OCOEE

Ocoee remained an isolated citrus town clustered around Starke Lake until the 1980s. Now, with 29,215 residents, it has edged ahead of Winter Park to become the third-largest city in Orange County, behind Orlando and Apopka.

The transformation began two decades ago, when devastating freezes destroyed thousands of acres of citrus trees and opened west Orange and south Lake counties for development. Today, Ocoee boasts a 1-million-square-foot regional mall and at least two dozen new subdivisions with homes in all price ranges.

Ocoee's beginnings were inauspicious. In the mid-1850s a physician named J.D. Starke led a group of slaves into the area and established a camp along the western shores of the lake that now bears his name. Capt. Bluford Sims, who hailed from Ocoee, Tenn., arrived in 1861 and bought 50 acres from Starke. He then platted what would become downtown Ocoee.

Through the years, Ocoee developed into a thriving citrus-producing center. Today, however, housing is the city's hottest commodity. The Florida Turnpike, the East-West Expressway and a new Western Beltway all pass through the city, meaning once-remote downtown Orlando is now just a 15-minute commute.

Despite its growth, Ocoee has managed to preserve its past. The annual Founders Day celebration, for example, starts with a parade and ends with fireworks. And those who want to soak up some additional local color may tour the Withers-Maguire House, once a winter refuge for a Confederate general and now a museum.

Also of interest is the circa-1890 Ocoee Christian Church, with its gothic architecture and Belgian-made stained-glass windows, as well as several vintage commercial buildings in the original downtown area.

New residential development is focused on the northwest side, along the S.R. 429 corridor. A new community center and senior center are slated for the area, while a new high school, aptly named Ocoee High School, opened this year.