OCOEE
A Blossoming ‘Apricot Vine’ O
Ocoee, aka the 'Center of Good Living,' is carving a new identity from its roots.
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coee originally was formed as a small agricultural settlement supported by bustling local citrus and vegetable industries. The Florida Legislature recognized the Town of Ocoee as a municipality in 1921 before it became a city in May 1925. In the mid-1800s, the township, which initially only had 820 residents, first was settled adjacent to Starke Lake — southeast of Lake Apopka. Ocoee was the name of a subdivision platted by Dr. H.K. Clarke, Charles J. Chunn and R.B.F. Roper, who created the Town of Ocoee subdivision in 1886, and named it after a river in Tennessee. In the Cherokee language, the word “Ocoee” means “apricot vine,” which is why the city utilizes the passion flower in its logo. It was also during that time the first school was established. In 1880, a three-sided hut was located on Floral Street — which would later be replaced twice — and Mrs. E. D. Perkins was its first teacher. As tracks were completed for the Florida Midland Railroad in the 1880s, the town boomed. It experienced rapid growth as settlers moved in to take advantage of the available farmland, and the area bustled as more lucrative citrus groves replaced other crops. Along with the growth came the success of a strong and vibrant black community, which came to prosper in the area. Unfortunately, that growth — along with the passing of the Reconstruction Amendments — was met with animosity. On Election Day 1920, white mobs murdered an unknown number of black residents — including July Perry — and burned the community to the ground. Since those tragic days, much has changed in Ocoee. The Ocoee City Commission — and the city government in general — now includes more diversity than ever.
LOCAL MOTION 2022
