Orlando’s Fort Gatlin and Council Oak

Historians have debated the location of the fabled landmark where Seminoles gathered. Let’s solve the puzzle. Background: Orange County was Seminole Territory Contrary to popular belief, the Seminoles were not natives of the Everglades. They didn’t even have a unified...

Kenansville is a tiny town with a rich history

You have to REALLY want to visit Kenansville. It's not the kind of place you stumble upon. I have wanted to visit for years, so I took the lonely stretch of 441 north from Yeehaw (instead of the Turnpike) to...

Old South Bar-B-Q Ranch

Weary travelers for four decades were kept awake by the funny signs and nourished by the taste of this Clewiston oasis. There aren’t many roads more desolate and monotonous than going south on US 27. Once you pass Lake Placid,...

Lastinger Family were first to settle pioneer Lake Placid

Joshua Berrien Lastinger decided that his idea of a garden paradise was the wild lake country of southern Highlands County. One of the few surviving photos of Lake Placid’s first white settler, Joshua Berrien Lastinger, comes from a 1904 family reunion....

Lyman Twins of Altamonte, famous Vaudeville stage actors

The comedians settled in Seminole County after retiring from a 15-year career, thrilling audiences nationwide. It’s not every day that genuine celebrities move to town! The citizens of tiny Altamonte Springs were delighted when the famous “Lyman Twins” decided to...

The Last Cowgirl of Lake Mary

Lillian Humphrey was born on her family’s Lake Mary homestead in 1928. She was the third generation to be born in what became Seminole County.

Rounding Wagner’s Curve

Hidden beneath suburban Winter Springs is the old village of Wagner and its once-infamous dead man’s curve.

Tom the Turkey of Pabor Lake

Every town needs a mascot. In the Pabor Lake, it was a friendly fowl who narrowly evaded becoming Thanksgiving dinner. Every town needs a mascot, and the Pabor Lake Colony had a right-friendly one named Tom. Arguably the fowl became...

War of 17–92: Casselberry v. Fern Park

Gordon Barnett’s Fern Park was riding high until Hibbard Casselberry incorporated a new town smack dab in the middle. Ask your average Seminole County resident: Where is Fern Park? If they have even heard of it, they’ll probably tell you: South of 436...