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The story behind the City of Orlando dates back to the 1838, when it was occupied by the Native American tribes, prior to the arrival of the European Settlers. Known as Jernigan before its present name, Orlando possesses a rich history which spans over the time period of 170 years. It was after a cattleman that Orlando was first known as Jernigan. Aaron Jernigan was the first settler, to establish a permanent settlement o the lands of the present day Orlando. Although the accounts behind the name Jernigan are not disputed, many historians disagree on how the name transferred to Orlando. Majorly believed, the events tell us that Orlando came to be known by this name because of a US soldier, Orlando Reeves who protected his fellow soldiers from a surprise attack by a native in the Second Seminole Wars. This name was first adopted in 1857 and the US Post Office officially used it for the first time in 1875. However, as mentioned above, there are many events stating how the name Orlando was originated but non of them have any solid backing up as such. Although there is several accounts leading upto this name, this one happens to be the most popular one. Perhaps it is the human psyche to name our cities and countries after some patriotic brave individual who died in the service of his country. Before 1880s the famous small scale industries found in Orlando was cotton growing and cattle breeding. Done both on individual and large scales, this used to be the prime source of income of the majority of the population settled there. Later on the City started to expand into the growth of citrus fruit trees. As the city blossomed and grew, it expanded its limits, and the requirement for communication links grew. In 1881, Orlando laid its first railway lines and with this project, the influx of settler, business, imports and exports grew drastically. As history always tells us, where there were communications lines laid, settlement grew at a beastly speed. Orlando started springing churches, motels, cafes, restaurants, schools, hospitals, small businesses, general stores and so on. Employment opportunities took birth with this development and advancement. The Rollins College founded in the Winter Park enjoys the status of being the first educational institute in Orlando. However, the pace of this prosperity came to sudden halt when the Big Freeze struck the inhabitants of Orlando. Suffering from bone numbing low temperature, the residents huddled up in their houses for three whole days trying to stay warm as ice cold blizzards blowing outside destroyed their life earnings. After the sorry event, Orlando lost a major chunk of its Citrus Plantation industry and several inhabitants staggering form such a huge loss packed up and left the settlement searching for places for a fresh start. Businesses closed down and the population decreased as well. It took the orange County at least 15 years to get back on its feet and fully recover.
