonville is annexed into Sanford.
1884 Upsala post office est. Nov. 1884; discontinued Nov.5, 1885; Re-est. June 28, 1890 and discontinued Mar. 31, 1980.
1885 Chuluota post office est. Jan. 21. 1885.
1887 The east side of Sanford burns to the ground, during the night of September 20.
  The Welborne block includes the Valdez Hotel (3 story building).
  Lake Mary post office est. Feb. 26, 1887.
1891 Goldsboro is incorporated.
1894-1895 The "Great Freeze" wipes out the citrus industry.
1908 Sanford Herald is established.
1911 Slavia Colony established on August 30.
1912 Goldsboro annexed into Sanford.
1913 Seminole County is created on April 25, with Sanford as the county seat.
 

Portions of the Valdez Hotel are used as the County’s first Court House. The Elks Club hold meetings on the third floor of the Valdez Hotel. The Elks Club build a new building to be used as their Lodge in August.

1918  The Elks sell the Lodge to the County to be used as the Court House.
1925 Sanford Zoo opens.
1934 First Farmers Market is established.
1942 Naval Air Station opens as a training base for carrier pilots.
1951 Goldenrod post office est. Oct.1.
1956 Seminole Memorial Hospital opens on First Street.
1960 Hurricane Donna ravages the county.
1965 Seminole Junior college established.
1968 Naval Air Station closes.
1969 I-4 opens in Sanford.
1970 Auto train terminus opens.
1972  The Court House is demolished and the present day Court House is built on the same site on Park Avenue .
1982 Museum of Seminole County History opens.
1985-86 Big Freeze hits citrus industry.
1994 Greene-Way (#417) reaches Sanford.
1995 Orlando/Sanford International Airport.
  Seminole Towne Center Mall opens.
1998 Tornado hits Sanford killing 12 residents.
  13 homes destroyed in wild fires in Geneva.
  Oviedo Marketplace opened March 4.
2000 Ritz Theatre Restoration completed, Grand Opening was held May 9, 2000.
2002 Ground breaking for the new Agricultural Building at the Museum of Seminole County History.
  #417 extends to reach I-4 exchange at Sanford.
2003 $15 Million Development for Riverwalk in Sanford.
  New I-4 Bridges over St. Johns River/Lake Monroe completed and opens.
  New Agricultural Building at the Museum of Seminole County History opens in May.  
  Construction of the New Court House at 5 Points begins.
 2004 New Court House and Juvenile Justice Center open at Five Points.
  Riverwalk and street renovation of downtown Sanford.
  Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne hit the Central Florida area.

RESOURCES


CAPRA Accredited

CONTACT INFORMATION

Leisure Services
845 Lake Markham Road
Sanford, Florida 32771
Phone: 407-665-2001


E-mail


MY SEMINOLE LINKS
[ add this page - edit links - help ]
- No links added

[ * Top of Page - * Email this Page to a Friend ]
Home  |  Finding Information  |  Links  |  Contact Us  |  Site Index  |  Maps  |  Phone Numbers  |  Privacy Policy  |  Accessibility
Free Translation Translation Disclaimer - Dutch - French - German - Italian - Norwegian - Portuguese - Spanish
Seminole County Government   1101 East First Street Sanford, FL 32771  407-665-0311
Employee Access