Things to do / Travel Guide
Different Indian tribes, like the Calusa, Timucua, and Apalachee, had inhabited the region for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from Europe in the 16th century. The first and most famous settler, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, arrived in the Cape Canaveral area, allegedly in search of the Fountain of Youth, in 1513. Over the next 300 years or so, these tribal nations slowly disappeared, as they fell to diseases settlers brought with them from Spain and Britain, to which the natives had no natural defenses. The Seminole tribe, comprised of runaway African slaves and the Creek Indians from the Georgia-Alabama area, came to Central Florida in the 1700s to “fill the Native American vacuum.” Three separate wars took place between the Seminoles and the United States between 1817 and 1853, and the vast majority of the Native American population ended up either dead or being transferred to reservations in the Oklahoma area. As such, there is hardly any tribal presence in the region nowadays.
During the mid- to late-1800s, an influx of Europeans, mainly from Scotland and Greece, immigrated to the Tampa Bay area. However, it was the construction of a large cigar factory that brought many immigrants, mostly Cubans, to the Ybor City section of Tampa. It is here that the famous leader of Cuban independence from Spain, Jose Marti, came to speak several times. Tampa is also the place where Teddy Roosevelt trained his Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War.
The development of the Central Florida region didn't start until the early 19th century, but soon after it became a major center for the citrus industry, which is why the area around Orlando is named Orange County. Development was spurred on by the extension of the railroad network to the area, most notably by Henry Flagler along the Atlantic Coast and Henry Plant in the Tampa Bay area of the Gulf Coast.
The stationing of many troops in Florida during World War II introduced many people to this region. With the advent of interstate highways, affordable air transportation, and the introduction of air conditioning, many people started to visit and move to Central Florida.
Two milestones truly caused Central Florida to grow significantly and become the huge tourist destination it is today. The first was the establishment of the U.S. manned space program and the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. Many people started to come to Central Florida to witness the rocket launchings, especially during the “race to the moon” period of the late 1960s. But only when the Disney World Resort debuted in Orlando, in 1971, did the floodgates to tourism truly open. The success of the Disney World Resort as a tourist draw soon spawned the development of many other large theme parks and tourist attractions, as well as a huge amount of lodging properties and restaurants. Today, the greater Orlando area is one of the most popularly visited areas in the world.
Historical Attractions in Orlando, Tampa, Cape Canaveral and Central Florida
History
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