Oviedo, My Hometown...

"George Gould might have been doing his bit to improve downtown Oviedo, but others had more permanent changes in mind. In 1909 the Ladies’ Club raised $100 to buy trees to set along the roadways. In the same year the same club was responsible for paving a sidewalk along Central Avenue. About the same time, the first telephone exchange came to town, enabling people in Oviedo to communicate with Orlando and other places on short notice. Oviedo was already less isolated.

In 1911 some citizens were showing interest in getting together to improve the town further. What may have been the forerunner of city government came to pass that year when several met to organize the Oviedo Board of Trade and to plan for the town’s growth. B.F. Wheeler was elected chairman and T.C. Brannon secretary of the meeting, which then chose B.G. Smith as president, J.B. Jones vice-president, E.T. Chusing secretary, and T.W. Lawton treasurer. They even secured pledges of $200 to $300 toward building a city hall. The city hall, of course, was not built, and the Board of Trade sputtered along for several years. By 1914 it was necessary to reorganize it with T.W. Lawton as president, Ed Farnell as vice-president, and N.F. Lezette as secretary-treasurer. Then in 1918 O.P. Swope spearheaded another reorganization that elected Dr. C.J. Marshall president and Henry Bunn McCall secretary. Even in 1919 the townspeople were still trying to get the Board of Trade under way, but not much happened until the town was formally chartered and a council elected in 1925."

From the writings of “Oviedo – Biography of a Town” by Richard Adicks & Donna Neely

Do you know how your town was started? Maybe you can take a couple of minutes this July 4th to find out. It's a great way to learn a little more about where you live.

if you come across something funny or interesting please send me a note. I love to read about everything hometown!

Tracy@OviedoChicks.com

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