Editing Winter Garden, Florida (section)

==History==
The pre-European history of the modern Winter Garden area is ambiguous. Due to a lack of evidence, historians hesitate to conclude if the natives that once occupied the area were of the [[Timucua]], Jororo, or [[Mayaca people|Mayaca]] tribes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Milanich |first=Jerald T. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48138342 |title=Florida's Indians from ancient times to the present |date=1998 |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=0-8130-2200-2 |location=Gainesville |oclc=48138342}}</ref> Regardless of their tribal identity, these natives were either wiped out or subsumed into larger cultures by the end of the eighteenth century.<ref name=":0" />

Following the eradication of the original Floridian cultures, natives from farther north migrated into Florida. These natives had various cultures that over time coalesced into the [[Seminole|Seminole Tribe]]. By the early 19th century, some Seminole lived on the south shore of [[Lake Apopka]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=ARMY TROOPS UNDERESTIMATED ELUSIVE SEMINOLES, SWAMP |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2004-01-25-0401240135-story.html |access-date=2022-05-11 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en}}</ref> The settlement possibly produced the significant Seminole leader [[Wild Cat (Seminole)|Wild Cat]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=ApopkaMuseum.org |url=http://apopkamuseum.org/content/history.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402054256/http://apopkamuseum.org/content/history.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=May 2, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Colliee |first=W. |date=September 2, 1871 |title=For the Peninsular Florida Sketches |url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00079921/00492/zoom/1 |access-date=March 25, 2024 |work=The Florida Peninsular |pages=2}}</ref> In 1835, [[Seminole Wars|the Second Seminole War]] began, threatening the Seminole presence. On January 23, 1837, a small battle was fought near the village. [[Thomas Jesup|Thomas S. Jesup]], at that time in command of all American forces in Florida, sent a detachment to Lake Apopka to seek a Seminole chief known as Osuchee or "Copper". During the attack, the army successfully killed Osuchee and three other Seminoles, while taking 17 prisoners.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> The Second and Third Seminole wars both pushed the Seminole tribe south, likely eliminating their presence in the boundaries of modern Winter Garden.

The first American settlers came to what is now Winter Garden in the 1850s.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Blackman |first=William |title=History of Orange County Florida, Narrative and Biographical |publisher=Mickler House |year=1927 |location=Chuluota, Fla |pages=202–203}}</ref> The Roper, Reams, Dunaway, Speer, and Starke families were among the first to settle the area. As with most American pioneers, they engaged in agriculture as a primary economic activity. These farms mainly grew sugar cane and vegetables, and early on a small number utilized slave labor. During [[American Civil War|The Civil War]] steamboat traffic stopped along the [[St. Johns River]], forcing Winter Garden families to subsist off their own crops.<ref name=":1" />

[[File:DowntownWInterGardenEarly1900s.jpg|thumb|left|A photograph of downtown Winter Garden taken from Plant Street, looking east. Taken before or during 1909.]]
The arrival of the [[Orange Belt Railway|Orange Belt Railroad]] and the growing production of citrus, [[turpentine]], and lumber drove the town's growth over the remaining decades of the 19th century and into the 20th.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Grimes |first=L. A. |date=December 1947 |title=History of Winter Garden |journal=Literary Florida |volume=5 |pages=20}}</ref> Stores and businesses cropped up along [[Plant Street (Winter Garden)|Plant Street]], originating [[Winter Garden Downtown Historic District|Downtown Winter Garden]]. A settler from Mississippi named [[Arthur Bullard Newton|A. B. Newton]] contributed to the town's early economy. He opened one of the first stores, served as the first postmaster, founded the first newspaper, and functioned as the first mayor. These endeavors earned him the title "The Godfather of Winter Garden".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Ken |date=November 24, 1983 |title=A. B. Newton Known Affectionately as 'The Godfather of Winter Garden |pages=3C |work=The Winter Garden Times}}</ref>

Between the 1920s and 1960s, the fishing prospects of Lake Apopka drew many fishermen to Winter Garden.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.friendsoflakeapopka.org/about |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=FOLA |language=en}}</ref> The still-operating Edgewater Hotel in Downtown Winter Garden opened to service fishermen during the fishing boom. However, by the end of the 1960s, heavy pollution of Lake Apopka resulted in the collapse of the industry.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=History of a charming little city with a juicy past {{!}} Winter Garden, FL |url=https://www.cwgdn.com/398/History |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=www.cwgdn.com}}</ref>

Citrus agriculture saw rapid growth in the state of Florida in the last few decades of the 19th century, including in Winter Garden. As with the rest of the state, the [[Great Freeze|Great Freeze of 1894–1895]] severely damaged the citrus industry in Winter Garden.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Attaway |first=John A. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36543319 |title=A history of Florida citrus freezes |date=1997 |publisher=Florida Science Source |isbn=0-944961-03-7 |location=Lake Alfred, FL |pages=31 |oclc=36543319}}</ref> Many settlers left following this disaster, leaving a smaller population to recover the area's farms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hussey |first=Scott |date=Summer 2010 |title=Freezes, Fights, and Fancy: The Formation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the Florida Citrus Industry |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/29765147. |journal=Florida Historical Quarterly |volume=89 |issue=1 |page=86 |jstor=29765147 }}</ref> Despite this setback, the industry recovered and saw many decades of growth. Through the middle stretch of the 20th century citrus defined Winter Garden's economy and culture.

In the 1980s, back-to-back freezes reduced the profitability of citrus farming in the county. Citrus production in Winter Garden and Orange County never recovered. Since then, the center of citrus production in Florida has shifted south from Orange County.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Attaway |first=John A. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36543319 |title=A history of Florida citrus freezes |date=1997 |publisher=Florida Science Source |isbn=0-944961-03-7 |location=Lake Alfred, FL |pages=151–237, 279 |oclc=36543319}}</ref> The increasing development of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Area made it more profitable to sell grove lands to developers rather than attempt to restart them. Today, little citrus activity occurs in the city limits of Winter Garden. Yet, the town is proud of its citrus history; oranges and grapefruits continue to be symbols of the town.

Since 2000, Winter Garden has seen growth despite the decline of citrus and the economic stagnation in the 1980s and 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-01 |title=Winter Garden aims to duplicate downtown's success on east side |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2022/04/01/winter-garden-aims-to-duplicate-downtowns-success-on-east-side/ |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en-US}}</ref> Developers, entrepreneurs, and city government made efforts to rejuvenate the downtown district, attracting locals and tourists with a mix of small-town atmosphere and trendy businesses. This population and development growth endured through the [[Great Recession]] and continues today.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Wes |title=No More Imagining: 'Garden' is Growing |work=Orlando Sentinel}}</ref>