Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States. The Greater Orlando metropolitan area has a population of 2,134,411, making it the 26th largest metro area in the United States, the sixth largest metro area in the southeastern United States, and the third largest metro area in Florida. Orlando is the fifth largest city in Florida, and the state's largest inland city.

Orlando is nicknamed "The City Beautiful" and its symbol is the fountain at Lake Eola. The current mayor is Buddy Dyer. The city is best known for the Walt Disney World Resort (located approximately 21 miles (34 km) southwest of Downtown Orlando in Lake Buena Vista), founded by the Walt Disney Company in 1971, and for the Universal Orlando Resort (which consists of two parks, Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, as well as other attractions, including City Walk). Orlando is also home to the SeaWorld theme park, Gatorland, as well as Wet 'n Wild Water Park. With the exception of Walt Disney World, most major attractions are located along International Drive. The city's famous attractions form the backbone of Orlando's tourism industry, making the city the most visited American city in 2009. The city is also one of the busiest American cities for conferences and conventions. Like other major cities in the Sun Belt, Orlando grew rapidly during the 1980s and well into the first decade of the 21st century. Orlando is also home to the University of Central Florida, which is the second largest university in the United States in terms of enrollment (as of 2011).

Orlando attracts over 51 million tourists a year (3.6 million of them are international tourists). Its airport, the Orlando International Airport (MCO), is the thirteenth busiest airport in the United States, and the 29th busiest in the world.

Pre-European history: Before European settlers arrived in 1836, Orlando was sparsely populated by the Creek and other Native American tribes. There are very few archaeological sites in the area today, except for the ruins of Fort Gatlin along the shores of modern-day Lake Gatlin south of downtown Orlando. There have also been some instances in which construction projects yielded arrowheads or musket bullets.

Namesakes: Prior to being known by its current name, Orlando was known as Jernigan. This originates from the first permanent settler, Aaron Jernigan, a cattleman who acquired land along Lake Holden by the terms of the Armed Occupation Act of 1842.

City officials and local legend say the name Orlando originated from a soldier named Orlando Reeves who died in 1835 during a supposed attack by Native Americans in the area during the Second Seminole War. Reeves was acting as a sentinel for a company of soldiers that had set up camp for the night on the banks of Sandy Beach Lake (now Lake Eola). There are conflicting legends, however, as an in-depth reviews of military records in the 1970s and 1980s turned up no record of Orlando Reeves ever existing. For news from Orlando please check Orlando news. For information on weather in Orlando please check Orlando weather. For jobs in Orlando please check Orlando jobs. The legend grew throughout the early 1900s, particularly with local historian Kena Fries' retelling in various writings and on local radio station WDBO in 1929. A memorial beside Lake Eola – originally placed by students of Orlando's Cherokee Junior School in 1939 – designates the spot where the city's supposed namesake fell.

Local historians have come up with a more credible version of the "Reeves" story. During the Second Seminole War, the U.S. Army established an outpost at Fort Gatlin, a few miles south of the modern downtown, in 1838, but it was quickly abandoned when the war came to an end. Most pioneers did not arrive until after the Third Seminole War in the 1850s. Many early residents made their living by cattle ranching. One such resident was a South Carolinian Orlando Savage Rees. Rees owned several large estates in Florida and Mississippi. On two separate occasions, relatives of Rees claimed their ancestor was the namesake of the city. F.K. Bull of South Carolina (Rees' great-grandson) told an Orlando reporter of a story in 1955; years later, Charles M. Bull Jr. of Orlando (Rees' great-great-grandson) offered local historians similar information. Rees most certainly did exist and was in Florida during that time period: in 1832 John James Audubon met with Rees in his large estate at Spring Garden, about 45 minutes away from Orlando. In 1837, Rees also attempted to stop a peace Treaty with the Indians because it did not reimburse him for the loss of slaves and crops. The story goes Rees' sugar farms in the area were burned out in the Seminole attacks in 1835 (the year Orlando Reeves supposedly died). Subsequently, he led an expedition to recover stolen slaves and cattle. It is believed he could have left a pine-bough marker with his name next to the trail, and later residents misread the sign as "Reeves" and thought it was his grave. In the years since the telling of this story, it has merged with the Orlando Reeves story. Some variants attempt to account for Reeves having no military records by using the name of another 'Orlando' that exists in some written records – Orlando Acosta. Not much is known about Acosta and if he even existed.

In 1975, local historian, and then chairman of the county historical commission, Judge Donald A. Cheney put forth a new version of the story in an Orlando Sentinel article. Cheney is the son of Judge John Moses Cheney, a major figure in Orlando's history who arrived in Orlando in 1885.