Orange County, Florida

Immediately following the transfer of Florida to the United States in 1821, Governor Andrew Jackson created two counties: Escambia to the west of the Suwannee River and St. Johns to the east.[5] In 1824, the area to the south of St. Johns County was organized as Mosquito County, and Enterprise was named its county seat. This large county took up much of central Florida. It was renamed as Orange County in 1845 when Florida became a state.[6] After population increased in the region, the legislature organized several counties, such as Osceola, Seminole, Lake, and Volusia, from its territory.

During the post-Reconstruction period, White people committed a high rate of racial violence against Black people in Orange County; they exercised terrorism to re-establish and maintain white supremacy. Whites lynched 33 African Americans here from 1877 to 1950; most were killed in the decades around the turn of the 20th century. This was the highest total of any county in the state, and sixth highest of any county in the country.[7] Florida had the highest per capita rate of lynchings of any state in the South, where the great majority of these extrajudicial murders took place.[8]

Among the terrorist lynchings was the death of Julius "July" Perry of Ocoee, whose body was found November 3, 1920, hanged from a lightpole in Orlando, near the house of a judge known to be sympathetic to black voting.[7] But this was part of a much larger story of KKK and other white attempts to suppress black voting in Ocoee and the state. African Americans had organized for a year to increase voter turnout for the 1920 presidential election, with organizations helping prepare residents for voter registration, paying for poll taxes, and similar actions. On Election Day in Ocoee, blacks were turned away from the polls. Perry, a prosperous farmer, was suspected of sheltering Mose Norman, an African-American man who had tried to vote.[9] After Norman was twice turned away, white violence broke out, resulting in a riot through the black community, leaving an estimated 50 to 60 blacks dead and all the properties destroyed. Many blacks fled from Ocoee to save their lives, and the town became all-white.[9][7] Voting efforts were suppressed for decades.

Orange County was renamed from Mosquito County for the fruit that constituted the county's main commodity crop. At its peak in the early 1970s, some 80,000 acres (320 km²) were planted in citrus in Orange County. The dark-green foliage of orange trees filled the county, as did the scent of the orange blossoms when in bloom. Fewer commercial orange groves remained by the end of the twentieth century. The majority of groves were destroyed by the freezing temperatures that occurred in the successive winters of 1985–1986, in particular by the January 1985 cold wave, the worst since 1899.

The financial setbacks, not the first in the grove region's history, were too challenging for many growers. Economically destroyed, many walked away from the land. Others awaited other opportunities. One of the region's major land owners and growers was the Tropicana company. They withdrew rather than try to come back from these seemingly endless generational decimation. With no realistic avenues for agricultural use of this rural land, and Florida's continuing strong population growth and its attendant needs (aided and supported by the success of nearby Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Florida), these areas began to be developed for housing. However, several packing facilities and wholesalers are still in Orange County.

• Seminole County - north
• Volusia County - northeast
• Brevard County - east
• Osceola County - south
• Polk County - southwest
• Lake County - west

• Orlando Apopka Airport, a privately owned uncontrolled, public-use airport in the City of Apopka which serves small private aircraft, there is no commercial service.
• Orlando Executive Airport, a public airport owned by GOAA which serves private jets and small aircraft. It is a reliever airport for Orlando International Airport.
• Orlando International Airport is a public international airport owned by GOAA serving both commercial and private aircraft.

• Amtrak a nationwide rail service with two stations in Orange County, Orlando and Winter Park
• Brightline a high-speed rail line which will operate service from Orlando International Airport to West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami starting in 2021.
• Greyhound a U.S. Intercity common carrier bus company providing nationwide service from Orlando.
• Lynx a public bus authority providing service in Orange County and five additional Central Florida counties including Lake, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia.
• SunRail a commuter rail service with eight stations serving Orange County and eight additional stations in three adjacent counties (Osceola, Volusia and Seminole).

The 2010 U.S. Census reported the following ethnic and racial statistics:[17][18]

• White (non-Hispanic) (63.6% when including White Hispanics): 46.0% (10.0% German, 8.5% Irish, 7.4% English, 5.6% Italian, 2.1% French, 1.8% Polish, 1.5% Scottish, 1.3% Scotch-Irish, 1.0% Dutch, 0.8% Swedish, 0.7% Russian, 0.6% Norwegian, 0.5% Welsh, 0.5% French Canadian)[17]
• Black (non-Hispanic) (20.8% when including Black Hispanics): 19.5% (5.4% West Indian/Afro-Caribbean American [2.6% Haitian, 1.5% Jamaican, 0.4% Other and Unspecified West Indian, 0.3% Trinidadian and Tobagonian, 0.1% British West Indian, 0.1% U.S. Virgin Islander, 0.1% Bahamian,] 0.7% Subsaharan African)[17][19]
• Hispanic or Latino of any race: 26.9% (13.0% Puerto Rican, 3.2% Mexican, 2.0% Colombian, 2.0% Cuban, 1.8% Dominican, 0.7% Venezuelan, 0.5% Ecuadoran, 0.5% Peruvian)[17][20]
• Asian: 4.9% (1.4% Indian, 0.9% Vietnamese, 0.8% Filipino, 0.7% Chinese, 0.6% Other Asian, 0.3% Korean, 0.2% Japanese)[17][18]
• Two or more races: 3.4%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.4%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%[17][18]
• Other Races: 6.7% (0.8% Arab)[17]

In 2010, 5.9% of the population considered themselves to be of only "American" ancestry (regardless of race or ethnicity.)[17]

There were 421,847 households, out of which 30.81% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.50% were married couples living together, 15.65% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.18% were non-families. 24.85% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.08% (1.71% male and 4.37% female) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.19.[18][21]

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.[21]

The median income for a household in the county was $50,138, and the median income for a family was $57,473. Males had a median income of $40,619 versus $31,919 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,490. About 10.0% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those aged 65 or over.[22]

In 2010, 19.1% of the county's population was foreign born, with 43.8% being naturalized American citizens. Of foreign-born residents, 68.9% were born in Latin America, 17.8% born in Asia, 8.1% were born in Europe, 3.0% born in Africa, 2.0% in North America, and 0.2% were born in Oceania.[23]

As of 2010, 67.43% of all residents spoke English as their first language, while 22.59% spoke Spanish, 2.44% French Creole (mostly Haitian Creole,) 1.23% Portuguese, 0.88% Vietnamese, 0.78% Indian languages (including Gujarati and Hindi,) 0.58% Tagalog, 0.53% Chinese, 0.50% French, and 0.45% of the population spoke Arabic as their mother language.[24] In total, 32.57% of the population spoke languages other than English as their primary language.[24]

Four districts of the US House of Representatives represent parts of Orange County.

District 7 encompasses all of Seminole County and portions of northern Orange County

Places include: Sanford, Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, Winter Park and parts of Orlando

District 8 encompasses all of Brevard and Indian River Counties and far eastern Orange County

District 9 encompasses all of Osceola County, eastern Polk County and south central Orange County

Places include: Kissimmee, Winter Haven and parts of Orlando

District 10 encompasses western Orange County

Places include: Eatonville, Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Windermere and parts of Orlando

Orange County residents are represented in Tallahassee with 3 Senate seats.

District 11 encompasses northwestern Orange County

District 13 encompasses north central and northeastern Orange County

District 15 encompasses all of Osceola County and the southern third of Orange County

Orange County residents are represented in Tallahassee with 9 House seats.

District 30 encompasses southern Seminole and portions of northern Orange County

District 31 encompasses northern Lake County and northwest Orange County

District 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, and 49 are wholly composed of Orange.

District 50 encompasses northern Brevard County and eastern Orange County

Orange County is served by a board of commissioners. The board consists of an elected mayor and six commissioners. The mayor is elected At-large, while commissioners are elected from single-member districts. The mayor and commissioners each serve staggered four-year terms. Commissioners from Districts 1, 3, and 5 are elected in presidential election years, while the mayor and commissioners from Districts 2, 4, and 6 are elected in alternate years. The county is also served by a clerk of courts, sheriff, property appraiser, tax collector, supervisor of elections, state attorney, and public defender. All positions are four-year terms, requiring direct election by voters in presidential election years.

[28]

The Orange County Public Schools deliver public education to students countywide. Its functions and expenditures are overseen by an elected school board composed of a chairman, elected at-large; and seven members, elected from single-member districts. Each member is elected to a four-year term: the chairman and three other members are elected in gubernatorial election years, while the other four are elected in presidential election years. The school system operates 182 schools (123 elementary, 3 K-8, 35 middle, 19 high, and 4 exceptional learning). In October 2012, the district had 183,562 students, making it the fourth-largest school district statewide and eleventh in the nation.[29]

The University of Central Florida is the sole public university. A fall 2012 enrollment of 59,767, currently places it second in the nation amongst public colleges and universities for student enrollment.[30] The university's massive campus is situated in northeast Orange County.

Nearby Winter Park is home to Rollins College, a private college situated only a few miles from Downtown Orlando. In 2012, it was ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report amongst regional universities in the South.[31]

With six campuses spread throughout the county, Valencia College offers two-year degree programs, as well three baccalaureate programs.

The law schools for Barry University and Florida A&M are also conveniently located in Downtown Orlando.

Full Sail University is a for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. Full Sail is not regionally accredited, but is nationally accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) to award associate's, bachelor's degrees, and master's degrees in audio, film, design, computer animation, business, and other fields.[10] The school offers 35 degree programs and 2 graduate certificates and has a student population of more than 16,800.

Walt Before Mickey, a feature film about Walt Disney creating Mickey Mouse, was shot locally.

• Eatonville
• Oakland
• Windermere

• Andover Lakes, Florida
• Chinatown
• Fairvilla
• Killarney
• Plymouth
• Reedy Creek Improvement District
• Vineland