Kissimmee, FL : Gateway to the Kissimmee River Valley

by Robison, Jim

• ISBN13: 9780738524375
• ISBN10: 0738524379
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-01
• Publisher: Arcadia Pub

Summary

Kissimmee, Florida traces its name to the Jororo tribe, among the first to settle along the river valley. Riverboat captains, entrepreneurs, and speculators found Kissimmee and nearby Lake Tohopekaliga irresistible, and soon settlers followed. The 1880s marked this city's first brush with tourism, as the Tropical Hotel became the largest resort hotel south of Jacksonville. As the cattle town struggled to survive floods, the Depression, and downtown neglect in favor of spillover Walt Disney World business, committed citizens fought back and spiritedly rekindled the town into a favored tourist spot.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	6	(1)
Introduction	7	(2)
The Jororo and the Origin of the Kissimmee Name	9	(3)
The Spanish Eras and the First Cattle and Horses in Florida	12	(10)
Osceola, Wildcat, and the Seminole Resistance	22	(10)
The Kissimmee River Valley's Cow Cavalry	32	(8)
The Pioneer Spirit and Challenges of Living in the Pine and Palmetto Prairie	40	(27)
Hamilton Disston Turns Frontier Allendale into the Gateway to the Kissimmee River Valley	67	(20)
The South Florida Railroad and Opening the Florida Interior	87	(22)
The State Carves Out Osceola County with Kissimmee as County Seat	109	(8)
Florida's Land Boom and the Great Depression	117	(20)
Kissimmee During and After the Second World War	137	(6)
Opening of Walt Disney World Helps Kissimmee Recapture Its Past	143	(6)
Epilogue: Restoring the Meandering Kissimmee River	149	(8)
Bibliography	157	(2)
Index	159