Celebrating Ocoee's Centennial: 2015-2025

In its last decade, the city of Ocoee has experienced growth that extends beyond the construction of subdivisions and retail projects. It also has been a period of healing from a tragedy in the city’s past.

What took place five years before Ocoee was incorporated has haunted the municipality for more than 100 years, but city officials have acknowledged the brutal incident and worked to mend the hurt to heal and move forward.

It was Nov. 2, 1920, Election Day, and members of Ocoee’s black community were either killed or run out of town by white supremacists who were trying to keep the community from voting. It would be known as the Ocoee Massacre, and for the next century, the city never officially acknowledged this dark period in its history.

In the 1920 census, Ocoee was home to 255 black residents; the 1930 census registered two.

After that, no black residents were identified in census records again until the mid-1970s.

A group of businessmen created the West Orange Reconciliation Task Force in 1989 to honor the memory of the lives lost in 1920. This led to the formation of the Ocoee Human Relations Diversity Board, a group of volunteers whose objective was to promote understanding, respect, goodwill and equality among all citizens and businesses of Ocoee.

2018 and 2019 signified a turning point for Ocoee when the George Oliver III and Larry Brinson were the first two black residents elected to serve on the City Commission.

The city issued a formal proclamation in November 2018 expressing regret and horror at the events of November 1920, as well as its recognition of the event and the city’s dedication to changing the community culture.

“Let it be known that Ocoee shall no longer be the sundown town but the sunrise city,” the proclamation read.

In addition, the HRDB planned a weeklong agenda, from Nov. 1 to 8, 2020, dedicated to programs and events to honor the lives lost 100 years prior while educating the public.

Mayor Rusty Johnson stood before a crowd on the final day and read the city’s formal apology.

“Today, Nov. 8, 2020, we the elected officials of the city of Ocoee have chosen to invite each of you here to openly, publicly and sincerely admit, acknowledge and forever voice our displeasure over the inhumane acts of terror committed against the African American community of Ocoee,” Johnson said. “Let us be clear and completely candid. Those of us gathered here today will forever bear testimony to the efforts of the city of Ocoee and its citizens to move forward into the future knowing that we are a culturally diverse, modern community with eyes set on a conscious unification.

“Therefore we, the elected officials of the city of Ocoee, Florida, do hereby and herewith officially extend to each and every member of the community of Ocoee, of 1920, and to each descendent both living today or deceased, our deepest apology for each and every atrocity that was committed against those individuals,” Johnson continued.

The week concluded with the unveiling of a historical marker at the southeast corner of Bill Breeze Park that recounts the events of Election Day 1920.

In 2024, the city of Ocoee unveiled a memorial at Unity Park to honor the lives disrupted and the lives lost in 1920, paying tribute to the individuals in the black community who called Ocoee home. The park is at 130 N. Cumberland Ave.

IMPROVED WORKPLACE AT NEW CITY HALL

City employees moved into a new City Hall on Bluford Avenue closer to downtown McKey Street in 2022. The three-story, 46,000-square-foot facility features modern resources that support the city's continued growth and development.

The first floor has the commission chambers and the service departments. The city clerk’s office and other administrative space is on the second floor. The commissioners’ offices and conference room are on the third floor.

Each floor has its own kitchen, dining area and conference room. And there is enough space for staff expansion in the future.

The facility was built with a health and wellness theme in mind. There are stand-up desks, an outdoor eating area for employees and water bottle fillers on every floor.

The conference rooms have the latest video conferencing technology, and the Ocoee TV and Commission Chambers have cutting-edge broadcasting equipment and capabilities. Those improvements make it easier to control and manage broadcasts during commission meetings.

City Hall is a central part of the city’s downtown redevelopment plan. The master plan includes more than $44 million capital projects that aim to enhance the public spaces in downtown Ocoee and some of the key infrastructure of the city.

NOTABLE NEWS

2017: When James “Buddy” Elmore was hired by the city of Ocoee in 1972, the population was less than 4,000. When he retired — as the longest-serving employee — 34 years later from the Public Works Department, it was closer to 40,000. He was instrumental in bringing many of the safety programs to Ocoee when it had none.

2017: Scott Vandergrift, the longest-serving Ocoee mayor, died at the age of 77. He championed many causes dear to his heart in his hometown of Ocoee, whether it was having a light installed on a dark street or getting the new high school emblazoned with the city's name. His family described him as cantankerous, witty, eccentric and a beloved icon and said he died just as he lived — as a fighter and a legend. Vandergrift served as an Ocoee city commissioner from 1967 to 1969 and as mayor from 1973 to 1975 and again from 1992 until his retirement in 2015.

Vandergrift frequently was spotted driving his white Prius (his “mayor mobile”) and wearing his shirts, hats and ties that promoted his beloved city. He had several schticks, including handing out butterfly pins and “get out of jail free” cards.

2018: George Oliver III made history when he was appointed as Ocoee’s first black city commissioner.

2019: A second black man, Larry Brinson — a retired U.S. Marine who served his country for more than 20 years — was voted in as city commissioner.

2019: Manheim Orlando, the nation’s second-largest used-car reconditioning center, opened its new state-of-the-art body shop and reconditioning center in 2019.

2020: Central Park, in the heart of Ocoee’s Little League and Pop Warner fields, was renamed Vandergrift Central Park in memory of the former mayor.

2021: Ocoee made a groundbreaking move by appointing Saima Plasencia as the city’s first female police chief.

2022: City officials broke ground on Healthy West Orange Wellness Park across from the Ocoee Police Department on South Bluford Avenue. The five-acre park features a half-mile multipurpose trail around both ponds and four shaded wellness stations. A shaded pavilion sits in the middle of the pond, connected to both sides of the trail by a boardwalk.

2022: Westyn Plaza, a new shopping center in Ocoee, opened with 10 stores offering everything from pizza, wine and tacos to haircuts, shopping services and insurance.

2022: Commissioners voted in favor of bringing to the city The Dynasty | Ocoee, a $1 billion, 159-acre regional sports and entertainment complex. It will be situated in the southeast corner of Ocoee-Apopka and Fullers Cross roads with more than a dozen sports fields and a state-of-the-art indoor facility for mainly youth sports tournaments and other athletic events; a comprehensive mixed-use pedestrian riverwalk lined with restaurant, retail and entertainment spaces; and one large and one smaller boutique hotel that will offer a combined 1,100 rooms. Jaime and Anne-Marie Douglas are the CEO and president of the Montierre Development team behind the project.

2023: Ocoee opened Action Sports Park, the city’s first skate park and pump track, at Vandergrift Central Park on Flewelling Avenue. It features street-style elements, including raps, stairs, rails, grind box, competition-level pump track and wall ride.

2023: Mattie “Jean” Grafton, the former city clerk who served her hometown of Ocoee for 30 years and was known for her love of laughter, family, fierce friendships and traveling the world, died at the age of 92. She was a lifelong resident of Ocoee and attended the original Ocoee High School, where she performed as a cheerleader, played on the girls basketball team and was named Miss Ocoee High School.

2023: Orange Technical College – West Campus broke ground across from Ocoee High School in Ocoee in February. OTC moved from its original location on Story Road in Winter Garden to the new campus, 2010 Ocoee-Apopka Road, in 2024.

2024: Vincent L. Ogburn Sr. marked a milestone in Ocoee as the city’s first black police chief.

IN THEIR HONOR AND MEMORY

Unity Park is dedicated to the memory of the black residents who called Ocoee home in 1920:

William Aker, Ida Aker, Kathy May Aker, Mattie Lou Aker, William Aker, Emma Aker, Rufus Aker, Albert Aker, Levy Alexander, Edward Alexander, Rosa Alexander, Garfield Anderson, Janey Bell Anderson, Sidney Anderson, Edgar Anderson, Benjamin Anderson, Amanda Anderson, Wesley Barnes, Ernest Battsay, Lula Battsay, Randolph Battsay, Anna Battsay, Alice Battsay, Bessie Battsay, Martin Blackshear, Forndyce Blackshear, Morgan Blackshear, Ursham Blackshear, Pearl Blackshear, Stella Blackshear;

And Sanborne Blue, Lilly Blue, Prince Boatright, Ella Boatwright, LuAnn Bostwick, Alonzo Brown, Lois Brown, Jake Brown, Simon Canty, Henrietta Carmichael, Nathan Carter, Rosey Carter, Nathan Chandler, Thomas Dennis, Thomas Denny, Lucinda Denny, Edward Dighs, Wilana Dighs, Gregory Dozier, Illa Dozier, James Dozier, Mabel Dozier, Albert Elder, John Edwards, Genie Edwards, Osteen Edwards, William Edwards, Marcus Edwards, Gussie Edwards, John Edy, Rosa Edy, Ernett Edy, Josephus Edy, Thomas Findley, Morris Finley, Pearl Finley, James Fore, Daniel Franks, Carrie Franks, Richard Allen Franks, Forest Franks, Lea Franks, Frank Franks, Olive Freeman, Herman Futch, Cyrus Green, Sabby Green, Charles Green, Sally Green, Victoria Green, Jeremiah Green, Willis Green, Walter Green, Eva Green, Racy Green, Wilton Green;

And James Hall, George Hamilton, Jackson Hamiter, Annie Hamiter, Hattie Hamiter, Rosa Hamiter, Lafayette Hamiter, John Hickey, Lucy Hickey, Thomas Hickey, Theodara Hickey, John Hickey, Valentine Hightower, Janie Hightower, Annie Hightower, Josephus Hightower, Gregory Hightower, Jackson Hines, Lucie Hines, Lela Mary Hines, James Howard, DeForest Jackson, Lorrenza Jackson, Lena Jackson, Arizona Jackson, Etta Jackson, Essy Jackson, Flora Bell Jackson, Andrew Jackson, Esther Jackson, Rosa Jackson, Katie Bell Jackson;

And Freddie Jackson, Infant Jackson, Henry Jackson, Hopka Johnson, Julia Johnson, James Johnson, Fredrick Johnson, Grafus Johnson, Early Jones, Eda Jones, Richard Jones, Jackson Kammton, Annie Kammton, Andrew Karas, Lula Karas, James Langnad, Eva Langnad, Starland Langnad, Richard Lynch, Fanny Lynch, William McRas, Dida McRas, William Miller, William Milton, Katie Milton, Mindy Milton, Thomas Minor, Duncan Monroe, Annie Lee Monroe, Rocky Moore, Daisy Moore, Annie M. Moore, Leola Moore, William Moore, Alfred Moore, Imogene Moore, Alonzo Morris, Mary Morris, Aaron Morris, Wille Morris, Charles Morris, Milma Morris, Alonzo Morris, Minnie Morris, Aaron Morris, William Norris Abraham Morris, Helvina Morris;

And Robert Naly, Hattie Naly, Mary Naly, Ida Naly, John Naly, Paul Naly, George Naly, John Nealy, Edna Nealy, Stephan Nelson, Julia Nelson, Ellen Nelson, Edward Nelson, James Nesson, Anna Nesson, George Nesson, Jenny Nesson, Louis Nesson, Moses Norman, Henry Parrish, Arthur Parrish, Perry Pengee, Eloise Pengee, Camilla Pengee, Cory Pengee, Edna Pengee, Edwin Pengee, Isaiah Perry, Julius Perry, Stella Perry, Corycha Perry, Charles Perry, Clifford Perry, Louise Perry, Adolph Perry, John Poe, Anna Poy, Alexander Roberts, Maggie Roberts, Arthur Roberts, Blanche Roberts, Robert Roberts, James Roe, Essie Roe, Bertha Roe, Gussie Roe, Edward Roe, Charles Rose, Emma Rose;

And Aaron Rostick, Molly Rostick, Herman Rostick, John Shank, Delia Shank, Alonzo Shank, Martin Shank, John Henry Shank, Story Simmons, Odessy Simmons, Viola Simmons, Willie Simmons, Roosevelt Simmons, George Simmons, Bessie Simpson, Clarence Simpson, Cornelius Simpson, Victoria Slater, Mica Slater, Jesse Surrency, Grace Surrency, Anna Louise Surrency, Darrall Surrency, Pearl Surrency, Ruth Surrency, Caroline Thomas, Wilson Thomas, Charles Trembel, Stella Trembel, Peter Turner, Wade Warn, Rose Warn, Ramon Warn, Bulah Warn, Wilbur Warn, Edward Warn, Boyd Warn, Wade Warren, Rhina Warren, Rosie Warren, Porter Warren, William Warren, Edward Warren, Infant Warren, William Wheeler and Lims Younger.