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The City of Oviedo, Florida
About
Oviedo's roots go back to a tiny settlement on the south shore of Lake Jesup. This settlement, known as Solarla's Wharf, boasted two general stores and a post office in 1865. White settlers had just begun to appear, attracted by the promise of a long growing season.
Some of the settlers were attracted to a very small lake which was not far from Lake Jesup. By 1869 several houses and a hotel had been built along its shores. A New York physician, Dr. Henry Foster, opened a convalescent home here and encouraged his patients to come to the area to recuperate from illnesses. One of these visitors, believing that the beauty and charm of the lake helped to bring her invalid father back to health, is said to have given Lake Charm its name.
By 1875 mail was being brought to Solarla's Wharf twice a week by rowboat from Sanford. The post office itself had been moved from Lake Charm, and in 1883 the settlement which had sprung up around it was named Oviedo by the first postmaster. In 1886 the long-sought railroad finally came to the city.
In 1894 disaster struck. A hard freeze hit the orange groves late in December, followed by another in February of the following year. Many of the grove owners were ruined and left, but the more determined stayed. It was 25 years before the effects of the freeze were completely overcome.
By 1950 Oviedo was the second largest town in Seminole County with a population of 1,800. Nearly a million crates of celery and a third of a million crates of citrus were being shipped from Oviedo each year.
The selection in 1964 of the site just south of Oviedo for the University of Central Florida, then known as Florida Technological University, promised greater growth for the area. Today, Oviedo is home to almost 13,000 residents.
What to learn more about Oviedo, Florida? Contact Laura Napoleon today to help you get started!
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