Hi! My name is Audrey and I am an intern for the Osceola County Historical Society’s Marketing and Development Department this summer. I am graduating from college this December and am so grateful for this opportunity to gain experience in marketing.

Topics: Osceola History, Around Osceola, History, Osceola County Welcome Center and HIstory Museum, Around Osceola County, Pioneer Village at Shingle Creek, Osceola County, Marketing, Oscoela County Historical Society, Kissimmee

It was slightly different in design but dating to the same 1890s time period as the replica schoolhouse at the Pioneer Village and two stories have emerged regarding how the school got its name.  Miss Emma Yowell, one of the early teachers refers to it as “Shaker Rag” and stated in a 1940 newspaper interview that it was later known as “Pine Grove” in a 1940 newspaper.

Topics: Osceola History, Around Osceola, History, Educational, Osceola County History, City of Kissimmee, Osceola County, Oscoela County Historical Society, Kissimmee

Imagine transporting a student from the 1890’s schoolhouse at Pioneer Village at Shingle Creek to a heavily populated area in Osceola County, Florida in 1980; where wild turkeys and bobcats once roamed.  What they would see would be startling.  An earth-covered school, the design borrowed from Southwest American Indian tribes; was being built to save energy.  Referred to as “The dirt school, Groundhog or Eskimo Elementary”, the name chosen was ”Reedy Creek Elementary”.

Topics: Osceola History, Around Osceola, History, Educational, Osceola County History, Around Osceola County, City of Kissimmee, Osceola County, Oscoela County Historical Society, Kissimmee

One of the official actions at the first School Board meeting on August 29, 1887 was to name and number the schools.  # 5 was Shiloh, #7 Cross Prairie, #11 Neallo and #13 was Lakeview, to name a few.  There were a total of twenty-one with #22, Merry Winter, added the following month.  The salary for teachers assigned between ten and fifteen students was set at $20 a month; classes above fifteen students would result in $1.50 per student per month additional payment.

Topics: Osceola History, Around Osceola, The Pioneer Village, Educational, St. Cloud, Osceola County History, Pioneer Village, City of Kissimmee, Pioneer Village at Shingle Creek, City of St. Cloud, Osceola County Historical Society, Osceola County, Oscoela County Historical Society, Samuel Lincoln Lupfer,, Kissimmee

Summer time in Florida is the perfect opportunity to explore the activities and attractions Osceola County has to offer! Offering family-friendly adventures, there are plenty of activities to ensure everyone has fun! Check out some of our favorite places to visit with our family and friends: 

Topics: Osceola History, Around Osceola, Shingle Creek Regional Park, The Pioneer Village, Tourism, Shingle Creek, History, Summer Activities, Osceola County History, KUA, Pioneer Village, Around Osceola County, City of Kissimmee, Pioneer Village at Shingle Creek, Airboats, Gatorland, Osceola County Historical Society, Osceola County, Toho Water Authority, Totally Tots! Temporary Exhibit, Kissimmee, The Paddling Center, Old Town, Boggy Creek Airboat Rides, Experience Kissimmee, Steffee Landing, Big John's BBQ, Cici's Pizza, United Arts of Central Florida

The September 23, 1909 edition of the “St. Cloud Tribune” announced completion of the Hotel St. Cloud, as it was originally named. It was built from material salvaged from the Disston Sugar Mill. Two weeks later the newspaper reported it had been filled to capacity since opening; with many sleeping on cots in the hotel parlor and other available places.

Topics: Around Osceola, St. Cloud, St. Cloud Hotel, Osceola County History

Electricity came to Kissimmee 113 years ago.

The pioneer vision that led the citizens of Kissimmee to vote to own and operate the city’s electric utility in 1901 has paid untold benefits to residents in the century since then.

Topics: Osceola History, Around Osceola, OCHS Partners

We’ve shared a lot this summer about our beloved Pioneer Village. It’s a laundry list of history and information that has flooded the blog about the various historic structures from how they came to be (including the history of the pioneer families that once inhabited them) to so much more. If you missed out on any of it, here’s a little of what we have to offer:

• We’ve told the rich history of the Tyson House, the Cadman Family Bachelor’s Quarters and the Citrus Packing House. 

• We’ve showed how the Seminole Tribe has become a part of our village through the building of the Seminole Chickee structures. 

• And we’ve told you 9 things we learned from moving historic buildings in Osceola County (although we’ve probably learned even more by now!)

Topics: Around Osceola, Historic Buildings, The Pioneer Village

As you walk down the streets of downtown Kissimmee, listen closely. Can you hear the echoes of the past? The splashing of the steamboat paddle on the lake? The bellowing of cattle passing through town? The shrill whistle of a train? While the sights and sounds of downtown Kissimmee have evolved over the years, one thing in particular remains the same: Makinson Hardware.

Topics: Osceola History, Around Osceola

The exhibit that will be on display at the History Museum is titled, Spanish Pathways, where viewers will trace the Spanish in Florida and will investigate the earliest cattle industry, the Naváez expedition, De Soto’s epic march, Catholic mission sites, St. Augustine, Ft. Mose, Count Gálvez and the American Revolution, the Second Spanish Era, Paulina Pedrosa and Las Patriotas,the cigar industry, and finally, the dramatic impact of the 1959 Cuban revolution on south Florida. The timeline dates from 1492 through 1992, five hundred years of hispanic history.

Topics: Around Osceola, OCHS Events