Ocoee, Florida | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Motto: "The Center of Good Living" | |
 Location inOrange County and the state ofFlorida | |
| Coordinates:28°35′27″N81°30′56″W / 28.59083°N 81.51556°W /28.59083; -81.51556 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Orange |
| Settled (Starke Lake) | c. Mid-1850s[1] |
| Platted (Ocoee) | October 5, 1883-1886[2] |
| Incorporated (town) | November 22, 1923[3][4][5] |
| Incorporated (city) | 1925[4] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Commission-manager |
| • Mayor | Rusty Johnson[6] |
| • Mayor Pro Tem | Rosemary Wilsen |
| • Commissioners | Scott R. Kennedy, Richard Firstner, and Ages Hart |
| • City Manager | Robert D. Frank |
| • City Clerk | Melanie Sibbitt |
| Area | |
• Total | 16.67 sq mi (43.17 km2) |
| • Land | 15.61 sq mi (40.43 km2) |
| • Water | 1.06 sq mi (2.74 km2) |
| Elevation | 157 ft (48 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 47,295 |
| • Density | 3,029.8/sq mi (1,169.81/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 34761 |
| Area codes | 407, 689 |
| FIPS code | 12-51075[9] |
| GNIS feature ID | 2404418[8] |
| Website | City of Ocoee |
Ocoee (/əˈkoʊ.i/) is a city inOrange County, Florida, United States. It is part of theOrlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida metropolitan statistical area. According to the 2020 US Census, the city had a population of 47,295.
In the mid-1850s, Dr. J.D. Starke, stricken withmalaria, took a group of slaves, similarly stricken, to the north side of an open, pine-wooded lake that provided clear and clean water to avoid further malaria outbreaks. The camp built by the group provided a base of operations from which to commute during the day to work the fields nearLake Apopka and rest at night.
As the camp grew into a village, it took the name Starke Lake, a name the lake upon which the group settled bears to this day. The city's population increased further after theAmerican Civil War as Confederate soldiers and their families settled into the area, including CaptainBluford Sims and GeneralWilliam Temple Withers, who wintered at the location.[1] Captain Sims received a land grant for a 74-acre parcel to the west of Starke Lake in what is now the downtown portion of Ocoee on October 5, 1883.[2] In 1886, Captain Sims, along with a group of original settlers, led an effort to have the townplatted and changed the name to Ocoee, after a river he grew up near in Tennessee.[2]Ocoee is aCherokee Indian word anglicized fromuwagahi, meaning "apricot vine place"[3] and this inspired the choice of the city's flower.[4]
Bluford Sims began groundbreaking work in budding wild orange trees while in Ocoee. His commercial citrus nursery was the first in the United States in Ocoee, supplying many other groves in Florida with their first trees, as well as shipping young citrus trees to California.[3] The construction of theFlorida Midland Railroad in the 1880s spurred growth in the area and many more settlers moved in.[4]
On November 2, 1920, afterJuly Perry and Mose Norman, twoBlack men, attempted to vote and encouraged other Black people to vote, the entire Black population of the town was attacked by a mob organized by theKu Klux Klan. On the night of the massacre, WhiteWorld War I veterans from throughout Orange County murdered dozens of African-American residents.[10] At least 24 Black homes were burned, the institutions constituting the Black community were destroyed, and Perry waslynched.[11] Before the massacre, Ocoee's Black population numbered about 500; after the massacre, however, the Black population was nearly eliminated. For more than 40 years, Ocoee remained an all-Whitesundown town.[12][13] In 2018, the city commission issued a proclamation formally acknowledging the massacre and declaring that Ocoee is no longer a sundown town.[14]
Ocoee was incorporated in 1922[3] (or 1923[4][5]) and became a city in 1925.[4]
Highway construction was the impetus for Ocoee's growth in the 20th century.Florida State Road 50 (SR 50) was constructed south of downtown Ocoee in 1959 and provided a direct east-west connection between the city and a growing Orlando and made the town more accessible to housing developers.[4]Florida's Turnpike was opened just south of downtown Ocoee in 1964.[4] In late 1990, Ocoee was connected to Orlando by a western extension ofFlorida State Road 408 (the East-West Expressway), which then joined the Florida's Turnpike south of SR 50.[4] In 2000, the completion ofFlorida State Road 429 (the Western Expressway) linked Ocoee withWalt Disney World to the south.[4]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.7 square miles (40.6 km2), of which 0.97 square miles (2.5 km2) (6.12%) are covered by water.[15]
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild winters. According to theKöppen climate classification, the City of Ocoee has ahumid subtropical climate zone (Cfa).
| Climate data for Orlando (Orlando Int'l), 1991–2020 normals,[a] extremes 1892–present[b] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 88 (31) | 90 (32) | 97 (36) | 99 (37) | 102 (39) | 101 (38) | 101 (38) | 101 (38) | 103 (39) | 98 (37) | 93 (34) | 91 (33) | 103 (39) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 83.5 (28.6) | 85.5 (29.7) | 88.4 (31.3) | 91.1 (32.8) | 94.5 (34.7) | 96.1 (35.6) | 96.1 (35.6) | 95.4 (35.2) | 93.8 (34.3) | 91.0 (32.8) | 86.7 (30.4) | 83.7 (28.7) | 97.2 (36.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 71.8 (22.1) | 74.9 (23.8) | 78.9 (26.1) | 83.6 (28.7) | 88.4 (31.3) | 90.8 (32.7) | 92.0 (33.3) | 91.6 (33.1) | 89.6 (32.0) | 84.7 (29.3) | 78.3 (25.7) | 73.8 (23.2) | 83.2 (28.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 60.6 (15.9) | 63.6 (17.6) | 67.3 (19.6) | 72.2 (22.3) | 77.3 (25.2) | 81.2 (27.3) | 82.6 (28.1) | 82.6 (28.1) | 81.0 (27.2) | 75.5 (24.2) | 68.2 (20.1) | 63.3 (17.4) | 73.0 (22.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 49.5 (9.7) | 52.4 (11.3) | 55.8 (13.2) | 60.7 (15.9) | 66.3 (19.1) | 71.6 (22.0) | 73.2 (22.9) | 73.7 (23.2) | 72.4 (22.4) | 66.2 (19.0) | 58.2 (14.6) | 52.9 (11.6) | 62.7 (17.1) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 33.2 (0.7) | 36.5 (2.5) | 41.3 (5.2) | 49.2 (9.6) | 58.2 (14.6) | 67.5 (19.7) | 70.5 (21.4) | 70.7 (21.5) | 67.8 (19.9) | 53.4 (11.9) | 44.4 (6.9) | 37.6 (3.1) | 31.3 (−0.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 19 (−7) | 19 (−7) | 25 (−4) | 37 (3) | 47 (8) | 53 (12) | 64 (18) | 63 (17) | 50 (10) | 38 (3) | 28 (−2) | 18 (−8) | 18 (−8) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.48 (63) | 2.04 (52) | 3.03 (77) | 2.58 (66) | 4.02 (102) | 8.05 (204) | 7.46 (189) | 7.69 (195) | 6.37 (162) | 3.46 (88) | 1.79 (45) | 2.48 (63) | 51.45 (1,307) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 7.0 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 8.4 | 16.2 | 17.1 | 17.2 | 14.2 | 8.4 | 6.0 | 7.1 | 121.1 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 73.1 | 71.0 | 70.3 | 67.2 | 70.5 | 76.4 | 77.9 | 79.4 | 79.1 | 74.9 | 74.8 | 74.5 | 74.1 |
| Source: NOAA (relative humidity 1961–1990)[17][18][19] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 815 | [20] | — |
| 1930 | 794 | −2.6% | |
| 1940 | 702 | −11.6% | |
| 1950 | 1,370 | 95.2% | |
| 1960 | 2,628 | 91.8% | |
| 1970 | 3,937 | 49.8% | |
| 1980 | 7,803 | 98.2% | |
| 1990 | 12,778 | 63.8% | |
| 2000 | 24,391 | 90.9% | |
| 2010 | 35,579 | 45.9% | |
| 2020 | 47,295 | 32.9% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[21] | |||
| Race | Pop 2010[22] | Pop 2020[23] | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 19,086 | 18,029 | 53.64% | 38.12% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 5,968 | 10,869 | 16.77% | 22.98% |
| Native American orAlaska Native (NH) | 91 | 115 | 0.26% | 0.24% |
| Asian (NH) | 1,945 | 3,051 | 5.47% | 6.45% |
| Pacific Islander orNative Hawaiian (NH) | 19 | 40 | 0.05% | 0.09% |
| Some other race (NH) | 277 | 857 | 0.78% | 1.81% |
| Multiracial (NH) | 799 | 2,372 | 2.25% | 5.02% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 7,394 | 11,962 | 20.78% | 25.29% |
| Total | 35,579 | 47,295 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the2020 United States census, 47,295 people, 14,428 households, and 11,474 families were residing in the city.[24]
As of the2010 United States census, 35,579 people, 11,586 households, and 9,178 families resided in the city.[25]
As of the 2000census,[9] 24,391 people, 8,072 households, and 6,554 families were living in the city. The population density was 1,843.1 inhabitants per square mile (711.6/km2). The 8,405 housing units had an average density of 635.1 per square mile (245.2/km2). Theracial makeup of the city was 81.47% White, 6.59% African American, 0.35% Native American, 2.93% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 6.22% from other races, and 2.38% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 15.20% of the population.
Of the 8,072 households, 44.9% had children under 18 living with them, 65.9% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were not families. About 13.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.28.
In 2000, in the city, the age distribution was 29.2% under 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $53,225 and for a family was $56,865. Males had a median income of $33,628 versus $26,519 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $20,896. About 4.2% of families and 5.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 6.6% of those under 18 and 8.1% of those 65 or over.
Ocoee was served by theAtlantic Coast Line Railroad. The Ocoee station burned in a fire of undetermined origin on December 4, 1928.[26]The Tavares and Gulf Railroad's terminus was in Ocoee. Its former station still stands and is the home of the Ocoee Lions Club.
Residents are zoned toOrange County Public Schools.[27]
High schools serving sections of Ocoee includeOcoee High School,[28]West Orange High School.[29] andOlympia High School.[30]
Municipalities and communities ofOrange County, Florida,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Tallahassee (capital) | |
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