Orlando, FL — August 5, 1875: On this day in 1875, a pivotal moment in Central Florida’s history was quietly recorded in the Orange County courthouse: the newly established Town of Orlando was officially recognized through a legal filing submitted to the county clerk, marking the administrative birth of one of Florida’s most iconic cities.
Though the incorporation vote had already taken place on July 31, with 22 registered voters approving the move, it wasn’t until August 5 that the incorporation documents were formally entered into the public record by J.P. Hughey, then Clerk of the Circuit Court.
The newly incorporated town began as a modest settlement with fewer than 100 residents, a one-mile-square boundary, and William Jackson Brack elected as its first mayor. The early town center would later become the heart of a thriving city known worldwide as the home of major tourism, entertainment, and innovation.
