Orange County, Florida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Orange County, Florida | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of Florida |
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 Florida's location in the USA |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1845 |
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| Seat | Orlando |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
2601 km² (1004 mi²) 2350 km² (907 mi²) 251 km² (97 mi²), 9.66% |
| Population - (2006) - Density |
1,043,500 435/km² |
| Website: www.onetgov.net | |
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population is 1,043,500. [1] Its county seat is Orlando.6
Orange County is led by the six-seat Board of County Commissioners, headed by the Mayor of Orange County. Before the approval by voters of a 2004 charter amendment, the position of Mayor was called "Orange County Chairman", which became an elected position in 1990. The current Mayor of Orange County is Richard Crotty.
Although the seat of government is located in a building in Downtown Orlando, the government declared a region of the county as "Downtown Orange County" in 2005. The region of largely unincorporated land (portions of the northern fringe are annexed by Orlando) encompasses the southern portions of the International Drive and Universal Boulevard corridors. The County Government keeps an office in the area at the North/South Building of the Orange County Convention Center. [2]
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[edit] History
Mosquito County was created in 1824. It was renamed Orange County in 1845 for the fruit that constituted the county's main product. At its peak in the early 1970's, some 80,000 acres (320 km²) were planted in citrus in Orange County. A truly impressive sight while driving through the rolling hills of the region were the vast vistas of the dark green foliage of orange trees and the intoxicating scent of the orange blossoms when in bloom. Today, far fewer commercial orange groves remain. The vast majority of groves were destroyed by the devastating freezing temperatures experienced in several severe winters of the early 1980's. The financial setbacks, (not the first in the history of the grove region), was just too much for many growers and many, economically destroyed, just walked away from the land and its outstanding obligations. Others hung on awaiting any opportunities. One of the major land owners and growers in the region was the Tropicana company. They, however, also threw in the towel rather than try to come back again from these seemingly generational decimations. With no realistic avenues for agricultural utilization of this rural land and Florida's continuing strong population growth and its attendant needs, (not the least of which was aided and abetted by the great success of nearby Disney World and Universal Studios), these areas began and continue to be, swallowed up by growing housing developments. However, several packing plants and wholesalers who get their oranges from elsewhere in Florida are still in Orange County.
In 1951 an intensive FBI investigation of the Ku Klux Klan in Orange County exposed a brutal 300-member organization with chapters in Orlando, Winter Garden, and Apopka (See, Orlando Sentinel, 08/17/2006, page A11).
[edit] Paved roads
The first paved roads in Orange County, outside the cities, were built in 1915 and 1916 under a $600,000 bond issue, approved by voters on November 11, 1913. These five roads were paved 9 feet (3 meters) wide with brick:
- Orlando south to Osceola County via Edgewood, Pine Castle and Taft (later SR 2, part of the Dixie Highway)
- Orlando east and south to Conway (later SR 29)
- Orlando north to Seminole County via Winter Park and Lake Maitland (later SR 3, part of the Dixie Highway)
- Orlando west to Oakland via Ocoee and Winter Garden (later SR 22)
- Orlando northwest to Apopka and beyond, probably to Plymouth (later SR 2, part of the Dixie Highway)
In the next ten years, the following roads also received a hard surface:
- Conway south and west to Pine Castle (asphalt) (later SR 29 and SR 285)
- Orlando east to Brevard via Bithlo (brick east to Lake Barton and then asphalt) (later SR 22)
- west of Bithlo north to Seminole County (brick) (later SR 203)
- Orlando east and north to Winter Park, passing east of Lake Sue (asphalt)
- Winter Park northeast to Seminole County via Goldenrod (asphalt) (later SR 202)
- Plymouth northwest to Lake County via Zellwood (asphalt) (later SR 2)
- Ocoee north to Apopka (asphalt) (later SR 24 and SR 443)
- Oakland west to Lake County (brick) (later SR 22)
- south two miles from Tildenville (asphalt) (later SR 208)
- south 1.5 miles from Winter Garden (asphalt) (later SR 24)
- north of Gotha south to Windermere via Gotha (asphalt) (later SR 437)
Another bond issue, this time for $7,000,000, was approved by voters on March 23, 1926. These asphalt roads covered almost all parts of the county; most of them are still main roads. There are too many to list here but a map is available.
- See also: Apopka-Vineland Road
[edit] Current major highways
[edit] Freeways and Expressways
Interstate 4
Florida's Turnpike
Holland East-West Expressway (SR 408)
Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway (SR 528)
Central Florida GreeneWay (SR 417)
Daniel Webster Western Expressway (SR 429)
Maitland Blvd./John Land Apopka Expressway (SR 414)
[edit] Surface Roads
US 441 (Orange Blossom Trail)
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US 17/US 92 (Mills Avenue/Orange Blossom Trail)
SR 15 (Conway/Narcoossee Road)
SR 50 (Colonial Drive)
SR 423 (John Young Parkway|Lee Road)
SR 426 (Fairbanks/Aloma Avenue)
SR 434 (Alafaya Trail)
SR 435 (Kirkman Road)
SR 436 (Semoran Boulevard)
SR 551 (Goldenrod Road)- Apopka-Vineland Road
Because of the massive urban sprawl in the area and outdated and unplanned transit infrastructure, traffic congestion is a growing concern. Fundamentally, the lack of east-west mobility in the area creates severe traffic issues every weekday.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,601 km² (1,004 mi²). 2,350 km² (907 mi²) of it is land and 251 km² (97 mi²) of it (9.63%) is water.
[edit] Adjacent Counties
- Volusia County, Florida - northeast
- Brevard County, Florida - east
- Osceola County, Florida - south
- Polk County, Florida - southwest
- Seminole County, Florida - north
- Lake County, Florida - west
[edit] Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 896,344 people, 336,286 households, and 220,267 families residing in the county. The population density was 381/km² (988/mi²). There were 361,349 housing units at an average density of 154/km² (398/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.59% White, 18.17% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 3.35% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 6.01% from other races, and 3.43% from two or more races. 28.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 336,286 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.00% were married couples living together, 13.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.50% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 10.90% from 18 to 24, 33.80% from 25 to 44, 20.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,311, and the median income for a family was $47,159. Males had a median income of $32,053 versus $25,402 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,916. About 8.80% of families and 12.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.30% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Urban Sprawl
Orange County is experiencing major sprawl, land is being developed at an average of 7,800 acres of farmland per year. The sprawl has helped the county's large population growth and if current trends continue, the county could have a population of 2,500,000 by the year 2050. That is from 896,000 in the year 2000.Because of such rapid growth, roads have become outdated and are not able to hold so many cars. Growth started around the 1950s and the 1960s. The sprawl has started around 1990s. There are plans for new interstate roads along and crossing I-4. There are new highways being built now, but has been worked on for about 20-25 years, plans have been constantly revised because of such rapid growth.
[edit] Municipalities
[edit] Incorporated
- City of Apopka
- Plymouth (part of Apopka)
- City of Belle Isle
- Town of Eatonville
- City of Edgewood
- City of Maitland
- Town of Oakland
- City of Ocoee
- City of Orlando
- Town of Windermere
- City of Winter Garden
- City of Winter Park
- City of Bay Lake (part of Walt Disney World)
- City of Lake Buena Vista (part of Walt Disney World)
[edit] Unincorporated
- Azalea Park
- Bay Hill
- Bithlo
- Christmas
- Conway
- Doctor Phillips
- Fairview Shores
- Goldenrod
- Gotha
- Holden Heights
- Hunters Creek
- Lake Butler
- Lake Hart
- Lockhart
- Meadow Woods
- Oak Ridge
- Orlo Vista
- Paradise Heights
- Pine Castle
- Pine Hills
- Reedy Creek Improvement District (special taxing district)
- Sky Lake
- South Apopka
- Southchase
- Taft
- Tangelo Park
- Tangerine
- Tildenville
- Union Park
- University Park
- Vineland
- Wedgefield
- Williamsburg
- Zellwood
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Government links/Constitutional offices
- Orange County Comptroller
- Orange County Supervisor of Elections
- Orange County Property Appraiser
- Orange County Sheriff's Office
- Orange County Tax Collector
[edit] Special districts
- Orange County Public Schools
- South Florida Water Management District
- St. Johns River Water Management District
[edit] Judicial branch
- Orange County Clerk of Courts
- Public Defender, 9th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Orange and Osceola counties
- Circuit and County Court for the 9th Judicial Circuit of Florida
[edit] Tourism
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Photographs From the State Archives of Florida.
| Cities and communities of Orange County, Florida | |||||||||
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