City Of Apopka

120 East Main Street

407-703-1703

History:

In 1882, City of Apopka was incorporated. The City limits were measured one mile in all directions from the Masonic Lodge. The "Lodge" is still in its original location on Main Street (US 441) and is the oldest lodge room in continuous use in the State of Florida.

In 1912 ferns became the industry for Apopka and soon Apopka developed the name of "Fern City". More tropical plants were introduced to the growers in the area. This influx of foliage took over the fern industry and the City became known as "The Indoor Foliage Capital of the World". The City of Apopka is located 12 miles Northwest of Orlando and encompasses an area slightly larger than 30 square miles and a population of more than 31,000 citizens.

The City has a strong mayoral form of government. The Mayor and Commissioners are elected at large and serve a term of four years. Before Apopka was "The Indoor Foliage Capital of the World" or even before it was "The Fern City," it was The Lodge. From about 7500 B.C. until about the 1st century A. D. when they disappeared for reasons unknown, Indians were believed to have lodged on the shores of Lake Apopka. Then for about 400 years the region appears to have been uninhabited. When the Spaniards arrived in Florida in the 16th century, the Acuera tribe of the Timucua confederation was said to have lived in the Apopka area, growing crops and trading. By 1730 these natives were decimated by war and diseases brought by the Europeans and had also disappeared.

Then early in the 19th century, Indians again inhabited the area. There was a Seminole village on Lake Apopka or Ahapopka, as they spelled and pronounced it. It remained an active village until the outbreak of the Second Seminole War in the mid 1830s. Coacoochee (Wild Cat), one of the most famous and influential War Chiefs, was born here and ruled as Chief of about 200 Indians until this village was evacuated and the natives sought refuge in the swampy areas around the St Johns.

The Armed Occupation Act of 1842 brought white settlers to the Apopka area. They received 160 acres if they would settle them. These Pioneers and those that followed the Civil War from states to the north began converting the area into what it is today. The settlement grew, attracting developers and settlers because of the climate and the agricultural opportunities and becoming an important trading center in the 1850s. The Masons' were particularly active. Orange Lodge #36 was organized in 1857 and The Lodge building, still standing on its original site at Alabama Avenue and Highway 441, was completed in 1859.

It was around this building that the town grew in the 1860s and 1870s and ultimately became the Town of Apopka City incorporated in 1882. Progress continued and today Apopka is still an important hub of commerce. One of the fastest growing cities in Orange County, it is home base to more than 45,000 citizens in the greater Apopka area.

City Of Apopka

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