Two hundred and fifty years ago, our nation, inspired by new and revolutionary ideas of Liberty, declared independence. From those first uncertain steps, generations of Americans persevered through good times and bad, all the while forging the story of America. Pioneer families settled the south shore of Lake Apopka in the 1850s, cleared hammocks, planted groves, and built something from the earth up. When the railroad arrived in 1886, a town was born, and by 1893, it had a name to match its promise: Winter Garden.

In its heyday, West Orange County was the busiest citrus shipping center on the planet. Then came the freezes of the late1980s, three in a row, roots killed down to the clay. But Winter Garden did not disappear. It endured, rebuilt, and found a new way to flourish. 

As America marks its 250th year, the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation invites our community to help tell this story, not as a distant memory, but as our own. The eagle that watched over Philadelphia in 1776, has been watching over West Orange County too.