City Information

The city of Kissimmee is one of the fastest growing communities in central Florida. The City has see growth in the areas of business, industry, tourism, residential population, and the continued need for quality, consistent municipal services. The ever-changing landscape of the community, from the infusion of more racial and ethnic cultures to the diversity of various age groups and individual households, is revealed through numerous research efforts.

Kissimmee is located in Osceola County, a 1,506-square mile area that serves as the south/central boundary of the Central Florida Region and the Greater Metropolitan Orlando area. The City of Kissimmee, the County Seat, is 18 miles due south of Orlando. Osceola's only other incorporated City, St. Cloud, is nine miles east of Kissimmee, and approximately 45 miles west of the City of Melbourne on the Atlantic Coast.

1800's
The City of Kissimmee was originally a small trading post on the northern bank of Lake Tohopekaliga known as the community of "Allendale". After the Civil War this area was included in a purchase of 4,000,000 acres of marshland and plains by Mr. Hamilton Disston, the owner of Disston Saw Company in Philadelphia. The sale price for the land totaled $1 million or $.25 per acre! The infusion of $1 million to the State of Florida reportedly rescued the state from financial disaster. In January 1881, he contracted to drain the area and deepen the Kissimmee River so products could be shipped into the Gulf of Mexico and points beyond. Many steamboat captains navigated the chain of lakes leading from Kissimmee to the Gulf with cargoes of cypress lumber and sugar cane. On March 24, 1883, the citizens voted to incorporate the City, changing the name from Allendale to Kissimmee City. From the late 1800's into the turn of the century, the economy of the Kissimmee area relied strictly on cattle and sugar cane.

1900's
By 1920, the population of Kissimmee increased to more than 2,700 people as a result of the Florida land boom of the early 1900's. In the early 1930's, the cattle industry began to flourish in the area. However, citrus and other crops remained as the predominant industry. The construction of the Kissimmee Airport in the 1940's by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in preparation for the U.S. involvement in World War II, led to Kissimmee's population increasing by another 38% to more than 3,700 citizens.


Modern Era
City leaders, wanting to continue Kissimmee's prosperous history, encouraged growth through the attraction of retirees into the area during the 1950's. This effort stimulated growth of almost 60%. The next period of growth came in the 1970's with the opening of Walt Disney World resort area and other tourist attractions. Since Walt Disney World's debut in 1971, the population doubled from 7,500 to 15,000 in 1980. The population doubled again during the 80's to 30,000. Currently, 41,248 people reside within the corporate limits of the City, with approximately 140,000 people living throughout Osceola County.