Pine Castle Historical Society, Inc.

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Orlando, FL
Pine Castle Historical Society, Inc.

Historical Society for the "Greater Pine Castle" area, including Belle Isle, Conway, Edgewood and South Orlando. FDACS Registration #: CH51594
(1)

Mission: Connecting Past To Future, Protect Our Pine Castle Heritage, Inspire The Community. Preserving our Pine Castle heritage in Orange County, Florida! A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. The F

lorida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website is: https://fdacs.gov and the toll-free number is 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352).

01/21/2026

Please join us in supporting, and celebrating the 85th anniversary of the Pine Castle Women's Club. 30 Jan. 7:00 PM. Semi-Formal.
Tickets available here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/pcwc-85th-gala

Address

631 Wilks Avenue
Orlando, FL
32809

Website

http://www.pinecastlehistory.org/

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Our Story

We are preserving our Pine Castle heritage in Orange County, Florida - and as the birthplace of Orlando, we have a long and exciting story to share with residents and visitors, children and adults!

The photo above is “the” Pine Castle shown on an old “stereopticon” card. It was taken by J. F. Mears about 1874, shortly after the famous “Pine Castle” was built on the western shore of Lake Conway by Will Wallace Harney, writer, poet, educator, attorney, and newspaper editor from Louisville, Kentucky.

Central Florida was still wilderness when Will came in 1869 and in order to raise “cash money” he began writing articles extolling the beauties (and a few of the pitfalls) of his adopted homeland for the “Cincinnati Commercial” newspaper. He was responsible for much of the early growth of Orlando and Orange County and in her iconic 1950 “History of Orlando,” Eve Bacon called him a “one man Chamber of Commerce”!

When Florida became a state in 1825 it was said that the interior could never be settled because of the mosquitos, swamps, and alligators - but pioneers proved them wrong. The first “settlement,” Fort Gatlin, was built in 1838 to garrison troops during the 2nd Seminole Indian War. In addition to its mosquitos, alligators, snakes, bears, and wild cats, Central Florida had been home to a few rugged cowboys who rounded up scattered herds of Spanish cattle, making Florida the oldest cattle raising state. Some, like Jacob Summerlin, became known as “cattle barons” and in time became leaders in Orlando, Orange County and Tallahassee.

Cattle was king in Florida and in 1843, Aaron Jernigan, recognized as the first permanent white settler in Orange County, brought his family and six hundred head of cattle to land 2 miles west of the fort. There he built a trading post and “postoffice,” for the rare postal missive. He and a few other scattered settlers fought indians and each other over their cattle and when the Civil War came, they joined the confederate ranks and fought the Yankees.

After the war more intrepid pioneers were drawn to the beautiful and fertile land around the Conway Chain of Lakes and everything south of downtown Orlando became known as Pine Castle. Travel was perilous and the area which had no navigable river. What passed as a road from the nearest steamboat landing on Lake Monroe was nothing more than a sand (or mud) track, and could only be traversed by ox drawn wagons. Cattle was still king but farmers began moving in to service the small but growing county seat. Soon the Old Dixie Highway was surrounded by truck farms, outlying areas were fenced for dairies, and Pine Castle became the breadbasket for Orlando and Orange County.

When the railroad finally arrived in Orange County cattle gave way to oranges as the primary industry. The Pine Castle depot became important for loading oranges for northern markets and for replenishing the water and wood which was needed by steam engines. It also provided entertainment for kids, who gathered there to watch the trains come in.

Today the Pine Castle Historical Society is working hard to develop the Pine Castle History Museum where we can memorialize the ranchers, farmers, dairy families and citrus growers, whose hard work made possible the development of Orlando and Orange County. To help preserve Historic Pine Castle you are invited to join the Pine Castle Historical Society by going to www.pinecastlehistory.org.