page_title: Orlando, Florida
section_title: Incorporation
hierarchical_section_title: Orlando, Florida / History / Incorporation
caption_attribution_description: English: Orange County Historical Marker to Aaron Jernigan, First Settler of Orlando, Florida in 1843.
context_page_description: Orlando is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released in July 2017, making it the 23rd-largest metropolitan area in the United States, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the third-largest metropolitan area in Florida. As of 2019, Orlando had an estimated city-proper population of 287,442, making it the 71st-largest city in the United States, the fourth-largest city in Florida, and the state's largest inland city.
  The City of Orlando is nicknamed "the City Beautiful", and its symbol is the Linton E. Allen Memorial Fountain, commonly referred to as simply the "Lake Eola fountain" at Lake Eola Park. The Orlando International Airport is the thirteenth-busiest airport in the United States and the 29th-busiest in the world.
  Orlando is one of the most-visited cities in the world primarily driven by tourism, major events, and convention traffic; in 2018 the city drew more than 75 million visitors.
context_section_description: In 1823, the Treaty of Moultrie Creek created a Seminole reservation encompassing much of central Florida, including the area which would become Orlando. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized relocation of the Seminole from Florida to Oklahoma, leading to the Second Seminole War. In 1842 white settlement in the area was encouraged by the Armed Occupation Act.
  After Mosquito County was divided in 1845, Fort Gatlin became the county seat of the newly created Orange County in 1856. It remained a rural backwater during the Civil War and suffered greatly during the Union blockade. The Reconstruction Era brought on a population explosion, resulting in the incorporation of the Town of Orlando on July 31, 1875 with 85 residents (22 voters). For a short time in 1879 the town revoked its charter, and was subsequently re-incorporated. Orlando was established as a city in 1885.
  The period from 1875 to 1895 is remembered as Orlando's Golden Era, when it became the hub of Florida's citrus industry. The period ended with the Great Freeze of 1894–95, which forced many owners to give up their independent citrus groves, thus consolidating holdings in the hands of a few "citrus barons" who shifted operations south, primarily around Lake Wales in Polk County. The freeze caused many in Florida, including many Orlandoans, to move elsewhere, mostly to the North, California, or the Caribbean.
  Notable homesteaders in the area included the Curry family. Through their property in east Orlando flowed the Econlockhatchee River, which travelers crossed by fording. This would be commemorated by the street's name, Curry Ford Road. Also, just south of the Orlando International Airport in the Boggy Creek area is 150 acres (0.61 km²) of property homesteaded in the late 19th century by the Ward family. This property is still owned by the Ward family, and can be seen from southbound flights out of Orlando International Airport immediately on the south side of SR 417.
caption: Historical Marker to Orlando's First Settler; Aaron Jernigan migrated to Lake Holden from Georgia in 1843.
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image Software": "Photos 3.0", "Image DateTime": "2019:02:20 21:54:16", "Image ExifOffset": "134", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:02:20 21:54:16", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:02:20 21:54:16", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1766", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1457"}