Instructions:
1....Print this file.
2....At its end, click on "rules" to see a copy of the trail rules, print it, and then click where indicated at the end of the 3-page rules and patch order form to get back to the list of Florida trails.
3....If you want a hand-drawn map showing the locations of all of the sites, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Steve Rajtar, 1614 Bimini Dr., Orlando, FL 32806.
4....Hike the trail and order whatever patches you like (optional).
WARNING - This trail may pass through one or more neighborhoods which, although full of history, may now be unsafe for individuals on foot, or which may make you feel unsafe there. Hikers have been approached by individuals who have asked for handouts or who have inquired (not always in a friendly manner) why the hikers are in their neighborhood. Drugs and other inappropriate items have been found by hikers in some neighborhoods. It is suggested that you drive the hike routes first to see if you will feel comfortable walking them and, if you don't think it's a good place for you walk, you might want to consider (1) traveling with a large group, (2) doing the route on bicycles, or (3) choosing another hike route. The degree of comfort will vary with the individual and with the time and season of the hike, so you need to make the determination using your best judgment. If you hike the trail, you accept all risks involved. AS OF MAY 2009, SPONSORSHIP OF THIS TRAIL HAS CHANGED. PLEASE DIRECT ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT IT TO JOHN HARDIN, 1340 BEECHWOOD DRIVE, ST. CLOUD, FL 34772, (407) 908-3913, [email protected].
The city created this park in 1926 from 13 acres it purchased from the railroad, at the urging of the Kissimmee Beautification League. It required considerable bulkheading and filling. Original plans included tennis courts, a wading pool, a zoo, and a sprinkler system.
In the 1880s, this area was low, flat woodland, with saw palmettos and gallberry bushes.
There was a tall water tower located here until it was scrapped in the late 1970s. The zoo was closed in 1970.
The existence of large craft in the middle of the state recalls the early days of Kissimmee, when it was a boat-building center. By 1884, Hamilton Disston had cleared a navigable waterway all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The steamer Rosalie made regular trips from Kissimmee City to Punta Rassa at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River, taking 36 hours to make the trip.
The largest boat to tie up at the Kissimmee wharf was the Bertha Lee. Its 130' length was too long to negotiate many of the sharp turns in the rivers, and frequently crews would have to leave the boat with shovels to cut out points of land. Historical sources disagree on the time it took to get to Kissimmee, varying from 45 to 91 days, but any duration within that range is a very long time.
The Makinson-Carson Post 10 of the American Legion is named after two men from Kissimmee who were killed in World War I battles. In the sidewalk in front of the building is a monument dedicated to Billie Makinson, killed at St. Mihiel, and Nat Carson, killed at The Argonne, both in 1918.
The USO club was located here, temporarily, in 1943. It later moved to the Rogers building for the rest of the war.
This obelisk is dedicated to the veterans of both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam.
This pyramid-shaped monument is dedicated to the employees of Kissimmee.
These monuments are dedicated to the veterans of two South Pacific battles in World War II. The large sculpture depicting a woman offering a drink to two soldiers was dedicated on May 20, 1995. The smaller plaque a little to the west is from 1994.
The Kissimmee All-States Tourist Club was organized in 1924 to attract tourists to the area. It is a club of senior citizens, for senior citizens.
Monument Ave. was originally named Posseil Ave.
At this site, a bandshell was built in 1926. In 1929, this Mediterranean Revival building was constructed around the bandshell. In 1937, it was remodeled with plans developed by Orlando architect Howard Reynolds, utilizing the Art Moderne style. This involved the addition of stylized stucco scrolls along the parapets, replacement of barrel tile cresting with coping, the enclosure of numerous windows, the squaring off of previously arched entrances, and several large one-story extensions.
This unusual tower was dedicated in 1943 with the support of the Kissimmee All-States Tourist Club. It features decorative stucco and concrete plates identifying the first forty-eight states, plus some local public figures and businesses. The Monument was conceived and designed by Dr. C.W. Bressler-Pettis, a local physician and president of the KAST Club.
It contains about 1500 stones from all 50 states and 22 foreign countries, most collected by Dr. Bressler-Pettis and his wife during their 350,000 miles of driving trips. He also sculpted the 562-pound concrete eagle which sits at the top. The land was donated by the city, and the monument was built and paid for by local citizens.
It is 50 feet tall, topped by a concrete globe and eagle with a 6-foot wingspan. Above that is a 20-foot flagstaff. The sold concrete is reinforced with 3 1/2 tons of steel rails. The foundation alone was made with 102 bags of cement, and is estimated to weigh 100,000 pounds. The entire monument is estimated to weigh six times that amount.
The cornerstone of the monument was laid with a patriotic speech by Mayor Ellis F. Davis. On March 28, 1943, the completed work was dedicated by U.S. Senator Claude Pepper.
In 1924, the older section of this Masonry Vernacular structure cost $27,600 to build out of brick. It originally contained a small city jail. Prior to this structure, the Kissimmee Ice Plant, established by Alfred and Bertha Winn, was located in a 40' x 80' building here, built in the late 1880s. The Kissimmee Light Company was started in 1900 to provide electricity.
About 10% of Kissimmee's historic buildings are "Masonry Vernacular", a common construction technique of lay or self-taught builders. Most pre-1920 Florida structures of this type are brick, designed for commercial purposes.
In the 1920s, Masonry Vernacular designs were influenced by Spanish styles, constructed of hollow tile and brick. Decorative elements were generally limited to brick, cast iron and stone worked into the front of the building. During the 1930s, International and Modernistic elements became popular, along with reinforced concrete construction techniques. Since World War II, concrete block is the most popular material. Often, the first floor is reserved for retail space, with the upper floors used for offices or apartments.
After 1910, when the state had recovered from the devastating freezes of 1894 and 1895, J.S. Stratton and S.G. Sly each established large citrus packing houses along the railroad here. In the 1920s, the Sly Company building was bought and enlarged by the local branch of the Florida Citrus Exchange, which had been formed in 1909. The buildings were later demolished.
In the 1920s, the Kissimmee Citrus Groves Association was organized by Benjamin C. Miller and its headquarters was located at this intersection.
After the Allen trading post, the next Kissimmee store was owned jointly by John Lee and Tom Bass. Their partnership dissolved, and their original store was later used as a grocery store market by Newt Taylor.
Tom Bass opened a store with his brother on Stewart Ave., just south of Emmett St. John Lee opened a competing store with his brother Claude on Emmett St., near Orlando Ave.
On this site was locted W.A. Patrick's store, where the first official post office in Kissimmee was established in 1881. It was only the second one in Osceola County, however, as there was a post office in nearby Shingle Creek from November 10, 1873, until February 8, 1878. Later, Osceola Hardware was established here.
To keep up with the demand for building materials, this company produced rough-faced cast block (such as that used in the buildings at this intersection) at its plant here for use in masonry buildings from about 1910 to 1920. On the southeast corner of this intersection was located a 2-story frame building used by the Masonic Lodge for meetings in about 1900.
This was first established as a church by a congregation of Free Methodists, and was later turned into a bus station.
The deed to the courthouse property, from grantor David B. Stewart for the price of $2,000, contains a reverter clause, causing it to go back to the previous owner's heirs if it is ever used for anything other than a courthouse.
The Osceola County Courthouse is built with an Italianate style, unusual for Florida. F.C. Johnson of Kissimmee designed it, and George Frost built it of brick for $30,000, completing it in 1890. This is the oldest surviving courthouse in Florida to retain its original architectural integrity and government function. Before its construction, this area was a thicket of small oaks, known as "Wright's Hammock".
The Italianate elements, based on rambling informal Italian farmhouses, include a 3-story symmetrical front, a parapet-gable roof, cupola and corbeled frieze. The bricks used in the construction were manufactured by C.E. Earnest of Tennessee. Main access is on the second floor. Extensive addition has been added on the south side.
Osceola County (then extending southward all the way to Lake Okeechobee) was formed from parts of Orange and Brevard Counties in 1887, largely because of the urging of state legislator John Milton Bryan. The English people in Narcoosee wanted the new county's courthouse to be located there, but Kissimmee won the competition.
The first white child born in the county after its formation was Osceola "Sola" Johnston, whose parents lived near Shingle Creek, west of downtown Kissimmee.
The courthouse grounds were the site of public hangings. The last one was in 1912, when convicted rapist Eddie Broom was executed under the supervision of sheriff Charles Prevatt.
A 1926 remodeling by architect Howard M. Reynolds included the removal of the steps to the second floor on the south side. The county jail was remodeled in the late 1940s, and replaced in the mid-1950s with a new one designed by James Gamble Rogers II of Winter Park.
In 1988, the 18,000 pound cupola was removed from the tower and taken by trailer to the Disney Shops where it was rebuilt of mahogany.
This home was built in about 1895, and is referred to as Folk Victorian. Elements of this style appearing here are the gable roof with decorative projecting edge, triangular dormer, and a tiered veranda featuring brackets and spindle work.
This Bungalow was built in 1914. "Bungalow" is derived from a Bengali word meaning a low house with porches, used as a wayside shelter for nineteenth century British travelers in India. Between 1910 and 1930, the bungalow was one of the most popular home designs in Florida.
A bungalow is generally one to one-and-a-half stories with a shallow pitch roof, with at least two rooms along the front of the house. The masonry piers hodling up the porch floor often continued above it, topped by short wood columns supporting the roof. The front door was off-center, and the window pattern was usually asymmetrical.
This was built in about 1926 for Ellis Davis by Lee Rogers, employing a Mediterranean Revival style.
The Mediterranean Revival style in Florida is generally more prevalent where there were many subdivisions developed during the 1920s land boom. Therefore, it is surprising that Kissimmee, with a great deal of 1920s development, would have less than 1 in every 20 buildings representing this style.
A Mediterranean Revival building has architectural elements associated with Spanish or Mideastern roots. It was popularized at the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, and includes flat or hip roofs covered with ceramic tile, generally with a parapet. Stucco is used for surfacing, ceramic tile is used for decoration, and entrance porches supported by square columns often have arched openings.
Lee Rogers built this Colonial Revival home for Dr. Geiger in 1924.
The Colonial Revival style was popular during the first half of the twentieth century throughout most of America, but in Florida it was overshadowed by Bungalows and Mediterranean Revival homes. There was, however, some interest in the early English and Dutch houses of the Atlantic Seaboard. The Colonial Revival style was introduced at the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876.
In Florida, this style generaly combines several colonial designs with a 2-story symmetrical front with gable, hip or gambrel roof, a simple entry porch supported by columns, and double-hung sash windows hung in pairs.
Capt. Rufus E. Rose laid out the streets of Kissimmee, and Rose Ave. is named after him. Ruby Ave., Mabbette St., Clay St. and Amory St. were named for his family members. Rose's house was located here, facing east onto Vernon Ave.
Rose also built and operated the Disston Company sugar mill in St. Cloud.
This is the sole Kissimmee example of the Tudor Revival style, built about 1935 for Jim Buckels. Typical features of this style include steeply-pitched roofs, side gables, intersecting extensions, half-timbering with stucco, and massive end-exterior chimneys (often on the front of the building).
This home was built in about 1910, in the Colonial Revival style.
The Okeechobee Land and Drainage Company was formed by Hamilton Disston on March 8, 1881, to reclaim 4 million acres (of the total 14 to 20 million acres) of submerged lands from the middle of the Florida peninsula southward. He bought the land from the state for 25 cents per acre. His holdings extended from Orlando to 25 miles south of Lake Okeechobee, comprising about 10% of the state. This made him the largest owner of then worthless submerged land.
Disston selected Kissimmee as his base of operations, and a log building was erected here in a grove of oaks. In addition to being the company's commissary, it also served as Kissimmee's first, but unofficial, post office.
By 1884, according to the report of State Engineer H.S. Duval, the area permanently drained was over 2 million acres.
Nearby were the Okeechobee shipyards at the Okeechobee Dock, later known as Johnson's Dock.
This Folk Victorian home was built in 1885 by ships' carpenters for Clay Johnson using locally milled lumber. It was designed by his son, Amory Johnson, who used a design popular along the Mississippi River, where the Johnsons moved from.
Clay Johnson was a riverboat captain whose last and largest boat, built in 1910, was the 74.6' Osceola. He was the general manager of a fleet of steamboats running from Kissimmee to Ft. Myers, working with his brother-in-law, Capt. Rufus E. Rose.
This was built in about 1920, in the Frame Vernacular style. It includes a cross-gable roof, exposed rafter ends, knee braces, and a veranda with a hip roof supported by tapered posts.
"Frame Vernacular" is the most common style of residential architecture in Florida, and is found in about 62% of the buildings in the historic area of Kissimmee. This is a common wood frame technique employed by lay or self-taught builders. They are typically one or two stories in height, a usually rectangular pattern, and construction generally of pine on masonry piers usually made of brick. Horizontal siding or shingles are on the exterior walls, and the original wood shingle or pressed metal roofing is often replaced by composition shingles.
The front of the house is usually one with a roof peak, making the height of the front taller than its width. Windows are generally double-hung sash. Decoration is generally limited to ornamental woodwork such as turned porch columns and balustrades, patterned shingles, knee braces, and exposed rafter ends under the eaves.
This Bungalow was built in about 1920, and features a veranda with a gable roof supported by knee braces and paired columns on brick piers.
Built about 1926, this home follows a Colonial Revival style with Dutch influences. Prominent stylistic features include the gambrel roof, large shed dormer, and centered front door.
This is a good example of early Kissimmee Frame Vernacular construction, built in about 1895. It has a gable roof, triangular dormer, and an entrance porch with a hip roof supported by Doric columns.
This Bungalow was built in about 1915 with three red brick columns to support the veranda, plus prominent knee braces to support the roof.
The site of the airport was selected by Osceola County in 1930, largely because the taxes were delinquent and the county could more easily obtain it.
The city later acquired the airport west of the city and received a government grant to improve it. In 1942, runways, taxi strips and barracks were built. For recreation, the soldiers stationed at the Army Air Field used the swimming pool at Gilbert Park, which has since been removed. The airport was turned back to the city in 1947.
In 1908, an ordinance was proposed which prescribed the limits of flight of aircraft, licensing of pilots, and specifications for brakes, lights and signal systems. It actually was a tongue-in-cheek joke drafted by the city attorney, P.A. Vans Agnew, following an airplane running into a cow on July 4 of that year. It was published in the Kissimmee Valley Gazette, and was taken seriously by many readers.
The ordinance was not adopted in Kissimmee, but it received much publicity and became the model for legislation in France, Germany, and other U.S. cities. This makes Kissimmee the birthplace of aviation legislation.
This church was organized in 1881, and held services in an incomplete building on Mabbette St. for 12 years. After the building was completed, it was destroyed by fire in 1911. A new site was purchased here on Bermuda Ave., and a wooden church was built. It was struck by lightning twice, and wrecked by a storm in October of 1944. The present stone building was erected in 1946.
The Woman's Club was established in 1909. It was involved with the creation of the Hart Memorial Library and many other projects to improve the city.
This subdivision was a 1923 development of the Florida Land and Improvement Company.
Thacker Ave. was previously known as Limit St.
In the 1880s, a small school was located near this intersection at the Lanier place. It was later known as the Boice place.
This church had its early services in the home of Mrs. A. Tress, above the Tress Store on Broadway. It was once a mission of Orlando's St. James Catholic Church. On May 5, 1912, they laid the cornerstone of a little brick church at 122 W. Sproule Ave., and celebrated their first mass there on June 30, 1912. It cost $7,000, and initially had no pews and no electricity. In 1972, they sold the building for $85,000 to the First United Methodist Church. The present building on this site was completed in 1973.
On December 17, 1882, a group gathered in the blacksmith shop to organize a Baptist Church. When the weather turned warmer, they moved their meetings to a brush arbor at the Bob Bass Campground on N. Royal St., and then to a little one-room schoolhouse on Main St. A local realty company donated lots for the construction of a permanent building, and the congregation immediately put up and used a brush arbor until a wooden structure, built chiefly by Rev. T.J. Bell, was finished.
In 1917, the church traded the building for two lots at 308 Church St., where they built a yellow brick structure. In the early 1940s, the church established a pastorium at 319 Palmway St., replaced in 1964 by one at 2390 Sue Dr.
In the late 1940s, the church bought the two adjoining lots on Church St. for parking. The congregation moved to a temporary sanctuary on John Young Pkwy. in 1970, and completed its present sanctuary in 1977.
This church was built in about 1891 at the corner of Mitchell St. and Sproule Ave. It was moved in 1902 to the corner of Broadway and Sproule Ave. The original steeple was blown off by a hurricane in 1920, and the replacement cupola burned in the 1950s. It was moved again in 1961 to its present site.
The Lakeland Free Methodist District bought land in this area, and erected a dormitory and dining hall. Visitors stayed in tents, and members were encouraged to build cabins. Later, a motel was erected. The camp was relocated in the mid-1960s.
The portion of Vine St. west of Kissimmee was renamed the "Yellow Brick Road" by the Board of Commissioners of Osceola County. Their resolution was later rescinded when it was learned that the Florida Legislature had designated US 192 as the Spacecoast Parkway.
Scipio Lesesne, a black man born in Barbados, moved to the area in 1883. Skillful in five languages, he became foreman of the St. Cloud sugar plantation. After it closed, he and his wife Nancy moved to Kissimmee to farm. They began in 1898 with a 100-acre potato farm near the present airport, then had a farm on this location.
The Lesesne family lived upstairs in a 2-story building. Downstairs was a movie theater. They lost the property when the land boom burst in the late 1920s.
In the 1950s, Buster Lesesne ran a cab service. Minor leaguer Hank Aaron stayed at his house because blacks were not allowed to stay in the Kissimmee hotels. Lesesne drove Aaron to the minor league ball park on W. Sumner St. for practices and games.
This is the junction of federally-numbered highways 17, 92, 192 and 441. Except for Jacksonville, this is the only point in Florida where four such highways come together at one point. US 192 was bricked in 1919, and the others were bricked in 1917. At the time, brick roads were a standard nine feet wide.
The church was founded on January 14, 1885, by Rev. Sam Hadley. The first building was a wood frame structure built in 1916 at the corner of Walnut and Palmway Sts. It was destroyed in 1928 by a hurricane, and rebuilt in 1935 at this location.
One of the prominent members of the church, whose name is on the cornerstone, was Lawrence Silas, made famous by a magazine article written by Zora Neale Hurston. His father's estate gone, Lawrence rebuilt the family fortune, butchering for men who had large herds. He eventually owned thousands of cattle, contained within 50 miles of fences, unusual for a black man of his era.
This church was organized in 1881 by Rev. H.Y. Gordon. The first building was constructed by Rev. Louis P. Gilbert a few years later. The adjoining property was acquired and an annex was built during the term of Rev. T.C. Callhan, who became pastor in 1947. On May 29, 1977, the present building was dedicated. The original church bell is hung in the front yard.
In 1930, Lester and Hilda Ivey established the Osceola Fruit Distributors here. Prior to that, there was a deer stand here for hunters. In the late 1960s, the company's payroll became the largest in the county.
In the 1880s, Mrs. William Frazure had a home here, and was known for the Martha Washington roses she grew. In 1883, 30 pupils attended school near here, taught by Mrs. Avery.
Frank Bass had a home here in the early 1880s, one of the first in North Kissimmee. Across the street from his house was the railroad station, where the tracks ended in 1882. The home was razed in August of 1961.
In the 1880s, John L. Overstreet's home was located here. It later was the site of a convenience store.
Main St. follows the route of a cattle trail which began in Georgia, followed the St. Johns River southward, and ended at grazing lands along the Caloosahatchee River. During the Civil War, Jacob Summerlin drove cattle in the opposite direction to provide food for the Confederacy.
In the 1880s, this area was a swamp. Just two blocks to the east was a deer stand, where successful hunting could take place in "North Kissimmee".
This Queen Anne style residence was built about 1890 and housed James and Minnie Moore-Willson, who were co-founders of the Friends of Florida Seminoles Association. They played an important role in the establishment of Indian reservations in the southern part of the state.
In the 1880s, there was a blacksmith shop on this site, to the west of the railroad tracks. It was also used for group meetings, including church services. The congregations of the First Methodist Church and First Baptist Church met here before their own buildings were completed, using boards from a nearby sawmill for seats.
Frank Bass, a local contractor, built this Frame Vernacular home in 1900 for W.B. Makinson.
In the early 1880s, the area from here to the lakeshore was known as the "negro colony". During December of 1885, the "Gibson Riot" occurred here, and the white marshall was killed. A white mob rounded up all but two of the blacks in Kissimmee and drove them out of town.
This is the site of the home of early Kissimmee settler Elon Guice. The street is named after Capt. William Brack, one of the first county commissioners.
In the 1880s, Josh Graham had a home at this site. The present bungalow was built in about 1925.
This was the site of Dr. Worley's Drug Store, which faced southward. It is now medical offices.
In the 1880s, this was the site of the home of Col. J.W. Aderhold, a former officer of the Confederacy. It faced eastward toward Aderhold St., named after him. It was later renamed Palmway St.
Most of the area along Robinson St. in the 1880s was a cypress swamp. George C. Macy had a blacksmith shop there, which faced east down Park St. toward the lake. It was later acquired by "Pa" Weaver, who made numerous additions to the building from time to time. It deteriorated into a dilapidated rambling structure known as "Weaver's Hotel".
Later the Kissimmee Minor Emergency Clinic, this was in the 1880s the site of Dr. J.W. Sears' drug store and home, which faced eastward. The original building was razed in August of 1961.
In 1949, Addison S. Gilbert retired, after having owned and operated a filling station here for 30 years.
From 1890 to 1894, the congregation of what is now the First Christian Church met here in the Dale Building.
The congregation of this church began meeting in private homes, then in the opera house in 1889, moved to the Dale Building in 1890, built a small chapel which was completed on July 14, 1894, and in 1905 broke ground and dedicated a new church building on this site.
Here, where there is now a gas station, in 1883 was a railroad station. At that time, the railroad tracks ran down what is now Broadway, which was then 150 feet wide. The station was built here about 1883, and the first train to Tampa left here on December 1, 1883. The arrival of a train in 1884 was the cause of much celebration, and passengers were met with much fanfare by local dignitaries, including Seminole chiefs Tim Tiger and Billy Bowlegs.
The Midland Railroad narrow-gauge tracks were bought by Henry B. Plant in 1885, who moved the roadbed two blocks east of Broadway and widened the tracks to standard gauge.
Later, the station became the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Donegan, who had a deer stand for hunters on their property.
At this intersection, C.E. Earnest of Tennessee established a brickyard and built the city's first brick building at the yard. The location later became a Cities Service gas station.
Under the guidance of Dr. Raymond R. Sessions, a 2-story frame home with room for 20 beds was opened as the Kissimmee Hospital on January 22, 1941. It was razed in the 1980s.
Drury Ave. was previously named Ingraham Ave., after J.E. Ingraham, vice president of the Florida East Coast Railway in the 1880s.
This Late Gothic Revival style church was designed and built by Baltimore architect and contractor George Ledvina. It was completed in 1912 as the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. Later, that congregation moved to N. Thacker Ave. and sold this building for $85,000 to the First United Methodist Church.
When this building was acquired by the Methodists in 1972, it was converted to the Wesley Memorial Chapel, the Perch, and Administravitve Center.
A building formerly located here started in 1910 as a 2-story apartment house built with rough-face cast block. It was later reduced to one story, and stood until it was removed in about 2000.
In 1913, Dr. T.M. Rivers built a private hospital at this location.
The first fire station in Kissimmee was built in 1915 near this site. It was a wooden frame building covered with metal. The driver of the fire truck lived across the street.
The First United Methodist Church began in 1878 when Robert and George W. Bass built a small church two miles west of present-day Kissimmee. It was called Mt. Zion, and the congregation soon built another church on the outskirts of North Kissimmee.
By 1881, services were held at the blacksmith shop between Lake and Bass Sts. On January 18, 1882, a small group organized a church known as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Kissimmee City Station, and moved to the small one-room schoolhouse on the east side of N. Main St. between Magnolia and Orange Sts. In 1884, two lots were purchased at 401 N. Church St., and a one-room wooden church was erected. It was sold in 1912 and became the Emma Yowell School (now a County Board of Education facility).
This church was completed in only 6 months in 1913 for a cost of $28,000. It was designed by Memphis architect L.M. Weatherly, and was built by the local S.S. Buzza and Sons Construction Company. The annex was added in 1933, and in 1935 the Wetherbee-Hile Nursery building was dedicated. By 1952, the church had acquired the entire block along Church St. from Dakin to Sproule Aves.
The Late Gothic Revival stylistic elements are the steeply-pitched parapet roof, stylized buttresses, castle-like towers, and belt courses. The oak entrance doors are capped with lancet transom windows.
In the 1880s, there was a free-flowing well at this intersection, used by Mr. Goodbread's horses and by the children attending the 4-room schoolhouse on the corner.
Although the origin of the name "Kissimmee" is not known with certainty, the 1733 Popple Map of Florida labels where the "Cacema" Indians resided in Central Florida, near present day Lake Kissimmee and the Kissimmee River. Natives in the area in 1860 pronounced the word "Kiss-imm-ee".
On March 24, 1883, the 36 qualified voters chose the name Kissimmee City, a name suggested by Capt. Rose. The first child born in the new city was "Simm" Johnson, born to Mr. and Mrs. Tom (Rowdy Tom) Johnson.
The earlier City Hall, located on the shore of the lake, burned down on October 6, 1891. The town records were destroyed.
The first Osceola High School was here, and had its first graduation in 1893. That class of three students included Rose Johnson, daughter of Capt. Clay Johnson.
In 1898, another Osceola High School was built with auditorium dressing rooms and footlights burning kerosene. At the time, Kissimmee teachers were paid $50/month. Teachers in the county received about $20/month, plus room and board. It burned in 1910, and was replaced.
This Masonry Vernacular building was built by local contractor Lee Rogers in about 1926. It was financed by Dr. T.M. Rivers.
This was the post office built in 1931. It was sold in 1980 and converted into a real estate office.
Completed in 1886 for $2,400 (including furniture), this church shows a Late Gothic Revival style. The church has its original front, and is the oldest surviving church building in the county. The style is also known as Wooden Gothic or Steamboat Gothic, as some of the same kind of wooden trimming was often used in the steamboats of that era. This followed the pattern of many stone parish churches in England. Rev. Caleb Jones supervised the construction.
Rev. A.W. Sproule was commissioned by the Presbyterian Board of Missions in New York City to come to Kissimmee to organize a church. Under his leadership, the church was established with 16 members on September 21, 1884, in the schoolhouse on Church St. where the City Hall now is. William Cannon, real estate broker and representative of the South Florida Railroad, donated two lots at the present location in 1885.
The first couple married in the church was W.B. Makinson Sr. and Maude Murphy, whose ceremony was held in September of 1887.
When Catherine Hart died in 1897, she left the church the adjoining two lots, her home (later known as the "Kirk House") at the corner of Church St. and Monument Ave., and the other a small cottage facing Monument Ave. The Kirk House was used as a manse until 1952, when the church bought 814 Emmett St. for $9,500 for that purpose. The Kirk House was moved off the property, and the Emmett St. manse was replaced in 1963 with a home at 716 S. Clyde Ave. (bought for $16,000). The Clyde Ave. house was sold in 1974, and since then the pastor buys his own house. The house was moved to make room for church expansion.
The cottage was rented to various families until 1916, when the school board began renting it for $100/year to use for home economics classes. Later, it was used as Sunday school classrooms and meeting rooms, until it was moved off the property to make room for church expansion.
The educational building was constructed in 1958 extending from the church toward Monument Ave., just behind the Kirk House. The church bought the Buckels' property to the west on Mabbette St. in 1967, and the Bryans' property behind it on Sumner St. in 1969.
From 1958 to 1983, it was known as the First "United" Presbyterian Church. This is the oldest church building in continuous use in Osceola County.
This Neoclassical Revival home was built in about 1930 for Nelson and Grace Makinson, although it was later converted for use as apartments.
Nelson Makinson managed the Makinson Hardware store from 1924 to 1936. In 1921, he married Grace Winn, and the home was modeled after the Memphis childhood home of his mother-in-law, Bertha Winn. Architectural elements include the keystones over the windows, a full-height portico supported by Ionic columns, a full-length balcony, and a hip roof. The symmetrical front also features fanlights and sidelights at the entrance.
The Classical style was popular in this country from the 1790s to the 1860s. The 1893 World Columbian Exposition helped renew interest in the architectural forms of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The popularity of the Neoclassical style persisted until the 1950s.
It was used in Florida for banks, courthouses, and other commercial buildings, and only a few homes. Elements of this style include a symmetrical front dominated by a full-height portico with classical columns, modillions beneath the roof, and wide freize band surrounding the building. The exterior is generally brick or stucco, and doorways often feature decorative pediments, transoms, and sidelights.
This Folk Victorian home was built in 1905 with materials from Alfred Winn's lumber mill in Winston, Florida. It was the home of Alfred and Bertha Winn, who established the Kissimmee Ice Plant. In 1920, this home was moved here from the adjoining corner lot.
This school was designed in the Mediterranean Revival style by Orlando architect Howard Reynolds. It was built for $100,000 by George Livingston in 1925 in a T-shape. There is a parapet-gable roof, decorative buttress caps and cornice moldings, and an ornamental scroll decoration. The third floor was removed in the 1940s. In 1964, a new high school on Thacker Ave. opened and this building was converted to a storage facility.
The first house in Kissimmee was built of logs by Mr. Matthews on 80 acres at this site, and rented to Capt. Rose before he built one south of Hughey St. After Capt. Rose moved, Matthews' house was rented by Mr. Mabbette.
This is an example of a Neoclassical Revival style home, built in 1911.
This home was built in 1912, in the Neoclassical Revival style.
This is an example fo the Colonial Revival style, built in about 1914. Its prominent features include a gable roof with returns, a turret, a polygonal bay, and a triangular dormer. The veranda formerly had flooring, now removed. It later became the Wedding Chapel of Kissimmee.
Mr. Grissom opened Kissimmee's first funeral home here.
This Frame Vernacular home was built in 1897 for A.E. Bearden. At the time, Bearden owned the entire block.
The design of the home is a duplicate of the Johnson-Steffee House on S. Vernon Ave.
Sam Lupfer Sr., who had run Disston's sugar mill in St. Cloud, had this house built in about 1890. It has an Italianate style.
This Bungalow was built in 1923 for Sam Lupfer, Jr.
This was built in about 1914, and represents the small Neoclassical Revival residences found in Kissimmee. Features of this style include the symmetrical front, hip roof, end porch, simple freize band and Doric columns.
This Masonry Vernacular building was originally constructed in about 1930 as the Dyson Apartments. In 1936, local doctor Wilson Lancaster converted it into a private hospital, which operated until 1973. It was later known as the Kissimmee Townhouse and then the Loving Heart Home/City.
Lee Rogers built this Masonry Vernacular style house in about 1926.
This building was constructed in 1912, roughly in the shape of a clothes iron, dubbed the "Flat Iron" style. It resembles the Flatiron Building in New York City, designed by Daniel Burnham in 1902. The first floor glass storefronts between square brick columns housed printing offices and three apartments were upstairs. From 1928 to 1944, this was the location of the police and fire departments.
This style is uncommon in Florida, because its relatively late urban development generally follows strict north-south and east-west street patterns, with few triangular corner lots. Architectural features include a flat roof with brick corbeling along the parapet and the dropped wood cornice overhang with modillions and dentils.
The Kissimmee Valley Gazette began publishing in the 1890s. It began as the Kissimmee Valley Newspaper in 1894, founded by J.S. Oliver, J.W. Watson and others. In 1897, it consolidated with the Osceola Journal and became the Kissimmee Valley Gazette. A year's subscription cost $1.00. It was preceded by The Floridian (1882, owned by George Eugene Bryson), the Bitter Sweet (1883, owned by William Wallace Harney), and The Kissimmee Leader (1885, owned by S.R. Bassett).
The Kissimmee Valley Gazette was sold to Harry Neal in 1924, and moved two years later to another location on Stewart Ave. The newspaper was bought in October of 1973 by the St. Cloud News Publishing Company.
In the mid-1950s, this site was occupied by First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Osceola County, before it moved to its present location on Broadway. The Harley Engraving business then moved in here.
Mr. Mabbette erected a home and restaurant, and lived there until he completed the Tropical Hotel. Catherine S. Hart, widow of Florida's first Republican governor, Ossian B. Hart, used the restaurant building as a post office and a bookstore. Mrs. Hart donated to the Presbyterians lots on which to build a church.
The two lots on which the Hart Memorial Library was built were donated by her sister, Miss Campbell of Morristown, New Jersey, for construction of a chapter house for the Kissimmee Woman's Club.
The memorial library, built in 1910, was also used as an early home for groups such as the American Women's League. It was razed in 1986 to make room for the city communications center.
H. Clay and Mattie Stanford's "New York Racket Store" sold shoes, hats, notions, men's furnishings, dry goods and women's jewelry. The site is now the location of Barnett Bank.
The lower floor of this building was constructed in about 1909, and is shaded by a shed roof with barrel tile. The upper floors were added in 1912, and are set off from the first floor by a diaper pattern of ornate block. The second story has as its focal point a center window with an arched, lighted transom.
Later tenants include a computer store.
This is the sole commercial Masonry Vernacular building in Kissimmee dating from the 1880s, built about 1889. In the 1920s, it was Mr. Remington's Kissimmee Feed Store. A later tenant was Jammer's Music Center.
The bank was chartered in 1919, and closed in 1926. Its assets were finally liquidated in 1938. The site was later occupied by Goold's Department Store and then the Country Florist.
In 1910, Herzberg's opened on this site. It was later known as the Saddle Rack.
Originally, this was the site of Newt Taylor's Fancy Groceries.
Citizens' State Bank of Kissimmee opened in 1910, and closed in 1919. Later, this building was the home of Herzberg's shoe store, and Haley Duke's meat market. It was later occupied by El Buen Busto groceries.
This bank lasted from 1920 to 1928. After World War II, First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Osceola County moved here, and stayed until the mid-1950s. The building was later occupied by The Uniform Cottage.
In 1914, they were "sellers of fancy footwear". This was later the home of the C. Eckhoof Boutique.
This section of Broadway, between Darlington and Monument Aves., was essentially destroyed by fire in 1909.
The garage was previously located on this site. The Masonry Vernacular building, erected in about 1914, is now the home of Benton's Jewelry.
This Masonry Vernacular building was erected in about 1914. At the time, it was the home of the O.K. Bakery. It later was Becky's Beauty Shop.
At this location in 1914 was one of the Bass & Bass Butcher Shops. The Masonry Vernacular building dates from about 1914. It later housed Lewis Music.
This Masonry Vernacular building was erected in about 1914. Shortly after it opened, Oliver sold made-to-measure clothing.
Frank Bass built this Masonry Vernacular structure in 1915.
In the 1880s, Jake Speer's drug store was located here. Later, the Bearden Saloon opened here.
In the 1870s, Kissimmee had the country's first ride-up saloons, where cowmen could imbibe without dismounting or entering a building.
Mr. Bearden had a brick yard enclosed by a high fence. When a customer was too drunk to walk or ride his horse home, he was thrown out into the yard to sleep it off and sober up. Indians climbed the trees to watch the interesting antics. The building was used as a school in the 1920s.
This Masonry Vernacular building was constructed in 1915 by Frank Bass for Dr. T.M. Rivers. This was the location of William Cannon's original Kissimmee Land Company Office, built in 1885 and moved from here in 1914.
I.N. Mabbette built a large home for his family at this site. After they moved in about 1885, the home became the Lake View Lodge and was used for guests when the Tropical Hotel was full.
At the turn of the century, the Hotel Tohopekaliga and an annex were located here. They were later renamed the Lakeview Hotel, used for overflow guests when the Tropical was full.
This Masonry Verncaular building was financed by Dr. T.M. Rivers. It was built in 1922, and was later known as the Southern Hotel, and then Love's Hotel. Later tenants include Shore's Town & Country and the Orange Blossom Hotel.
Shortly after 1910, Broadway was transformed into a divided boulevard with a bandstand in the grassy median. The bandstand was removed in 1941 and the median was narrowed to allow for smoother traffic flow. It was moved to Lakefront Park, and later replaced by a gazebo.
The Tropical Hotel was built by I.N. Mabbette in 1883. While it was being erected, it was blown down. The lumber was carefully picked up, and the building was completed. It had 132' frontage on Broadway, 80 rooms, and almost 700 feet of verandas. It faced the railroad tracks, and a 6-story tower overlooked the lake. It was only open during the winter months. For a while, it was caled the Hotel Kissimmee, but was renamed the Tropical before it burned.
Behind the hotel on Broadway, the street was solid turf of Bermuda grass lined with boardwalks. Kissimmee had the distinction of having the only grass-covered streets in the U.S. The grass was kept cropped by cows which were allowed by Col. Aderhold as mayor to roam freely, giving the city one reason to be known as a "Cow Town".
After the Tropical burned in 1906, the Thurman Hotel was built on the site by Harry Thurman of Philadelphia. It was later renamed the Graystone Hotel which, in 1914, claimed to be fireproof and advertised rooms for $2.50/day. In the 1930s it was bought by Mr. Bostain and became the Bostain Hotel. In the 1940s, it was refurbished and again called the Tropical Hotel.
The Tropical Hotel had a national reputation and drew many celebrity guests, including businessman John Jacob Astor, who honeymooned here.
The site was later occupied by First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Osceola County, whose building was constructed in the 1970s. First Federal was established in 1934, and was located off the arcade. In the 1940s, it was at 101 Broadway, and in the 1950s it moved to an office at Verona St. and Stewart Ave. Dozens of World War II veterans were granted 4% mortgages to make possible their purchase of homes.
This was the location of the home of prominent early Kissimmee physician Dr. C.E. Lewis. It later was The Phone Center.
This was built by contractor Frank Bass in 1914, and with a theater and steam laundry, was an annex to the Graystone Hotel, which has since been demolished. As the Arcade Hotel, it served overflow guests of the Graystone.
The Casino Theater located here replaced, in popularily, the old Pastime Theater of Stewart Ave. during the land boom of the 1920s. The Casino was later sold to H. Gilbert, who equipped it "in splendid style" as the Arcade Theater. Remodeling in the 1940s created the largest neon-lit marquee between Jacksonville and Tampa. Later, it became the Paramount. It was turned into the Brahman Inn on January 6, 1956.
Before "talkies" came to Kissimmee, first at the Pastime Theater, Mrs. George Gardner played piano in every theater in the city. The Pastime was also the host of the first moving pictures in Kissimmee, in 1929.
The livery stable and garage were located in this Masonry Vernacular building, constructed in about 1911. It later became the home of Peoples Place Restaurant, with the front restored to some of its original appearance.
The original hotel was operated as the Manhattan Hotel from 1890 to 1910. This Masonry Vernacular building was erected in about 1914 by Frank Bass. Initially, there were long porches in the front and on both sides. Later names used for it were the Travelers Rest and the Bon Air Apartments.
As the Makinson Building, this was the home of the Masonic Lodge for a short time until 1908. This was the site of the other Bass & Bass Butcher Shop in 1914. It was later torn down and is now used as a parking lot for Makinson's Hardware.
The Makinson Hardware Store, built in 1900, was the successor to the Makinson & Katz store, located on Main St. at the later site of the Kissimmee Health Center. This store was damaged by floods in 1904 and 1956.
The Osceola Motor Company was already an established business here when it was bought by the Autreys, Ford dealers from Tarpon Springs, on December 13, 1922.
The Brandow Brothers built a 3-story opera house here in the 1880s. The auditorium had a capacity of 300.
The offices on the second and third floors were used by the city, and also by the county (rent at $250/year) until the courthouse was completed. For three years, the Masonic Lodge held its meetings on the third floor.
In later years, the opera house was used as a cigar factory. It burned down in 1920.
In the 1880s, this was the site of George Artman's home. It was later the site of A Bicycle Station.
This station was built in 1911 in the Masonry Vernacular style.
In the early days of Kissimmee, across the tracks in this area was located a great rice factory built by settlers from South Carolina. The rice factory was still going strong in the 1920s.
The building was later a chiropractor's office. The platform and train station in the rear, built in 1893, was renovated in 1976 and is still in use.
This early residential subdivision, platted in 1911, was one of only a few to use curved streets, irregular building lots, and small green spaces. It was planned by engineer Richard Ludlam and architect George MacDonough, who had recently moved from Philadelphia to take advantage of the Kissimmee building boom.
Their plan included fill dirt and the construction of bulkheads to prevent flooding. Streets were named after mythologial Greek sea creatures, gods and goddesses, such as Mermaid Blvd., Neptune Rd., and Hebe and Naira Lanes.
The Replat of Neptune Subdivision, which contained most of Cape Breeze, was recorded in 1937. In an effort to promote growth, the city offered to donate select lots to investors who would build homes in the $4,000 to $7,500 range. The subdivision remained virtually undeveloped until after World War II because of the proximity to the light industrial area with its railroad connections. Further, despite the bulkheads, Lake Tohopekaliga still periodically flooded a portion of the area.
Neptune Rd., which leads to St. Cloud, was bricked in 1918.
Dr. Hayes Brinson, M.D., came from Cecil, Georgia, in the 1920s and became the house physician for the Tropical Hotel. He treated a man who had been tarred and feathered by the Ku Klux Klan, when no other individual would treat him. This brought him immediate acceptance into the community.
He opened his own office on Broadway and became a city commissioner. During the month in which he died in 1936, he delivered 11 babies, mostly in the homes of his patients.
In 1950, this park was named in his honor. The monument reads "This Park dedicated to Hayes Brinson, M.D., who gave his life in service to this community.".
Here on the lakeshore in the 1880s was the sawmill of Maj. J.H. Allen, who had settled in the area in about 1878. He also had a dock nearby, a commissary, and a small trading steamer, the Mary Belle. The first temporary government offices were set up in Allen's home on Railroad Ave.
He also owned the first store near the later site of the A.C.L. Railroad depot and the settlement, Allendale, was named after him. It kept that name until it was changed to Kissimmee City in 1883. Allen also owned an orange grove on Vine St. at Shingle Creek, and ran a ferry on the creek.
Orange Blossom Lodge No. 80, F.& A.M., was chartered on January 22, 1885. Its early meetings were held in a 2-story frame building on the east side of Orlando Ave., between Emmett St. and Bryan Ave. The lodge later moved to the third floor of the opera house, and after three years moved to a two-story frame building at Emmett St. and Orlando Ave., where members had to use a ladder to reach the lodgeroom.
Later, the lodge moved into the Makinson Building (now the Makinson Hardware parking lot), and in 1908 built its own three-story brick home about where the Kissimmee Police Department now is. Later, it moved to this location.
This Mediterranean Revival home was built in about 1925 for George Persons. It is part of the Toliga Lake View Subdivision, platted by Persons in 1925.
A Treasury of Florida Tales, by Webb Garrison (Rutledge Hill Press 1989)
Awesome Almanac: Florida, by Cima Star (B & B Publishing, Inc. 1994)
Flashbacks: The Story of Central Florida's Past, by Jim Robison and Mark Andrews (The Orlando Sentinel 1995)
Florida: A Pictorial History, by Hampton Dunn (The Donning Company 1988)
Florida Black Heritage Trail, (Florida Department of State 1990)
Florida Portrait: A Pictorial History of Florida, by Jerrell Shofner (Pineapple Press, Inc. 1990)
Florida Under Five Flags, by Rembert W. Patrick and Allen Morris (University of Florida Press 1967)
Full Steam Ahead!, by Albert Parry, Ph.D. (Great Outdoors Publishing Company 1987)
Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, (University of Florida Press 1989)
Historic Properties Survey of the City of Kissimmee, Florida, by Historic Property Associates, Inc. (1991)
Historical and Architectural Survey, City of St. Cloud, Project Report, (Brenda J. Elliot & Associates 1993)
The History of Kissimmee, by Betty Metzger (Byron Kennedy & Company 1987)
History of Osceola County, by Minnie Moore-Willson (The Inland Press 1935)
Lake Okeechobee, by Alfred Jackson Hanna and Kathryn Abbey Hanna (The Bobbs-Merrill Company 1948)
Look What's Happened in Osceola County, by Catherine W. Beauchamp (Osceola County Art and Culture Center 1985)
Old Tales and Trails of Florida, by Myrtle Hilliard Crow (Byron Kennedy and Company 1987)
100 Years of Justice: The Osceola County Courthouse 1890-1990, by Robert D. Dietrich (The Board of Commissioners of Osceola County 1990)
Osceola County Centennial Book, by Osceola County - A Florida Political Subdivision (1987)
Osceola County: The First 100 Years, by Aldus M. and Robert S. Cody (The Osceola County Historical Society 1987)
Pine Castle: A Walk Down Memory Lane, by Ruth Barber Linton (Book Crafters 1993)
The Pioneer Churches of Florida, by Elizabeth Chase (The Mickler House 1976)
The River of the Long Water, by Alma Hetherington (The Mickler House Publishers 1980)
Some Kind of Paradise: A Chronicle of Man and the Land in Florida, by Mark Derr (William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1989)
Up for Grabs: A Trip Through Time and Space in the Sunshine State, by John Rothchild (Viking Penguin, Inc. 1985)
When Kissimmee Was Young, by Elizabeth A. Cantrell (Philathea Class, First Christian Church of Kissimmee, Fla. 1948)
Wish You Were Here: A Grand Tour of Early Florida Via Old Post Cards, by Hampton Dunn (Byron Kennedy and Company 1981)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules.