Orange County, Florida

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population is 1,023,023; 2005 US Census Statistics. Its county seat is Orlando, Florida ⁶.

History

Mosquito County was created in 1824. It was renamed Orange County in 1845 for the fruit that constituted the county's main product. At its peak in the early 1970's, some 80,000 acres (320 km²) were planted in citrus in Orange County. Today however, no commercial orange groves remain, having been swallowed by growing housing developments. However, several packing plants and wholesalers who get their oranges from elsewhere in Florida are still in Orange County.

Paved roads

The first paved roads in Orange County, outside the cities, were built in 1915 and 1916 under a $600,000 bond issue, approved by voters on November 11, 1913. These five roads were paved 9 feet (3 meters) wide with brick:

Orlando south to Osceola County via Edgewood, Pine Castle and Taft (later SR 2, part of the Dixie Highway)
Orlando east and south to Conway (later SR 29)
Orlando north to Seminole County via Winter Park and Lake Maitland (later SR 3, part of the Dixie Highway)
Orlando west to Oakland via Ocoee and Winter Garden (later SR 22)
Orlando northwest to Apopka and beyond, probably to Plymouth (later SR 2, part of the Dixie Highway)

In the next ten years, the following roads also received a hard surface:

Conway south and west to Pine Castle (asphalt) (later SR 29 and SR 285)
Orlando east to Brevard via Bithlo (brick east to Lake Barton and then asphalt) (later SR 22)
west of Bithlo north to Seminole County (brick) (later SR 203)
Orlando east and north to Winter Park, passing east of Lake Sue (asphalt)
Winter Park northeast to Seminole County via Goldenrod (asphalt) (later SR 202)
Plymouth northwest to Lake County via Zellwood (asphalt) (later SR 2)
Ocoee north to Apopka (asphalt) (later SR 24 and SR 443)
Oakland west to Lake County (brick) (later SR 22)
south two miles from Tildenville (asphalt) (later SR 208)
south 1.5 miles from Winter Garden (asphalt) (later SR 24)
north of Gotha south to Windermere via Gotha (asphalt) (later SR 437)

Another bond issue, this time for $7,000,000, was approved by voters on March 23, 1926. These asphalt roads covered almost all parts of the county; most of them are still main roads. There are too many to list here but a map is available.

See also: Apopka-Vineland Road

Because of the massive urban sprawl in the area and outdated and unplanned transit infastructure, traffic congestion is a growing concern. Fundamentally, the lack of east-west mobility in the area creates severe traffic issues every weekday.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,601 km² (1,004 mi²). 2,350 km² (907 mi²) of it is land and 251 km² (97 mi²) of it (9.63%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 896,344 people, 336,286 households, and 220,267 families residing in the county. The population density was 381/km² (988/mi²). There were 361,349 housing units at an average density of 154/km² (398/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.59% White, 18.17% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 3.35% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 6.01% from other races, and 3.43% from two or more races. 28.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 336,286 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.00% were married couples living together, 13.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.50% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 10.90% from 18 to 24, 33.80% from 25 to 44, 20.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,311, and the median income for a family was $47,159. Males had a median income of $32,053 versus $25,402 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,916. About 8.80% of families and 12.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.30% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.

Election controversy

In the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election, Orange County was involved in controversies about voter registration and alleged irregularities. It came under scrutiny again in the 2004 presidential election. The Federal Election Commission investigated each county in Florida, and eventually wrote a report criticizing Orange County for failure to provide sufficient handicapped-accessible voting machines.

Municipalities

Incorporated

City of Apopka
Plymouth (part of Apopka)
City of Belle Isle
Town of Eatonville
City of Edgewood
City of Maitland
Town of Oakland
City of Ocoee
City of Orlando
Town of Windermere
City of Winter Garden
City of Winter Park
City of Bay Lake (part of Walt Disney World)
City of Lake Buena Vista (part of Walt Disney World)

Unincorporated

East Orlando is a movement to incorporate large portions of eastern Orange County, largely in an effort to get fair representation from Orange County.