HISTORY: West Orange County of yesteryear for week of July 24, 2025

FROM THE ARCHIVES
The Withers-Maguire home in Ocoee was photographed decades before the surrounding neighborhood was urbanized. This beautiful architectural gem was once the home of the Ocoee Historical Society. Its members collected artifacts and history pertaining to the city that celebrates its 100th birthday this year.

Constructed in 1888, it survives today as one of the oldest homes in Orange County. According to the Ocoee Lakeshore Center website: “This remarkable house was the first in Orange County to include closets in the bedrooms and electrical wiring inside the walls. The closets are still there, but the wiring is completely modern. Most lighting is indirect, allowing the rooms to retain many of the original fixtures.”

Thank you to an astute historian who managed to save and share this image along with many others depicting Ocoee’s history.

The mission of the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation is to preserve the heritage and architecture of Winter Garden while creating new cultural experiences. The Foundation also preserves the material culture of West Orange County, using it to educate the area’s youth on the community’s rich history.

THE WAYS WE WERE
90 years ago
Equipped with the Pounds Dual Airless Tires, the Fordson tractor attracted much attention on display at Pounds Motor Company.

80 years ago
The demand for suburban residential property promoted L.A. Grimes real estate agency to cut a 5-acre tract of land into building lots 108 by 280 feet, known as the G.T. Smith subdivision, located 1 mile south of the city near Smith’s Ornamental Nursey on the cross-state highway.

75 years ago
President L.E. Cappleman, of the Winter Garden Chamber of Commerce, revealed the membership list was at 82 members.

Many notable improvements around the grounds of the First Baptist Church were announced by the beautification committee. These improvements included the installation of a beautiful neon sign of the cross of Christ, which flashed on and off. Leonard T. Mann gave the pavement to the church. Shrubbery was added under the direction of Daetwyler Nursery landscape experts. On the beautification committee were C.C. Tyndall, H.H. Joiner, W.L. Mooney and W.H. Walker.

55 years ago
Annual subscriptions to The Winter Garden Times were $3 in the county, $3.50 out of county and $2.50 for students.

Oak Level Baptist Church had a “dinner on the grounds” to welcome its new pastor, Walt Fowler, and bid farewell to the interim pastor, the Rev. John Wetmore.

50 years ago
Before an audience of foreign diplomats and executives of major American corporations, Walt Disney officials unveiled their plans and concepts for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT), including an international World Showcase.

35 years ago
Two Ocoee citizens earned special recognition at a City Commission meeting. John Bateman and Curtis Richards each received Citizen of the Year awards.

30 years ago
Ray Forsythe, of Winter Garden, a massive lineman at both West Orange High School and the University of Central Florida, reported to the Cincinnati Bengals’ mini-camp in Wilmington, Ohio, for the National Football League season.

Main Street Winter Garden, in conjunction with SunBank, First Union, AmSouth, SouthTrust and Barnett banks, created the MSWG Downtown Reinvestment Loan Program. Commercial property owners in downtown Winter Garden were eligible for loans of $5,000 and more for repairs, upgrades and other site improvements of their building and surrounding property.

A multi-million-dollar international sports complex was on Disney’s two-year agenda. The complex, to be located on 200 acres of Disney World property, was planned to accommodate professional-caliber training and competition, festival- and tournament-type events, and vacation-fitness activities in more than 25 individual and team sports.

THROWBACK THURSDAY
JULY 23, 1970
Locals who wanted to shop for clothes in the 1970s had several options in West Orange County, including Penny Saver stores in the West Orange and Ocoee shopping centers. Where else could you get men’s and boys’ tennis shoes for 56 cents, ladies’ stretch denim knee pants for $3.33 or Toddly Winks children’s shirts and pants for 50% off regular price?

For folks ready to venture out a little, they could travel to the B.E. Purcell Company in Sanford. This store, which advertised in The Winter Garden Times, sold everything from clothing and furniture to mattresses and appliances. The store motto was, “We furnish the home. We clothe the family.”