Ben White Raceway: The Training Capital of Harness Racing
Trotters Park was once Ben White Raceway, at one time the largest training facility for harness racing in the United States and the winter home of championship harness races and racehorses.
Give an Experience They Won’t Forget!
During a holiday season like no other, the History Center offers brand-new opportunities to give one-of-a-kind gifts to family and friends, or even for yourself! From behind-the-scenes tours of our collections to a secret nighttime event at the museum, these gifts are not to be found anywhere else.
In Orange County, we truly have Christmas all year long
Here’s an often-asked question in the Central Florida each December: How did a crossroads on the palmetto prairie of far-east Orange County — the tiny community of Christmas, Florida — become a kind of far southern branch of North Pole central?
O Christmas Star, O Christmas Star
The holiday season in downtown Orlando is a familiar sight. Perhaps one of Orlando’s most iconic holiday decorations is the yellow Christmas star that illuminates the intersection of Orange Avenue and Central Boulevard each year.
Murry Schaeffer King: Creating Central Florida Landmarks
Murry S. King was a charter member and director of the Florida Association of Architects (FAA) and was appointed to the Florida State Board of Architecture, serving as its president for six years. A bastion for regulating architectural practice, King was the first registered architect in the state.
The Orange County Regional History Center Earns 2020 Awards
Orange County Regional History Center has received national and regional awards from the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and Southeastern Museum Conference (SEMC.)
Raise a glass to a great Seminole warrior and say “Hooah”
Coacoochee, called Wildcat by U.S. Army soldiers, led a war of resistance for his people. The Spanish called them the Seminoles. They were scattered groups of Creeks and others from the American Southeast who fled into Spanish Florida.
Cyanide at the San Juan
When Orange County Deputy Sheriff George Fields arrived at Room 208 of Orlando’s San Juan Hotel early on the morning of Feb. 16, 1938, 19-year-old Dolores Myerly had been dead for about 30 minutes. No one in the City Beautiful could have predicted where it would lead.
Homegrown Haunts: Orlando Ghost Stories
Every state, every city, has ghost stories; Orlando is no exception. Along with its tourist attractions, both modern and from yesteryear, the city boasts a reputation for excellent spooky stories. Some ghostly tales involve historic buildings, such as the 1886 Bumby Building on West Church Street.
A Thin Veil Among the Scrub: Spiritualism and Cassadaga
Begun in the late 19th century, Cassadaga is a small, unincorporated community in Volusia County. In the years since Cassadaga’s 1920s boom, the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp persisted as a mainstay of spiritualist life and practice, though the community has aged significantly.