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9 facts about Osceola County: An evolutionary community

By Kelly Healey
By Kelly Healey
From wranglin’ cowboys to rich Seminole Indian history, Osceola County has many interesting facts. Read all about it below (Source: osceola.org):
1. Formed on May 12, 1887, from portions of Orange County and Brevard County, Osceola County became Florida's 40th county.
2. Osceola County is named for the Seminole leader, Osceola, whose name means "Black Drink Crier.” Son of British trader, William Powell and his Creek wife, Polly Copinger, Osceola led several small but successful raids against the U.S. Army.
3. Kissimmee, formerly known as Allendale, was incorporated in 1883 by a vote of 33 to 3, four years before the creation of Osceola County. 
4. Makinson Hardware in the heart of downtown Kissimmee was founded in 1884 by W.B. Makinson.  is the oldest retail hardware store still in operation in the state of Florida.
5. In the 1860s, the cracking sound of cowboys' whips filled the air as the "Cracker Cowboys" drove herds of lean cattle through the scrub brush of Osceola's open ranges.
6. Founded on the former St. Cloud Sugar Plantation on East Lake Tohopekaliga in 1909, St. Cloud was named after a French suburb and was an early home to the largest concentration of Union Army veterans in the South. 
7. Osceola County's logo was designed in 1987 by Barni McIntire, a local artist and long-time resident, as part of the county's centennial celebration.  The logo represents the county's beginning, and highlights “our beautiful weather, economy and heritage.”
8. J. Luann Griffin designed the official county flag shortly after the county logo was created.  She used several elements from it, including the lettering, the oval the date banner and the radiating lines.
9. Every year in September, the county hosts a Hispanic Heritage Celebration, honoring the largest ancestral group in the county.

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