Orlando

Fort Gatlin, as the Orlando area was once known, was established at what is now just south of the city limits by the 4th U.S. Artillery under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander C. W. Fanning on November 9, 1838, during the construction of a series of fortified encampments across Florida during the Second Seminole War. The fort and surrounding area were named for John S. Gatlin, an Army physician who was killed in the Dade battle on December 28, 1835. The site of construction for Fort Gatlin, a defensible position with fresh water between three small lakes, was likely chosen because the location was on a main trail and is less than 250 yards from a nearby Council Oak tree, where Native Americans had traditionally met. …

In 1823, the Treaty of Moultrie Creek created a Seminole reservation encompassing much of central Florida, including the area that would become Orlando. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized relocation of the Seminole from Florida to Oklahoma, and along with the enforcement of the Treaty of Payne's Landing led to the Second Seminole War. In 1842, white settlement in the area was encouraged by the Armed Occupation Act. The first settler, Aaron Jernigan of Camden County, Georgia, arrived the following year and settled near Lake Holden. Mosquito County was renamed Orange County in 1845, with the county seat shortly thereafter relocated to Mellonville, a few miles west of Sanford. By 1856, settlement had begun in earnest in the interior of the county and a more centrally located Courthouse was sought. …

The geography of Orlando is mostly wetlands, consisting of many lakes and swamps. The ground is generally flat, making the land fairly low and wet. The area is dotted with hundreds of lakes, the largest of which is Lake Apopka. Central Florida's bedrock is mostly limestone and very porous; the Orlando area is susceptible to sinkholes. Probably the most famous incident involving a sinkhole happened in 1981 in Winter Park, a city immediately north of downtown Orlando, dubbed "The Winter Park Sinkhole". There are 115 neighborhoods within the city limits and many unincorporated communities. Orlando's city limits resemble a checkerboard, with pockets of unincorporated Orange County surrounded by city limits. Such an arrangement results in some areas being served by both Orange County and the City of Orlando. …

In the mid-to-late 1990s, Orlando was known as "Hollywood East" because of numerous film production studios in the area, although such activity has slowed down considerably into the 2000s. Perhaps the most famous film-making moment in the city's history occurred with the implosion of Orlando's previous City Hall for the movie Lethal Weapon 3. The same year, Orlando native Wesley Snipes starred in the film Passenger 57, which was shot predominantly in his hometown. For the next decade, Orlando was production center for television shows, direct-to-video productions, and commercial production. In 1997, Walt Disney Feature Animation operated a studio in Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. The feature animation studio produced the films Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and the early stages of Brother Bear, but shutdown in 2004 due to the company's newfound focus on computer animation. …

Orlando is a major industrial and hi-tech center. The metro area has a $13.4 billion technology industry employing 53,000 people; and is a nationally recognized cluster of innovation in digital media, agricultural technology, aviation, aerospace, and software design. More than 150 international companies, representing approximately 20 countries, have facilities in Metro Orlando. Orlando has the 7th-largest research park in the country, Central Florida Research Park, with over 1,025 acres (4.15 km2). It is home to over 120 companies, employs more than 8,500 people, and is the hub of the nation's military simulation and training programs. Near the end of each year, the Orange County Convention Center hosts the world's largest modeling and simulation conference: Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC). …

Orlando uses the Lynx bus system as well as a downtown bus service called Lymmo. Orlando and other neighboring communities are also serviced by SunRail, a local commuter rail line that began service in 2014. Orlando International Airport (MCO) is Orlando's primary airport and the busiest airport in the state of Florida. The airport serves as a hub and a focus hub city for Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Southwest Airlines. The airport serves as a major international gateway for the mid-Florida region with major foreign carriers including Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aer Lingus, Aeroméxico, Volaris, Air Canada, British Airways, Lufthansa, Emirates, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Latam, and Virgin Atlantic. Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB), located in the nearby suburb of Sanford, serves as a secondary airport for the region and is a focus city airport for Allegiant Air. …