Orange County, Florida

Orange County is a located in the  of  and is part of the. As of 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population is 1,043,500. There is 40,000 miles of road in Orange County. The is.

Orange County is led by the six-seat, headed by the. Before the approval by voters of a charter amendment, the position of Mayor was called "Orange County Chairman", which became an elected position in. The current Mayor of Orange County is.

Although the seat of government is located in a building in Downtown Orlando, the government declared a region of the county as "Downtown Orange County" in. The region of largely unincorporated land (portions of the northern fringe are annexed by Orlando) encompasses the southern portions of the and  corridors. The County Government keeps an office in the area at the North/South Building of the. 

The primary law enforcement body of Orange County is the. The Sheriff of Orange County, also an elected position, is. Public education is provided by.

History
Mosquito County was created in. It was renamed Orange County in for the  that constituted the county's main product. At its peak in the early 1970s, some 80,000 acres (320 km²) were planted in citrus in Orange County. A truly impressive sight while driving through the rolling hills of the region were the vast vistas of the dark green foliage of orange trees and the intoxicating scent of the orange blossoms when in bloom. Today, far fewer commercial orange groves remain. The vast majority of groves were destroyed by the devastating freezing temperatures experienced in several severe winters of the early 1980s. The financial setbacks, (not the first in the history of the grove region), was just too much for many growers and many, economically destroyed, just walked away from the land and its outstanding obligations. Others hung on awaiting any opportunities. One of the major land owners and growers in the region was the Tropicana company. They, however, also threw in the towel rather than try to come back again from these seemingly generational decimations. With no realistic avenues for agricultural utilization of this rural land and Florida's continuing strong population growth and its attendant needs, (not the least of which was aided and abetted by the great success of nearby Disney World and Universal Studios), these areas began and continue to be, swallowed up by growing housing developments. However, several packing plants and wholesalers who get their oranges from elsewhere in Florida are still in Orange County.

In 1951 an intensive FBI investigation of the Ku Klux Klan in Orange County exposed a brutal 300-member organization with chapters in Orlando, Winter Garden, and Apopka (See, Orlando Sentinel, 08/17/2006, page A11).

Paved roads
The first paved roads in Orange County, outside the cities, were built in and  under a $600,000, approved by voters on ,. These five roads were paved 9 feet (3 meters) wide with brick:
 * 1)  south to  via,  and  (later , part of the )
 * 2)  east and south to  (later )
 * 3)  north to  via  and  (later, part of the )
 * 4)  west to  via  and  (later )
 * 5)  northwest to  and beyond, probably to  (later, part of the )



In the next ten years, the following roads also received a hard surface:
 * south and west to (asphalt) (later  and )
 * east to via  (brick east to  and then asphalt) (later )
 * west of north to  (brick) (later )
 * east and north to, passing east of (asphalt)
 * northeast to via  (asphalt) (later )
 * northwest to via  (asphalt) (later )
 * north to (asphalt) (later  and )
 * west to (brick) (later )
 * south two miles from (asphalt) (later )
 * south 1.5 miles from (asphalt) (later )
 * north of south to  via  (asphalt) (later )

Another, this time for $7,000,000, was approved by voters on ,. These asphalt roads covered almost all parts of the county; most of them are still main roads. There are too many to list here but a map is available.
 * See also: 

Freeways and Expressways

 * [[Image:I-4.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Florida's Turnpike shield.png|20px]]
 * [[Image:Toll Florida 408.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Toll Florida 528.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Toll Florida 417.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Toll Florida 429.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Toll Florida 414.svg|20px]]

Surface Roads

 * [[Image:US 441.svg|25px]]
 * [[Image:US 17.svg|20px]]/[[Image:US 92.svg|20px]] / (Mills Avenue/Orlando Avenue/Orange Blossom Trail)
 * [[Image:Florida 15.svg|20px]] (Conway/Narcoossee Road)
 * [[Image:Florida 50.svg|20px]] (Colonial Drive)
 * [[Image:Florida 423.svg|25px]] (|Lee Road)
 * [[Image:Florida 426.svg|25px]] (Fairbanks/Aloma Avenue)
 * [[Image:Florida 434.svg|25px]] (Alafaya Trail/Forest City Rd)
 * [[Image:Florida 435.svg|25px]] (Kirkman Road)
 * [[Image:Florida 436.svg|25px]] (Semoran Boulevard)
 * [[Image:Florida 551.svg|25px]] (Goldenrod Road)
 * [[Image:Florida 520.svg|25px]]

Because of the massive in the area and outdated and unplanned transit infrastructure, traffic congestion is a growing concern. Fundamentally, the lack of east-west mobility in the area creates severe traffic issues every weekday.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,601 (1,004 ). 2,350 km² (907 sq mi) of it is land and 251 km² (97 sq mi) of it (9.63%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - north
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of, there were 896,344 people, 336,286 households, and 220,267 families residing in the county. The was 381/km² (988/sq mi). There were 361,349 housing units at an average density of 154/km² (398/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 68.59%, 18.17% or , 0.34% , 3.35% , 0.09% , 6.01% from , and 3.43% from two or more races. 28.78% of the population were or  of any race. 74.7% spoke, 17.3% and 1.7%  as their first language.

In 2000 3.9% of Orange County residents identified themselves as being of non-Hispanic West Indian Ancestry.

There were 336,286 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.00% were living together, 13.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.50% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 10.90% from 18 to 24, 33.80% from 25 to 44, 20.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,311, and the median income for a family was $47,159. Males had a median income of $32,053 versus $25,402 for females. The for the county was $20,916. About 8.80% of families and 12.10% of the population were below the, including 16.30% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.

Urban Sprawl
Orange County is experiencing major sprawl; land is being developed at an average of 7,800 acres of farmland per year. The sprawl has facilitated the county's large population growth, and if current trends continue, the county could have a population of 2,500,000 by the year 2050. That is up from 896,000 in the year 2000. Because of such rapid growth, roads have become outdated and are not able to hold enough cars. Growth started around the 1950s and the 1960s. The sprawl has started around 1990s. There are plans for new interstate roads along and crossing I-4. There are new highways being built now, but has been worked on for about 20-25 years, plans have been constantly revised because of such growth.

Incorporated

 * 1) City of
 * (part of Apopka)
 * 1) City of
 * 2) Town of
 * 3) City of
 * 4) City of
 * 5) Town of
 * 6) City of
 * 7) City of
 * 8) Town of
 * 9) City of
 * 10) City of
 * 11) City of  (part of )
 * 12) City of  (part of )

Unincorporated

 * (special taxing district)
 * (special taxing district)
 * (special taxing district)
 * (special taxing district)
 * (special taxing district)
 * (special taxing district)
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 * (special taxing district)
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 * (special taxing district)
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Government links/Constitutional offices

 * Orange County Comptroller
 * Orange County Supervisor of Elections
 * Orange County Property Appraiser
 * Orange County Sheriff's Office
 * Orange County Tax Collector
 * Orange County Government

Special districts

 * Orange County Public Schools
 * South Florida Water Management District
 * St. Johns River Water Management District

Judicial branch

 * Orange County Clerk of Courts
 * Public Defender, 9th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Orange and counties
 * Circuit and County Court for the 9th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Tourism

 * Orlando/Orange County Conventiona and Visitors' Bureau

Miscellaneous

 * Photographs From the State Archives of Florida.
 * Central Florida Memory is a unique digital collection where visitors can discover the history of Orange County and surrounding areas of Central Florida.