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Annotated By An Early Real Estate Speculator

Rare separately published map of Orange County, Florida, constructed by Edward R. Trafford and published by Way & Son, of Sanford, Florida, publishers of the South Florida Journal.

Trafford was a Civil Engineer and Surveyor, who before going into private practice and creating this map was worked as a surveyor for the General Land Office.

In the center of the map, near Stark Lake Apopa City, Altamonte and Maitland, there are approximately 60 townships which have been marked off and numbered in an early hand.  The road from Sanford south through Longwood, Maitland, Osceola, Orlando and south to Lake Tohoptelaga is drawn in by hand, with the town of Kissemmee also added in manuscript.

There are also towns and annotations added in manuscript near Lake Dorr, including Summitt and a second town on the north side and Altoona and Glendale to the south.

The lands are describe using 4 symbols, including symbols for:

• Hammocks
• Prairies
• Swamps
• Pine Land

Orange County, Florida

In 1821, when the United States acquired the territory, two counties formed Florida: Escambia to the west and St. Johns to the east. In 1824, the area to the south of St. Johns County was organized as Mosquito County, and Enterprise was named its county seat. This large county took up much of central Florida. It was renamed as Orange County in 1845 when Florida became a state.   

After Mosquito County was divided in 1845, Fort Gatlin became the county seat of the newly created Orange County in 1856.  It remained a rural backwater during the Civil War and suffered greatly during the Union blockade. The Reconstruction Era brought on a population explosion, resulting in the incorporation of the Town of Orlando on July 31, 1875 with 85 residents (22 voters). For a short time in 1879 the town revoked its charter, and was subsequently re-incorporated.  Orlando was established as a city in 1885.

Maitland, in Orange County, is one of the oldest incorporated suburban municipalities in central Florida.  After the Civil War, The area began to grow, and a post office opened at Lake Maitland in 1872. Around this post office, a small town grew. Lake Maitland was incorporated as a town in 1885, the fifth town in Orange County to do so.  

Dating the Annotations

The map dates to a period shortly after the creation of Kissimmee as a town.  This area was originally named Allendale, after Confederate Major J. H. Allen who operated the first cargo steamboat along the Kissimmee River  It was renamed Kissimmee when incorporated as a city in 1883.