History of Orlando - Part One

The history of Orlando - Part One covers the years from 1843 to 1857 when Aaron Jernigan became the first American to settle in Orange County, Florida. This is the history of Orlando and Orange County Florida. Acknowledgement The Orlando Guy acknowledges the exhaustive work of Joy Wallace Dickinson (Facebook:   / joywdickinson  , Orlando historian and author of "Orlando City of Dreams" (Purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Orlando-City-D..., which served as the foundational research and blueprint for this episode. In the March 2007 issue of National Geographic Magazine, an article by T.D. Allman entitled “How Walt Disney Changed Everything” branded Orlando as, “the new American Metropolis.” The article began with the words, “Everything happening to America today is happening here…” Over 145 years since first being incorporated as a town, Orlando has always been a place filled with adventure and mystery. Even the etymology of why the city is named Orlando is not clear. One thing cannot be denied. The City of Orlando holds a special place in the hearts of Americans – for some it’s a Disney dream, for others like me there is nowhere else on earth we’d rather be. We’ll look at the fascinating history of Orlando, Florida, coming up next. The city of Orlando has its beginning in the mid-19th century, long before Florida became a State, during the Second Seminole War which lasted from December 28, 1835 to August 14, 1842. During the war the US Government built forts which were stockades used by militia for protection and supplies. Many cities in Florida still retain the names of these forts from the wars, like Fort Myers and Fort Pierce. Near present day Orlando Fort Gatlin was built. The post was located at a strategic position on a hill overlooking three lakes which today are Lake Jennie Jewel, Lake Gem Mary and Lake Gatlin just 3 miles Southwest of current downtown Orlando. Fort Gatlin’s life as an Army post was limited as it was built toward the end of the Second Seminole War, but it was the protection the fort gave to early settlers that planted the seeds of a town to grow in Central Florida. Orlando might very well today be called Fort Gatlin, except, that for a short time the area became known as Jernigan, named after an early settler who was compelled to start a new life in Central Florida. On August 4th, 1842, just ten days before the end of the Second Seminole War, the 27th Congress enacted the Armed Occupation Act which granted 160 acres of land to a head of household, who would, among other things, settle and cultivate five acres or more of land for a period of five years. Along with Fort Gatlin, the name Jernigan appears on old maps of the area. Historians believe that Aaron Jernigan, a cattle rancher from South Georgia, was the first American to settle in what is now Orange County. In the summer of 1843, 29-year-old Aaron Jernigan filed a claim pursuant to the Armed Occupation Act, cleared out land and built a small cabin just 1.6 miles from Fort Gatlin on the northwest side of Lake Holden. As other settlers arrived, a small community began to develop around the Jernigan homestead. Aaron Jernigan and his family no doubt had great influence on the nascent village. He had amassed one-thousand two-hundred acres of land. He was the head of the local militia responsible for protecting the town. In fact, in 1849 when hostilities began to resurface, it was Aaron Jernigan who built a stockade for the village residents to shelter in for a year until the trouble had passed. When Florida gained statehood in March 1845, Aaron was selected as Orange County’s first representative, and by 1850 this small settlement near Fort Gatlin was granted an official post office named Jernigan. By the mid-1850’s the settlement of Jernigan near Fort Gatlin began to show signs of growth and many of the most prominent family names in Orlando were among the second wave of pioneers to migrate to the area. When Orange County was carved from Mosquito County just prior to Florida gaining statehood, the city of Mellonville, a town on the riverbanks of the St. Johns about 20 miles from Jernigan was the county seat. In 1856, several communities were vying to have the county seat moved from Mellonville. The man who made the case for Jernigan, and part of that second wave of settlers, was James G. Speer. Unlike the primitive early pioneers like Aaron Jernigan, Speer was a lawyer who later became a state lawmaker and Judge. An election was held that October, but how was tiny Jernigan with sparse eligible voters going to win the election. What Judge Speer knew, was that in Florida any member of the militia 21 years of age or older, could vote in any district they happened to be in on Election day. The Orlando Guy: Episode 013