Ocoee Real Estate > Ocoee Community Info

The history of Ocoee dates back to the mid-1850s when Dr. J. D. Starke led a group of slaves into the area. Many of the men, including Starke, were stricken with malaria and hoped by moving they could escape further outbreaks. They established a camp along the northern shores of a lake with open pinewoods and found that the clear, clean water did indeed bring them better health. So Starke and his slaves worked in the fields near Lake Apopka during the day and retired to this haven at night.

It was around this nucleus in which the community of Starke Lake began to grow. Though the town would eventually change its name, the lake, which brought such good health to the man who originally settled here still, bears his name -- Starke Lake.

In 1881, Civil War Captain Bluford M. Sims acquired a 74-acre parcel of real estate in what is now considered downtown. By 1885, the town had been platted and a land company was formed to encourage settlement and growth. The population then totaled only 115 residents.

Today the city's history is preserved in places like the Ocoee Christian Church and Withers-Maquire House & Museum. There are also many other historic buildings, brick roads, natural features, and namesakes that preserve the city's past.

But while residents are proud of the past, they have an eye on the future. Current predictions show that growth will continue, with Ocoee eventually becoming the second largest city in Orange County behind only Orlando. It is already the second-largest city in the county in terms of real estate area. Much of the undeveloped land is zoned commercial and industrial, with the perfect location available for nearly every business need. Industry is already quite diverse and includes citrus, manufacturing, retail, medical, professional services, and hotel/resort accommodations. New shopping centers such as the West Oaks Mall - which features more than a million square feet of retail space - are adding to economy and creating jobs.

The Orange County public school system is the 14th largest district out of more than 16,000 in the nation and is the fourth largest in Florida. To better serve principals and students, the district has created five regional learning communities.

Local folklore has it that Ocoee's pioneers got the name "Ocoee" from an Indian word meaning "no cold." But others in the community believe a more apt translation as the "Center of Good Living."