Orlando General Information

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County and the center of theGreater Orlando metropolitan region. The Orlando is the 27th largest metropolitan area and the Orlando the 82nd largest city inthe United States. Orlando was incorporated on July 31, 1875, and became a city in 1885.
Originally the center of a major citrus growing region, Orlando is a city now heavily urbanized with various industries. The areais a major tourist destination and is the home of Universal Orlando Resort, and SeaWorld Orlando. Lake Buena Vista, Florida, located 21 miles southwest of downtown Orlando, is the home of Walt Disney World.

These attractions form the backbone of Orlando's tourism industry, making the city the third most visited American city in 2007. Like other major cities in the Sun Belt, Orlando grew rapidly during the 1980s and well into the 2000s. Since the establishment of destination tourism in the 1970s, the local economy has diversified and today the region is the center of operations for companies servicing Central Florida. Orlandois also home to the University of Central Florida, the largest university campus by student enrollment in the state of Florida andamong the largest in the United States.

Before European settlers arrived in 1836, Orlando was sparsely populated by the Creek and other Native American tribes. There are very few archaeological sites in the area today, except for the ruins of Fort Gatlin along the shores of modern-day Lake Gatlinsouth of downtown Orlando. There are also some instances where construction projects will yield an arrowhead or musket bulletunearthed during excavation. Prior to being known by its current name, Orlando was known as Jernigan. This originates from thefirst permanent settler, Aaron Jernigan, a cattleman who acquired land along Lake Holden by the terms of the Armed OccupationAct of 1842.

Local legend says the name Orlando originated from a soldier named Orlando Reeves who died in the area during the SecondSeminole War. There are conflicting legends, however, as Orlando Reeves (sometimes Rees) operated a sugar mill andplantation about 30 miles (50 km) to the north at Spring Garden in Volusia County. Pioneer settlers simply found his name carvedinto a tree as "Orlando Acosta" and assumed it was a marker for his grave site. They then referred to the area as "Orlando's grave" and later simply Orlando. According to written evidence, Orlando Acosta was also a soldier, but most details of his lifeare uncertain. A memorial beside Lake Eola designates the spot where the city's namesake fell. Today, the historic core of "OldOrlando" is located in downtown Orlando along Church Street, between Orange Avenue and Garland Avenue. The historic districtis primarily located in the neighborhoods around Lake Eola where century old oaks line brick streets. These neighborhoods,known as "Lake Eola Heights" and "Thornton Park" contain some of the oldest homes in Orlando.