U.S. History

In addition to the space industry at Cape Canaveral, is the now growing cruise and cargo industry at Port Canaveral. To many it may seem like the Port has only been around for a few years, but in fact it is now over 60 years old.

Many folks are not aware of the fact that in World War II, the war was not ALL being fought across the Atlantic. There were dangers right here in America, off the coast of Cocoa Beach.

The very first cemetery in Sanford was started by a local undertaker. All the residents that are laid to rest in Lakeview Cemetery are human, except one.

In the early years, the Sanford area was mostly agricultural. But that all changed in the 1940’s, with the threat of war on the horizon.

Most of us are familiar with the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford, but what you may not know is that it all got started in the Old Sanford Fire Department.

Interstate I-4 stretches from Tampa to Daytona Beach, and cuts right through the heart of downtown Orlando and completed back in 1967. That I-4 completion was very timely, because In the mid-1960s, a man named Disney changed Orlando’s future forever.

NASA and the space program in the Cocoa Beach area has been around since the 1950’s and one reporter has been there to witness it all, first-hand. For almost six decades now, Jay Barbree has been keeping us all informed about what’s going on at the Cape.

It was the nation’s Space program in the 1950’s that set Cocoa Beach, and in fact most of Brevard County, on the road to unprecedented growth. The space industry weaved its way into every aspect of life in Cocoa Beach.

Known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City," Sanford sits on the southern shore of Lake Monroe, a major port on the St. Johns River and has played a major role in helping shape Central and South Florida's history.

The first president to visit Kissimmee was Chester A. Arthur, who claimed to have found the best fishing spot in the world right here in Osceola County.

In the heart of Central Orlando is the Vietnamese Business District at Mills 50. One of the cornerstones is the Tien Hung Market, run by three generations of the Phan family. Explore how cultural traditions bind this community since fleeing Vietnam.  

Cocoa Beach was known as “Missiletown USA” in the 50’s and 60’s because of its proximity to the space center. In the mid-20the century, Cocoa Beach was built around one industry, the American space program, but settlers have actually lived there since the late 1500’s.

In the shadow of the Amway Center in downtown Orlando, sits the Wells' Built Museum of African American history and Culture.  It was originally a hotel, built in 1926, and offered black travelers safe room and board.

Originally the Wells Built Museum was a hotel. And one of its most notable visitors was a man named Ray Charles, who got his start performing in the Paramore district of Orlando.

Prior to the New York Giants, Sanford was part of a much different aspect of baseball, as this was supposed to be the place where the color barrier was to be broken in baseball.