A town still in its infancy bursts with excitement over a natural wonder found in the heart of downtown!
The Great Hot Springs of Sebring
Mysterious Bombing at Bank of Oviedo
The village of Oviedo was rocked by a 1929 attack perpetrated by apparent burglars… or was there another motive?
Casselberry’s Concord settlement is oldest in south Seminole County
Thousands of cars unknowingly pass by this relic every day. Concord pre-dates Longwood, Altamonte, and Oviedo. On a recent Saturday, I was battling 17–92 traffic for approximately the 953rd time since moving to the area 15 years ago. Out of the...
Bog to Beauty: Crane’s Roost Park
Since its namesake hotel burnt in 1954, sprawling Altamonte Springs had no real center. So, it created one… from a swamp.
The Village of Taintsville
Residents who lived in the rural community between Chuluota and Oviedo lacked an identity, so they created one.
Rollins Prank Ends Era of Altamonte Tram
From its founding in 1883 until 1925, a horse-drawn street car ushered guests from the train station to the Altamonte Hotel. The storied transport came to an abrupt halt.
Lynched in Longwood: The Brutal Killing of John West
Despite being acquitted by the court, an angry white mob took matters into their own hands in 1925 Seminole County.
The Pioneer Life and Murder of Dempsey Dubois Crews, Jr.
The well-known cowboy came to frontier Zolfo Springs as a boy and later founded the town of Crewsville. Then his life was needlessly cut short in a dispute over hogs.
Winter Springs was almost called Semoran
A late bloomer relative to its neighbors, Winter Springs went through some growing pains including an intense debate over what its name should be.
Lorida, Florida: Origins of a Cracker Town
Many towns in Florida were started by skilled real estate developers with capitalistic dreams of striking it rich, not Lorida. Its cowboy homesteaders sought the hard country life, building their own version of Eden on the edge of the Everglades....