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Did You Know... City Trivia K - O
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Click the following links for municipalities beginning with the letter:
K | L | M | N | O
Town of Kenneth City
Kenneth City is primarily a bedroom community with minimum commercial business.
Village of Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne is located on the southern-most barrier island in the United States.
City of Key Colony Beach
Key Colony Beach is located on a man-made island built on a small key and filled to form 285 acres.
City of Key West
Key West was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the May/June 2005 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
City of Keystone Heights
J.J. Lawrence of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, settled in Keystone Heights and was responsible for the adoption of the present name in honor of his home state, which is called the "Keystone State."
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City of Kissimmee
Kissimmee was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the May/June 2003 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
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Town of La Crosse
The town derived its name from another town in Wisconsin where the Indian ball game, to which the French had given the name la crosse, was regularly played.
City of LaBelle
LaBelle was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the September/October 2005 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
Town of Lady Lake
Lady Lake has an historic train depot and railroad cars that house its library. The town is known as the "Gateway to Lake County," since it is the first town in the county a motorist from the North passes through.
City of Lake Alfred
The City of Lake Alfred was the site of historic Fort Cummings, where one of the final battles of the Second Seminole Indian War took place.
City of Lake Buena Vista
Lake Buena Vista houses more than 3,700 hotel rooms, the Downtown Disney shopping and entertainment area, the Disney Institute, Lake Buena Vista Golf Course, and Typhoon Lagoon, a 56-acre water park but has a population of only 23.
City of Lake Butler
The city was named for Colonel Robert Butler, who received the surrender of East Florida.
City of Lake City
The city was the site of a Civil War battlefield and the graves for many unknown solders are located in the city cemetery.
Town of Lake Clarke Shores
Each spring, the town hosts a large barbecue for residents at no cost.
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Town of Lake Hamilton
Lake Hamilton is known as "The Top of Florida." Altitude in the town is about 300 feet above sea level.
City of Lake Helen
Early history included citrus, lumber and tourist activities. Recent history includes the city being the original home for the famous Nautilus exercise equipment.
City of Lake Mary
Lake Mary is referred to as the "City of Lakes."
Town of Lake Park
Originally named "Kelsey City," Lake Park was the first zoned municipality in Florida.
Town of Lake Placid
Lake Placid was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the November/December 2002 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
City of Lake Wales
Lake Wales is home to the Bok Tower Gardens, the Depot Museum and Spook Hill. Skydiving operations are popular in the area.
City of Lake Worth
Lake Worth gets its name from a nearby lake, which bears the name of Brigadier General William Jenkins Worth, whose strategy brought the Second Seminole War to a conclusion.
City of Lakeland
Lakeland was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the May/June 2004 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
Town of Lantana
Lantana has received designation as a Tree City USA for many years and has been recognized with a Growth Award numerous times.
City of Largo
Largo hosts many special events including the Renaissance Festival, Holiday Celebration, Halloween Happenings, Circus of the Kids, Santa's Calling, Sneaker Theater, Largo Fall Festival, Concert in the Park Series, Daddy-Daughters Date Night, Mom and Son Event, Target the Park, and a Senior Citizen Kitchen Band and Senior Citizen Acting Group.
Town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the May/June 2003 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
City of Lauderhill
Lauderhill Mall opened in 1966 as the first enclosed air-conditioned mall in the southeastern U.S. The mall property was first used to trap alligators and other animals.
City of Laurel Hill
The City of Laurel Hill was first incorporated in 1905 and was, at that time, a part of Walton County. It became part of Okaloosa County when the county was created in 1915. A lack of interest in politics and the closing of many businesses caused the town to dissolve. It was resurrected as a city June 2, 1953.
City of Lawtey
The city was established in 1877 by a colony of 20 people from Chicago, Illinois.
City of Layton
The Long Key Fishing Club was located here by Henry Flagler during the building of the railroad system to Key West.
Village of Lazy Lake
Lazy Lake is the smallest municipality in Broward County. There is only one road and no city hall, police department or fire department. There are no office buildings, schools, churches, restaurants or gas stations. The City of Wilton Manors surrounds the village on all sides and there is no more room to build houses. The village consists of 13 homes on 13 acres, the maximum allowed by the city charter.
Town of Lee
Lee was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the November/December 2003 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
City of Leesburg
Calvin and Evander Lee established the town in 1853. No name was given it until, according to tradition, Calvin Lee had gone north several years later to order some goods and realized that there was no town name to which they could be consigned. He thought up Leesburg on the spur of the moment, and it stuck.
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City of Lighthouse Point
Lighthouse Point contains 20 acres of parks, 13 miles of bikeways and 18 miles of waterways.
City of Live Oak
Live Oak was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the January/February 2003 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
Town of Longboat Key
The town is located on a barrier island, 11 miles long and .5 to one mile wide. The island was used as a bombing range during early World War II. Longboat Key is one of only three cities in Florida that is located in two counties - Manatee and Sarasota counties.
City of Longwood
Longwood has been named to the National Register of Historic Places.
City of Lynn Haven
Lynn Haven was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the May/June 2003 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
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City of Macclenny
Originally called Darbyville, the town was renamed in 1885 for its founder, H.C. Macclenny, who owned large tracts of land in the vicinity.
Madeira Beach
This community was named for Madeira, Portugal's wine-producing Atlantic island off the continent of Africa.
City of Madison
A little northwest of Madison stood the Spanish mission of Santa Helens de Machaba. The site is on the route of DeSoto and on the upper route of the Old Spanish Trail.
City of Maitland
Fort Maitland was built in the area in 1838 and was named for a Captain William S. Maitland. Until 1959, the city's name was Lake Maitland.
Town of Malabar
One hundred years ago, Spanish seamen used to sail down the Indian River and run aground on a particular disastrous shallow sandbar disguised by the murky water. One Spanish captain, shipwrecked by the hazard, walked out 200 yards into the Indian River. Experiencing only knee-deep water, he cursed the land "Malabar," meaning bad sandbar in Spanish; hence, the name of the city.
Town of Manalapan
It is believed that the town was named after the New Jersey township of Manalapan. The Indian name means "Good Bread."
Town of Mangonia Park
The original Mangonia (incorporated in 1894) was absorbed by West Palm Beach. The present town is located about two miles to the northwest of the original town.
City of Margate
Margate was the first city in Broward County to have a community school.
City of Marco Island
Marco Island was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the January/February 2006 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
City of Marianna
Marianna was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the November/December 2005 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
Town of Marineland
Marineland is among the smallest of incorporated cities in the state. The dolphin population at the Marineland aquarium attraction outnumbers the registered voters. Marineland is one of only three cities in Florida that is located in two counties - St. Johns and Flagler counties.
City of Mary Esther
One version of the naming of the city says that the two names were those of founder's wife and daughter. Another version suggests that they were the names of his two daughters. Both could be true if one daughter had been named after her mother.
City of Mascotte
Mascotte still has only one sidewalk, which was built in 1925 or 1926.
Town of Mayo
Mayo is the only municipality in Lafayette County.
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Town of McIntosh
McIntosh has 68 pre-1940 structures listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The town has an 1890 Festival each year that draws 20,000 to 30,000 people to the community.
Town of Medley
Medley was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the July/August 2006 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
City of Melbourne
Melbourne is known as the "Harbor City," with two fresh water harbors on the saltwater Indian River Lagoon.
Town of Melbourne Beach
Melbourne Beach is the oldest beach community in Brevard County. It sponsors an annual Founder's Day the first Saturday in May.
Town of Melbourne Village
In 1947, a group of people from Dayton, Ohio, came to Florida and bought a .5 square mile of land between Melbourne and West Melbourne. To maintain the area's identity, they named it Melbourne Village.
City of Mexico Beach
In 1946, Gordon Parker, a real estate investor, bought 3.5 miles of beachfront property for $64,000 and named it after the Gulf of Mexico on which it stands. Today, each lot is worth more than $64,000.
City of Miami
One version of the derivation of the name Miami is from an Indian word meaning "sweet water." Another version translates it as "big water," which is said to refer to Lake Okeechobee of which the present Miami River was once an arm. The Chippewas, a group of Algonquin Indians, have a word Miami in their language, which means "people who live on a point," and these Indians lived on a peninsula. There are numerous other speculations involving various Indian dialects, as well as the Spanish language. One speculation goes through Choctaw and arrives at "it is so wide," referring to Lake Okeechobee. Another version uses Spanish to reach "place of complete contentment." Still another quotes an Indian prince as having said to an Indian maid, "You are beautiful"; to which she replied, "My, am I?" None of these versions is authoritative.
Village of Miami Shores Village
Miami Shores Village is called "The Village Beautiful."
City of Miami Springs
Beneath the city's golf course were 23 wells, which supplied fresh water to a large part of greater Miami. In 1930, the city was named Miami Springs in recognition of this precious resource.
Town of Micanopy
Incorporated in 1837, Micanopy is the oldest inland town in Florida.
City of Midway
There are two theories as to how Midway got its name. The dominant theory suggests that since people living in Midway would have to travel to Tallahassee or Quincy to work, shop and bank, either town would be the same distance, or "midway." Theory two suggests that during the early days when the train ran from Jacksonville to Pensacola, the railroad needed a midway drop-off and pick-up point for work crews. Midway was the designated area.
City of Milton
At the time of its founding, Milton was infested with briars and earned itself the nickname "Scratch Ankle." The city hosts an annual Scratch Ankle Festival to celebrate its nickname.
City of Minneola
Minneola was originally in Sumter County, until the boundary was moved. Its name is a Dakota Indian word meaning "many waters."
City of Miramar
The name Miramar means "look to the sea," which was derived from a small suburb in Havana, Cuba.
City of Monticello
The annual Jefferson County Watermelon Festival, celebrated the third week in June, is the city's most prestigious event.
Town of Montverde
The town's name, Spanish for "green hill," referred originally to the hills of citrus groves near the site, although this is now a grape-growing region.
City of Moore Haven
Former Moore Haven Mayor Marion Horowitz is said to be the first woman mayor south of the Mason-Dixon line.
City of Mount Dora
Mount Dora has been referred to as the "New England of the South." It has been recognized nationally as one of the best retirement cities in the U.S.
City of Mulberry
Four large phosphate plants are located in the immediate vicinity of the city. Historically, at a point convenient to all four plants stood a large mulberry tree. Freight for one of the plants was frequently marked "put off at the big mulberry tree" and when a regular railroad agency was set up, the city was given the name Mulberry.
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City of Naples
As early as the 1880s, Naples served as a winter refuge for wealthy Ohioans and Kentuckians, who were attracted by its isolation, natural beauty and abundant wildlife. Naples' landmark is its 1,000-foot city pier and its beautiful white sandy beaches.
City of Neptune Beach
The Florida East Coast Railway played an important part in the development of the area, as it traversed the entire length of Neptune Beach. In a letter dated July 17, 1872, to the mayor and council, Dan Wheeler, Jr., stated that his family had a cottage on the property. His father commuted to and from Jacksonville by train but still had a considerable distance to walk upon returning home. He contacted a friend who worked for the railroad who informed him that if a station were erected, the train would have to stop there. So, Mr. Wheeler, Sr., at his own expense, built a little station and named it "Neptune."
City of New Port Richey
New Port Richey was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the January/February 2004 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
City of New Smyrna Beach
Seven miles south of New Smyrna is Turtle Mound, said to be the only large Indian shell heap to survive to the present day with relatively little damage. Also nearby stood the Spanish mission of Atocuimi.
City of Newberry
The city prospered as a railway and mining center, serving as the southern terminus for the Jacksonville and Southern Railway. Also, Newberry had a tung oil industry in the 1930s.
City of Niceville
Niceville was formerly called "Boggy Bayou" and celebrates an annual Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival on the third weekend in October.
City of North Bay Village
The city became widely known for its popular restaurants and nightclubs, which attracted celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.
City of North Lauderdale
North Lauderdale is known as "The City of Tomorrow."
City of North Miami
For a small city, North Miami supports a large film/video industry. The Museum of Contemporary Art is located in the city.
City of North Miami Beach
North Miami Beach was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the July/August 2003 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
Village of North Palm Beach
North Palm Beach is characterized by an extraordinarily high number of intertwining canals.
City of North Port
Myakka State Forest, which encompasses 8,000 acres, is located within the city limits.
Town of North Redington Beach
North Redington Beach features a Christmas boat parade that is run by other surrounding cities.
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City of Oak Hill
Oak Hill was named for an oak tree that grew on a shell mound near the home of J.D. Mitchell, the first settler.
Town of Oakland
Oakland was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the May/June 2004 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
City of Oakland Park
Oakland Park Elementary School, opened in 1926, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its auditorium was the town's social, political and cultural center throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
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City of Ocala
Most of downtown Ocala was destroyed by fire on Thanksgiving Day in 1883. The town's commercial center was rebuilt in brick, thus the city became known as "The Brick City."
Town of Ocean Ridge
Ocean Ridge is totally located on a barrier island.
City of Ocoee
Ocoee was the site of the pioneer work of Captain B.M. Sims in budding wild orange trees. He started the first commercial citrus nursery in the United States in Ocoee and supplied many of the old groves in Florida with their first young trees. He also shipped many young citrus trees to California.
City of Okeechobee
Okeechobee holds the annual Speckled Perch Festival and Rodeo the second weekend in March. The city is situated at the northern end of an "island sea," a body of water covering 740-square miles, that is a fisherman's paradise!
City of Oldsmar
Oldsmar was featured in the "Did You Know" column of the September/October 2004 issue of Quality Cities. Please click here to view the article.
City of Opa-locka
Opa-locka is patterned after the fictional Dream City in the stories from Tales of the Arabian Nights. The late Glenn Curtiss, a famous aviator, founded it. "The Tale of the Talking Bird," a story of Emperor Kosrousha’s palace and the beautiful garden of Princess Perizade, inspired the design of Opa-locka’s City Hall.
City of Orange City
Orange City is the site of the Blue Springs Manatee Festival and Blue Springs State Park.
Town of Orange Park
The town was named for the orange groves, which flourished here during the 1880s.
Town of Orchid
At the time of incorporation, the town included 1,000 acres of Orchid Island grapefruit, which is said to be the finest grapefruit grown in the world. The majority of the Orchid Island grapefruit is exported to Japan.
City of Orlando
Although several legends attempt to explain how the city got its name, what has become the official version concerns Orlando Reeves, who was on sentinel duty for a camping party while his companions slept. An Indian stealthily approached in the guise of a rolling log. Orlando saw what he was and fired his gun, which woke the other campers and saves their lives. However, the Indian launched an arrow that killed Orlando.
City of Ormond Beach
The Casements Building, now operated as the city’s cultural center, was formerly the home of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
City of Oviedo
Oviedo was named by one of the area's early settlers who selected the name of the capitol of the Spanish province of Asturias. However, the Spanish pronunciation of Ove-yay-do has long since been altered by Floridians to O-vee-do.
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