The Osceola Tourist Camp

n 1858, the community of Lake View was settled by David Mizell, Jr. and his family in the area surrounding what are now Lakes Osceola and Mizell. In 1870, Lake View became the town of Osceola, after the Seminole chief who was thought to have once camped there. In 1881 Osceola became part of Winter Park.

The photograph from 1925 features the Cody family of Bloomingdale, Michigan. George and Adeline Cody and their three daughters - Grace, Florence, and Helen - spent the winter of 1925-26 at Winter Park, at this so-called "Osceola Tourist Camp."

In 1925, Winter Park was the second most populated city in Orange County, its population having more than doubled in five years to 2,372.

This article was written by former archivist, Barbara White, MLIS.