Orange

Formed December 29, 1824 (10^th county)

Orange County (1,429,901), Orlando (307,683)

A Modern Style tall concrete and glass courthouse serves Orange County.  It was constructed in 1997 at Orange and Livingston.  Florida State Highway 527 is Orange Avenue.  Hanson Lind Myers, Inc., is the building architect.  Enterprise was the original county seat in 1824 and Orlando beginning in 1845 with 1892 and 1927 versions of the courthouse.  Orange County gets its name from the predominant fruit crops.  Soldier Orlando Reeves provided his name for the county seat.  The county was created on December 29, 1824 from St. Johns County as the 10^th county, Mosquito County and renamed in 1845.  It provided land for a number of central Florida counties. 

Orange County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Forty-three Circuit Court Judges serve Orange and Osceola counties and Seventeen County Court Judges, clerk, and county attorney serve Orange County (judicial.) Central Florida is the home for Orange County.  The St. Johns River forms its eastern border.  Tampa, Florida is southwest and Gainesville, Florida is northwest.  The center of the county is 6.8 miles Northeast of Orlando in Winter Park.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Seminole, Volusia, Brevard, Osceola, Polk, and Lake counties. 

The area of the county is 908 square miles.  It is 21 out of 67 counties in the state.  It ranks 5 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 1574.8 persons per square mile making it 3 out of 67 in the state.  Orange County has 36.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 4 enters from Seminole County (north) and exits into Osceola County (south).  United States Highways 17/92 enter from Seminole County and exits into Osceola County.  United States Highway 192 crosses the southwest tip from Osceola County to Lake County.  United States Highway 441 comes from Lake County, northwest, and goes to Osceola County, south.  The county looks like a steam iron.  Orlando dominates the west central part of the county.  Orlando is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 21.5% of the county population.  This county is in the Orlando-Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Winter Park