Celebrating Ocoee's Centennial: 1985-95

The city of Ocoee celebrated its 65th anniversary in 1990 and was in the middle of a decade that brought advanced health care to the city, as well as multiple large-scale forms of entertainment for residents, including the annual Founders’ Day Festival.

HEALTH CENTRAL HOSPITAL
Advances in health care were on the rise in the late 1980s, and by 1990, the area had outgrown West Orange Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1952 in Winter Garden with 40 beds to serve the then-rural community’s surgical, maternity and general health care needs.

In 1993, the Winter Garden facility closed and reemerged as Health Central at 10000 W. Colonial Drive, the site of former orange groves. The total cost of the project was $56.5 million. The hospital was both lauded and criticized for its ultramodern and futuristic architectural design featuring a bright red angular focal point out at the main entrance. The centerpiece of the 260,000-square-foot hospital is a 9,000-square-foot, four-story atrium that connects the various elements of Health Central.

The new hospital — described as a medical mall because of its design — employed close to 400 professionals and support staff, and physicians’ offices were located near their patients in each department. The facility had 216 acute-care beds and a wide range of health care services under one roof in a comprehensive medical center. It boasted a 24-hour emergency center, the Special Deliveries maternity center, Kid Central pediatrics unit, outpatient capabilities and a helipad. Aside from being an acute care hospital, it also served as a retail pharmacy, vision center, catering service and physical therapy provider.

Health Central was a great community partner, too, offering programs to residents, including Senior Central, for the 55-and-older crowd; and the West Oaks Walkers, which included “mall walkers” to meet every morning to exercise indoors in comfort. A big program that expanded annually for many years was the School Nurse Program, which provided nurses in many of the area’s elementary schools.

A multi-million-dollar expansion was completed in 2003, adding 30 inpatient beds, an observation unit, a large recovery unit, spa-like women’s center, advanced cardiac care unit, and expanded emergency room and ambulance bay.

In 2012, the hospital became Orlando Health — Health Central Hospital when it was purchased by Orlando Health. This allowed for many more facility upgrades and expansions on the campus. Four years later, the hospital embarked on a major expansion of the emergency department and opened a new patient tower.

In recent years, the hospital has opened a Heart & Vascular Institute, Digestive Health Institute, Cancer Institute and Primary Stroke Center; and offered programs relating to total joint replacement, spine surgery and bariatric surgery. There also are inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services as well as an outpatient center for laboratory services, radiology and diagnostic imaging.

Last year, the hospital was nationally recognized as a Top Teaching Hospital by The Leapfrog Group and a High-Performing Hospital in five areas by U.S. News & World Report; and Leapfrog gave it a safety grade of straight A’s from 2022 to 2024.

OCOEE FOUNDERS’ DAY

Founders’ Day originally started with a “history focus” and was hosted by the Woman’s Club of Ocoee and the Ocoee Lions Club. 

The city of Ocoee took over the event in 1993. On May 14, 1994, the city produced a program announcing the “First Annual Founders Day Celebration.”

It included a welcome and brief history of Ocoee by Ben Griffin, invocation by Pastor Lester Weldon, presentation of colors and pledge of allegiance by Boy Scout Troop 217 and Scoutmaster Kathryn Boyer, national anthem by Jean Grafton, and acknowledgements and appreciation by Betty Salisbury Hager.

The opening ceremonies took place at the gazebo, which once stood southeast of the Withers-Maguire House. The event included walking and bus tours, old-fashioned games, a chicken pilau lunch fixed by the Ocoee Lions Club and antique bicycle performers. Music was provided by Judie Lewis’ Moonlight Express, The Orange County Band, My Father’s House, Clarcona Elementary School and Gospel Jubilee Singers.

The walking tour stopped at points of interest, including the Withers-Maguire House, Ocoee Hotel, Bank of Ocoee, Marshall Block, Pounds-Salisbury House, Ocoee Christian Church, the site of Ocoee Inn, the first firehouse and a Confederate campsite.

Organizers hosted the first Founders’ Day 5K, which started and ended at West Oaks Mall, in 1998. By 2011, the city partnered with Chick-fil-A to put on the Chick-fil-A 5K and Kids Fun Run.

The event grew in size over the years, adding more concerts and a variety of activities — including carnival rides, games, a classic car show, fishing tournament, poker run, a marketplace with arts and crafts vendors, and a finale of fireworks — and eventually turned into a two- and three-day music festival.

The annual event has hosted big country names such as Tracy Lawrence, Sawyer Brown, Charlie Daniels, Clint Black, Aaron Tippin, Blake Shelton, Ronnie Milsap and Travis Tritt.

In 2020, the city changed the event name to Ocoee Fall Music Festival.

In recent years, the city broadened its musical genres and now offers rock and rap music on Friday night and country music on Saturday. Audiences have been entertained by Tone Loc, Vanilla Ice and Bret Michaels.

The event temporarily was switched to a spring festival, but this year it returns to the fall. It will be held at Bill Breeze Park near the Ocoee Lakeshore Center.