Celebrating Ocoee's Centennial: 1925-1935

Editor's note: In partnership with the city of Ocoee, the Observer is publishing a 10-week series examining each decade of the city’s history. 

The city of Ocoee officially was established in 1925, but the settlement predates the Civil War. The story begins in the 1850s when Dr. James D. Starke arrived and settled among the pine woods on the northern shores of what later would be called Starke Lake. Originally named Starke, the settlement would become a township and was renamed the Town of Ocoee as a subdivision platted by Dr. H.K. Clarke, Charles J. Chunn and R.B.F. Roper in 1886. Its name came from the Cherokee word for “apricot vine,” according to city records. Other documents suggest the name is a Native American word for “no cold” or the municipality was named for the river in Tennessee.

The first school in Ocoee, a three-sided structure on Floral Street, was established in 1880. This land would continue to serve as a school site.

That decade, the tracks were laid and completed for the Florida Midland Railroad; crops like corn, cotton and sweet potatoes were abandoned in favor of more lucrative citrus groves and vegetables for the winter market up north.

An 1887 issue of Orange County Gazetter showed the population of Ocoee as 115.

In 1888, Gen. William Temple Withers, who had fought in the Mexican War and Civil War, traveled to Ocoee and was convinced by Capt. Bluford M. Sims — who had arrived in the area in 1861 — to relocate here with his wife, Martha, and their daughters. Withers built the home now known as the Withers-Maguire House, and the family moved in. Withers died in 1889, and after their children were grown, Martha Withers sold the home to David and Maggie Maguire in 1910. When he died three years later, she added a full second story to the back of the house and took in boarders.

In November 1923, registered voters gathered at Pounds Packing House to select officers and organize a municipal government for the town of Ocoee. The 86 legally qualified registered electors living in the proposed limits voted for Fred H. Maguire as mayor; Arthur M. Clarke, Ralph F. Whitaker, Baron A. Minor, Clyde H. Flewelling and C.J. Farmer as aldermen; D.F. Wurst as city clerk; and J. Waits as marshal.

Two years later, the city of Ocoee officially was established.

In the city’s first decade, the area was growing, improving and prospering with the addition of homes, businesses, schools, churches and amenities for residents.

A dock and pavilion were built at the end of Oakland Avenue, complete with a slide from the second story. Bathing at the pavilion cost 10 cents, and it also became a popular spot for picnics.

A wooden hotel, known as the Ocoee Hotel, was built on the south side of McKey Street, between Bluford and Cumberland avenues. The hotel featured nine rooms and a cozy parlor for guests to enjoy. The Ocoee Inn also was a happening place with a popular restaurant for dining and special occasions.

Ocoee High School was built in 1925, replacing a two-story wooden building constructed in 1893 known as the Ocoee School. The first graduating class of the high school was in 1926. Soon, athletic coaches were being added to schools throughout Orange County, and in 1926, Ocoee’s boys basketball and baseball teams went to the state championship games. The girls basketball team also outscored five of the seven opponents it faced that year.

In the 1930s, the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm team held its spring training in the area, and when the players received new uniforms, their old uniforms were donated to Ocoee High. In appreciation, the school adopted the Cardinal as its mascot and choose red and white as its colors.

(Some photos are courtesy of the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and Nancy Maguire's book, "A History of Ocoee & its Pioneers.")