Taken predominantly from the museum’s collection, maps from the 1830s to the present can be seen in the exhibit, many of which are originals. The Orange County 1890 Map, which includes both Orange and Seminole Counties before they split into separate designations, is on exhibit and is noteworthy because its creator, J.O. Fries, took the extra step of adding landowners’ names to the map.
It was an addition that would pay off later; the Census Records for Orange County, Florida stored in the National Archive in Washington, D.C. were burned in a fire. The Orange County Map 1890 is one of the few remaining records of landowners in this area. A 22-minute video documents the story of the restoration of this rare map.
Viewers can see maps from Seminole County towns that chronicle the development of the region; for example, an aerial map shows Sanford’s Celery Delta under cultivation and another depicts a bird’s eye view of the city of Longwood in 1885.
Another map shows the date and landfall of all hurricanes that have hit from the coast of Texas to Florida. The Historic Map exhibit also features surveyor’s tools from the mid-1900s and a light wood surveying marker used by an early land surveyor in the 1850s.
The Museum of Seminole County History is located at 300 Bush Blvd. in Sanford and is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Admission for adults is $3 plus tax; children over 4 cost $1 plus tax and under 4 are free. For details, call 407-665-2489.