Juan Ponce de Leon discovered Florida in 1513, landing in NE Florida (probably near St Augustine), and claimed Florida for Spain.  In 1565 the first European settlement was established in St Augustine by Spain.

The British took control of Florida in 1763, with Spain regaining the territory in 1783.

Florida became a US territory in 1821, and was admitted to the US as a State in 1845 (27th State).

During the Civil War (1861-1865), the small trading settlement of Allendale (located on the northwest shore of Lake Tohopekaliga) and the surrounding area had become important to the Confederate Army by providing cattle to feed the hungry troops. The local men that worked the cattle during that conflict, became known as the “cow cavalry” and their efforts established the settlement as the heart of cow country. The sound of “cracking” cow whips used by these men to drive the cattle through the palmettos and underbrush led to them being called “crackers” and further led to the designation, “Florida Cracker.”

Following the American Civil War, the land was purchased by Hamilton Disston (owner of Disston Saw Company, in Philadelphia), as being part of four million acres of marshland and plane, for $1million (25 cents an acre!).  Disston infused $1million in the state of Florida reportedly rescuing it from financial disaster.  However, following a disastrous freeze in Florida in 1896, his company returned to Philadelphia.

In 1883, Allendale voted to be incorporated and known as Kissimmee City. (Look out for the Festival & Fireworks on Sat March 29th 2008, when Kissimmee has its 125th birthday).

In the 1870’s cargo steamships were a major part of the transportation system.  With the extension of the railroad from Sanford, Florida in 1882, and the dredging of a river highway from Lake Tohopekaliga to the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers (SW coast) in 1884, together with a further railroad extension from Kissimmee City to Tampa in 1885, this area became a center of commerce and trade.

In 1884, Makinsons Hardware store opened in Kissimmee, and remains the oldest operating hardware store in Florida today.

Osceola County was formed by the Florida State Legislature in 1887, and Kissimmee City was chosen as the county seat in 1888, and as where the Osceola County Courthouse would be built.  The courthouse was build and then dedicated in 1890, and is today, the oldest courthouse in the state of Florida still in use for the purpose it was originally built.

1900 saw electricity come to Kissimmee

Kissimmee Airport was built in the 1940’s by the US Army Corps of Engineers ready for the US involvement in WW11, causing Kissimmee’s population to increase by 38%.  (The “Bataan Corregidor Monument” honouring the American and Philipino soldiers, and civilians of WW11 was unveiled in 2002.  It is located at Lakeshore Blvd/Monument Ave, Lakefront Park, Kissimmee.)

A big tourist attraction in Pre-Disney Florida was the Monument of States, erected in 1943.

Walt Disney World opened in 1971, and the population doubled in size by 1980.

Nowadays, the population is over 17 million, with 1000 people moving to Florida every day.

To start getting a feel for Kissimmee’s traditions and history, the best place to go is the Osceola County Historical Society and Pioneer Museum (750 North Bass Road). You’ll be taken back in time as you visit a Florida Cracker house and a cow hunter’s camp.

And to really experience what life was like in Kissimmee in its very beginnings, you can visit a real, working cattle ranch or attend the rodeo .