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Florida Counties

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Florida Counties

In 1821, there were only two Counties in Florida: Escambia to the west and St. Johns to the east. From these two Counties were formed 67 today.In 1968, the electors of Florida granted local voters the power to adopt charters to govern their counties. Charters are formal written documents that confer powers, duties, or privileges on the county. To date, there are 19 charter Counties in Florida. Collectively these Counties are home to more than 75 percent of Florida's residents.

Osceola County, Florida

Osceola County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Kissimmee
Year Organized: 1887
Square Miles: 1,322

Court House:

2 Courthouse Square
County Courthouse
Kissimmee, FL 34741-5476

Etymology - Origin of County Name

The Indian leader Osceola ("Singer of the Black Drink").

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Osceola County was created in 1887. It was named for the Indian leader Osceola, whose name means "Singer of the Black Drink."

On July 21, 1821, Florida was divided into two counties, named Escambia County to the west and St. John's County to the east. In 1824, the southern part of St. John's County became Mosquito County, with Enterprise as the county seat. When Florida became a state in 1845, Mosquito County was renamed Orange County. In 1844, Brevard County was carved out from Mosquito County. On May 12, 1887, Osceola was named a county, having been created from both Orange and Brevard Counties. Osceola County reached all the way down to Lake Okeechobee until 1917 when Okeechobee County was formed.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,506 square miles (3,901 km²), of which, 1,322 square miles (3,424 km²) of it is land and 184 square miles (478 km²) of it (12.24%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Brevard County
Southeast: Indian River County; Okeechobee County
South: Highlands County
West: Polk County
Northwest: Lake County; Orange County

Cities and Towns:

- Kissimmee (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- St. Cloud	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."