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Mosquito County created out of St. Johns County. The name comes from the Spanish name for the entire coast “Los Mosquitos”. County seat is at Enterprise. Map |
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County lines adjusted. Map |
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U. S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. This force the removal of all Indians east of the Mississippi River to the Indian Territory in Arkansas and Oklahoma. |
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A military column led by Major Frances Dade, travelling from Ft. Brook
(Tampa) to Ft. King (Ocala) was ambushed by Seminole Indians on 28 Dec 1835 near
present day Brooksville. There were only 4 survivors. Four days later, Osceola
and 250 men attacked a column of 750 soldiers under command of General Duncan
Clinch in the Battle of Withalacoochee.
This began the Second Seminole Indian War (1835 - 1842).
Another Indian attack on soldiers may have occurred near present day Orlando. Supposedly, a soldier named Orlando Reeves kept watch while his fellow soldiers slept. He saw the Indians and gave a warning even though he was mortally wounded by an arrow. Whether or not the attack occurred is in question. The U.S. Army has no record of a soldier named Orlando Reeves. |
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Major General Thomas Jesup takes command of the U.S. Army in Florida. |
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Troops under command of General Jesup attacked a large Indian village on Hatchee-Lustee Creek (Muskogee for "Black Creek") now Reedy Creek. |
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Hernandez – Capron trail commissioned by US Army to connect several forts in Florida territory. A string of forts were created about 20 miles (one days march) apart. It connected Ft. Capron, Ft. Vinton, Ft. Drum(near LaBelle), Ft. Kissimmee (near Kissimmee), Ft Clinch (near Jacksonville), Ft. Meade (on the Peace river), Ft. Brooke (Tampa) and St. Augustine. |
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Ft. Mellon established at present day Sanford. It later became a trading post called Mellonville. |
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Four of the "Five Civilized Tribes", (Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw and Cherokee) had been moved. The Seminoles refused to move. |
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Ft. Maitland established near center of city of Maitland. Named for Captain William Seton Maitland, who was wounded in the battle of Wahoo Swamp. |
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Ft. McNeil established south of Ft. Christmas, near the shore of the St. Johns River, currently the Tosohatchee State Preserve. It was named after 2nd Lieutenant Winfield Scott McNiel, nephew of President Franklin Pierce. He died in battle with Indians near Dunlawton. |
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Ft. Christmas established. Built by troops under command of Brig General Abraham Eustis. |
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Ft. Christmas abandoned. |
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Ft. Gatlin established near lake Gatlin in present day Orlando. Named in honor of Dr. John Slade Gatlin who was killed in the Dade Massacre in 1835. The lake and a road were also named in honor of Dr. Gatlin. |
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The Second Seminole Indian War has driven out so many white settlers that the 1840 census takers could not find anyone living in Mosquito County. Given the ferocity of the fighting during the war, one has to wonder how hard the census takers tried to look for residents in the wilderness. |
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End of the Second Seminole Indian War. There were several battles but no clear victor. The war cost over 1500 American casualties and over $20 million. Osceola was captured and died in captivity. A great many Seminole Indians, mostly women and children were captured and transported to Indian Territory. |
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Armed occupation act. This allowed a person to settle onto land at least 2 miles from an established fort, erect a house and become part of the Florida Militia. After living on and defending the land for five years, the settler would receive title to up to 160 acres. |
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Mosquito County is renamed to Leigh Read County by the Florida Legislature but the Govenor does not sign the bill, so the renaming does not become law. Mosquito remains the official name of the county, but Leigh Read becomes commonly used. At the end of the Second Seminole Indian War the previous "non-county area" which was considered Indian territory was parceled out to varous counties, including Mosquito County. Map |
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Aaron and Mary Jernigan arrived from Tallahasse with about 700 head of cattle and homesteaded on Lake Holden. Later, they started a small trading post which grew into a community called Jernigan. |
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St Lucia county is created out of Mosquito county. In 1854 St Lucia county will be renamed Brevard County. Marion county is created out of portions of Alachua, Mosquito and Hillsborough counties. Map |
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Territorial Council approves the change of Mosquito county to Orange county in order to reflect the primary agricultural product of the county. County lines were adjusted by legislature. Map |
