Kissimmee, florida…. from the very beginning

Just a short blog about the very start of the town we call home. Kissimmee was founded in 1883. But lets look back a little before, when our town was called the Community of Allendale.

In 1873 the first post office was built by Shingle Creek and the first postmaster was Clement R. Tyner. The next big event was years later. In 1882 the first newspaper was published and a school opened on Main Street. Also that year, the first church opened up, First United Methodist Church. One year later, (1883) there were 36 voters in the Community of Allendale that decided it was time to change the name and voted to change the name to Kissimmee City. The vote passed 33-3. That’s when they also elected the first mayor of Kissimmee City, T. A. Bass. By this time the town was starting to come together. W.B. Makinson opened up the first hardware and grocery store and you can still shop there today.

Years later in 1887, commissioners from Orange and Brevard counties came to determine a “county” name. Since then, we are Osceola County, named after a Seminole Indian leader, Chief Osceola. By the end of the year, the first Courthouse in Florida was built and is the oldest courthouse in Florida that you can visit and tour. This little county had over 800 people living there and tripled by 1890. That’s when electricity was brought to Kissimmee with prices costing .03 per hour, or you could pay $7.50 per month.  

I will go in deeper on the courthouse, Makinsons Hareware and more in my next blogs…keep checking back.