1857: The deserted cabin on Church Street.
In October 1857, shortly after the United States Post Office officially recognized the name Orlando, Alabama businessman B.F. Caldwell donated four acres for a courthouse at the site that is now Heritage Square, at Central Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue. “It is from this site that the city limits of Orlando – originally one and one-half miles square – were first platted,” a plaque on the site proclaims.
But only a few hundred people lived in the county, and money to build the courthouse was scarce, so in the meantime, county officials used a deserted two-room log cabin in the pine woods on Church Street. Joshua Mizell served as judge.
- Circuit History
- Past Chief Judges
- Past Judges
- Orange County Courthouses
- 1857: The Deserted Cabin on Church Street
- 1863: First Official Courthouse
- 1869: Small Courthouse, Complete with Hogs
- 1875: The Courthouse that Jake Built
- 1892: The Red Victorian Courthouse
- 1927: Classical Temple to Justice
- 1960: The Modern, Aqua Courthouse Annex
- 1998: High-Rise Halls of Justice
- The Orange County Courthouse at a Glance
- Osceola County Courthouses
- Notable Events
- Sources
