I came across this little bit of history on a recent trip to Mead Botanical Garden. It seems that…read morenaturalist William Bartram, known as "Puc Puggy" to the Native Americans in the area, brought renown to Florida when he discovered native species of plants here sometime around 1774. The sign was erected by the Winter Park Garden Club in cooperation with the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs. I love finding these signs that give I said glimpse of the past. It is interesting to me to find these footsteps from yesteryear that let us to where we stand today. All in all, if you find yourself here and Mead Botanical Garden, take a moment to remember this man and think about what he accomplished. Florida was certainly a wildlands and very uncharted. His quest made the world a better place.

I love Lake Eola, the fountain, the swans, the public art, and the monuments. Right now they have…read moreit decorated for the holidays. Every time I go I see something new that I have to check out. This trip I discovered this small, unassuming monument. I bent down to look closer and learned something interesting. It turns out that of the most popular theories of how Orlando got its name was that it was named in honor of an actual person, Orlando Reeves who was a soldier during the Seminole Wars. Orlando's modern history dates back to 1830's and the Second Seminole War. The U.S. Army built Fort Gatlin southeast of present day downtown Orlando to protect settlers from the Seminoles and the city grew around it. One night in 1835 during sentry duty Orlando Reeves spotted the Seminoles sneaking up on the sleeping troops camping around the fort. He fired his gun to warn them but was killed by arrows near where this monument now sits. It is believed his warning saved his regiment and Orlando was buried on the south side of Lake Eola. A marker was put in place in 1939 by students from Cherokee Junior High. Is it correct? Historians aren't so sure. There is no Orlando Reeves listed as having died among the names of the 1,466 soldiers killed during the Seminole Indian Wars on the war department records. It may just be a history mystery lost to time.

I have been coming to Lake Eola Park for years, in fact, decades. And prior to today, I have never…read morenoticed this memorial plaque on a stone here in this park. Orlando Reeves is who Orlando, Florida was named for and this plaque was placed by the students of Cherokee Junior High School in 1939 to remember Orlando Reeves. According to the plaque, Orlando Reeves was killed in this general vicinity by Native Americans back in 1835. We need to remember the past to where we stand today. It is by the footballs that were made yesterday that made us who we are today. I love finding these little historic treasures in my wanderings. If you find yourself in Lake Eola park, seek this out. It is by one of the children's playgrounds and it's just a simple stone with a plaque. However, we need to remember that Orlando Reeves lived and died. He had joy and sadness in his life he made an impact so much so, that the city of Orlando was named after him.

Clear Lake neighborhood is located just off of West Gore streets and is an older neighborhood, but…read moreit does seem relatively well kept. It is in close proximity to the Citrus Bowl and is also not far from the downtown Orlando area.

This small plaque is to honor Colonel Corbin Marquand Sarchet, III, who is the founder of "Fiesta…read morein the Park" in Lake Eola. Fiesta in the Park has been recognized as one of the top 100 arts and crafts shows here in the United States of America and it is by the selfless work of this man and others that make it a reality. This plaque is a bit hard to find, though it is located by the Walt Disney Amphitheater in Lake Eola. I'm in Lake Eola pretty much weekly and it is surprising that I have never noticed this before. However, I saw today and I learned something new today about an extraordinary man who has given of himself so selflessly of for his community. If you were in Lake Eola Park seek this little plaque out. Lake Eola Park is definitely my favorite Park in Orlando and it is because of these little things that make this park so epic. Come check out the park as a whole and definitely seek out this little plaque.

The Linton E. Allen Memorial Fountain, also known as the Centennial Fountain with its nightly…read morewater and light shows in the middle of Lake Eola is probably the better known Lake Eola fountain but that doesn't mean the lovely, more classic Sperry Fountain should be overlooked. It has been a part of Orlando for more than a century and is a reminder of an influential Orlando pioneer. E.F. Sperry (b. 1843) was from Connecticut but moved to this area in 1885 after visiting for a vacation. Less than a year after the move he co-founded the South Florida Foundry and Machine Works which became one Orlando's earliest businesses by providing metal works for iron stairs, balconies, trains, and fencing.The business made him very prosperous and he owned a house and property on the southwest shore of Lake Eola. After selling his business he became civically active by serving on the park commission, as President of the Orlando Citrus Exchange and he was a founding member of the 1912 First Unitarian Church of Orlando. My favorite thing about him was he was the first president of the Men's Equal Suffrage League which helped women the right to vote. He was a man ahead of his time. Mr. Sperry was first elected to the office of mayor in 1914. At this time he donated his Lake Eola property to the city. Along with property donated by Jake Summerlin and J. P. Mussellwhite, it allowed for the completion of Lake Eola Park which is so beloved today. In 1913 Sperry also donated the $2,000 for the fountain that bears his name. Sperry never finished his term as mayor, He passed away two years after his election in 1916. He work was continued by Mayor James L. Giles and three years after Sperry's death the City Council voted to amend the city charter allowing women to vote in Orlando. The Sperry fountain that sits here today is an exact replica of the fountain he donated in 1913.The fountain was prone to mechanical failure and in 2011 the iron fountain was replaced with a bronze one. The actual fountain Sperry donated can be found in Greenwood cemetery today. I love the swans on the fountain that mirror the ones you see swimming on Lake Eola. The real Lake Eola swans were not introduced to the lake until 1922 when they were put there by an Englishman raising them to separate two breeds who were having a territorial dispute. After a walk around the lake it is nice to sit and relax on one of the benches surrounding the fountain. March 2024 will mark the 110th anniversary of the Sperry Fountain.

The Sperry Fountain is located on the edge of Lake Eola Park and is named for E.F. Sperry, who was…read moreelected mayor of Orlando, Florida in 1913 and served until he passed away in 1916. Sperry was also a businessman who founded the South Foundry and Machine Works. This fountain is an exact replica of the fountain that Sperry himself donated to the City of Orlando (as well as land for a public park) back in 1913. The fountain itself is a nice place to chill and I have a few stone benches around if you would like to sit and take the view in. All in all, this is a nice addition to both Lake Eola Park and the city of Orlando, Florida. Lake Eola Park is definitely my favorite park in Orlando. It is because of things like this that make it my favorite park. All in all, I will give Sperry Fountain five stars

This neighborhood is named for its close proximity to Lake Underhill and despite ot being so close…read moreto both a major road (Lake Underhill Road) and highway (408), the neighborhood is relatively quiet. It is close to the downtown Orlando area and is an all around pleasant enough neighborhood.

The Alligator Wrestler statue in Heritage Square Park is a beloved spot for visitors to take a…read morephoto. It's whimsical subject matter and depiction of history makes it is one of my favorite public artworks in downtown Orlando. You can find it at the entrance to the Orange County Regional History Center. In 1857, Orlando's city limits were platted in Heritage Square Park. Alligator Wrestler pays homage to Orlando's lawless, cow town past rooted in cattle ranching, agriculture, and citrus. Originally known for cattle, Orlando evolved from a small trading post in the 1830's into a bustling cattle and citrus center by the 1890's. In the early 2000's, Alligator Wrestler was sculpted by artist Scott Shaffer, a Colorado-based sculptor known for detailed, realistic wildlife and nature-themed bronze work. This sculpture was inspired by a famous 1884 photograph depicting legendary local figure Bunk Baxter wrestling an alligator. According to legend, Bunk would come to Orlando on Saturdays in the mid 1880's and wrestle an alligator in the middle of a dirt road, which would become Orange Avenue. A picture of Bunk and his alligator companion became an iconic image of Orlando's colorful, wild past. Now Bunk and the alligator are a part of many people's treasured memories of visiting modern day Orlando.

I have driven by this statue literally fir decades and this is the first time that I saw it up…read moreclose and personal. This statue reminds us all that there was a Florida before the theme parks and it was a wild and often dangerous place. It is not a huge statue by any means, pretty much life-sized, but it does make a statement and show us what Florida was like before we built it up. Our history is important to us and we must remember it.

Tucked away in Lorna Doone Park and in the shadow of Camping World Stadium here in Orlando, Florida…read moreis a statue that signifies an important moment in the history of Civil Rights here in the South. The statue is of two twelve year old boys, one wearing the uniform of the Pensacola, Florida Jaycees and the other wearing the uniform of the Orlando, Florida Kiwanis. These two teams, the coaches, players and their families made history on August 9, 1955 when they stepped together onto the playing field, black and white, and stepped beyond the segregated patterns of the time not only in Forida, but throughout the South and broke a long-held barrier. The majority of those people, if not all of those people at that historic game are gone now, but that is remembered and reverberated as part of a movement that changed the world forever.