Seminole County, Florida
The story of Altamonte Springs
Everything below is a single verifiable claim with a citation attached. Where the record is a local legend rather than a document, it says so.
- 1870Kilmer settles
- 1882Resort company formed
- 1885Chapel built on Lake Brantley
- 1969Chapel moved again
founding
How it started
- 1920
Dr. Washington Kilmer settled the area around 1870 and named it Altamonte; residents voted 38 to 7 to incorporate on 11 November 1920.
etymology
How it got its name
- 1870
The name Altamonte was given by Kilmer, the settler who arrived around 1870.
industry
What it lived on
- 1882
The town was built to be visited: the Altamonte Land, Hotel and Navigation Company was formed in 1882 by Thomas C. Simpson and a group of Massachusetts businessmen, and the resort trade followed.
claim to fame
What it is known for
-
Cranes Roost Park is the town's centre of gravity - 45 acres round a dredged lake, a mile of continuous walkway, a 62-foot tower and the Eddie Rose Amphitheater with a floating stage.
landmark
What still stands
- 1885
The Altamonte Chapel, designed by a Boston architect and built in 1885 on Lake Brantley, four and a half miles from where it stands now. Conveyed to Rollins College in 1897 as payment for tuition, dismantled and moved by wagon in the early 1900s, and moved again in 1969 to make room for a larger sanctuary.
- 2016
Cranes Roost Park: 45 acres, one mile of walkway, a European-style plaza with a choreographed fountain and a 62-foot tower, renovated in 2016.