Apopka, Florida

==History==
The earliest known inhabitants of the Apopka area were the [[Acuera]] people, members of the [[Timucua]] confederation.  They had disappeared by 1730, probably decimated by diseases transmitted through Florida by Spanish colonists.

The Acuera were succeeded by refugees from [[Alabama]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], who formed the new [[Seminole]] Indian tribe.  They called the area ''Ahapopka''. Aha, meaning "Potato," and papka, meaning "eating place". By the 1830s, this settlement numbered about 200, and was the birthplace of the chief Coacoochee (known in English as "[[Wild Cat (Seminole)|Wild Cat]]").

At the conclusion of the [[Second Seminole War]], the U.S. Congress passed the [[Armed Occupation Act]] of 1842, forcing surviving natives at Ahapopka to abandon their village and seek refuge deeper in the wilderness of the Florida peninsula.

The early American settlers built a major trading center on the foundations of the earlier Indian settlement.  Their population was large enough by 1857 to support the establishment of a [[Masonic lodge]]. In 1859 the lodge erected a permanent meeting place at what is now the intersection of Main Street ([[U.S. Route 441 in Florida|U.S. Highway 441]]) and Alabama Avenue. [[File:The Lodge Apopka, FL.JPG|thumb|This is the 1859 historic building, The Lodge, that became the central point of the 1 mile square formation of the City of Apopka.]]

===The Lodge===
The settlers in the vicinity of "The Lodge" were largely isolated during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], but the area rebounded once peace was re-established, and a population boom followed the construction of railroad lines through the region.

In 1869, the Apopka Post Office opened.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postmasterfinder/welcome.htm |title=United States Postal Service Postmaster Finder |publisher=United States Postal Service |date=2017 |access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref>

===Town of Apopka City===
In 1882, the one mile in each direction of "The Lodge" or "Fudge Hall" was officially incorporated under the name "Town of Apopka City".<ref name=TownInc>Orange County, Misc. Book No3; Apopka, City Election Proceedings, p. 255.; History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County Florida. J. Shofner, Ed.. 1982.</ref> In the 1890s, the town was contracted in size more than once due to difficult times.<ref>History of Apopka and Northwest Orange County Florida. J. Shofner, Ed.. 1982.</ref>

In 1905, the Apopka City Council authorized incorporation of the Apopka Water, Light, and Ice Company. Councilman A.M. Starbird was appointed its manager, but it was not until voters approved a $9,000 bond in 1914 that he was able to contract with [[International Harvester]] Corporation to construct a power plant, so electricity was not available in the city until February 10, 1915. This independent utility company was one of many that were acquired by the Florida Public Service Corporation in the 1920s. They continued to manage the city's utility needs until the 1940s, when they sold off its ice plants to the Atlantic Company, its electric service to [[Florida Power Corporation]], and its water services to Florida Utilities.

Between 1937 and 1968 a town ordinance forbade Black residents from living north of the railroad tracks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dowdell v. City of Apopka, Fla., 511 F. Supp. 1375 (M.D. Fla. 1981) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/511/1375/1429718/ |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref>

===Historic buildings===
Five buildings in Apopka have been placed on the [[U.S. National Register of Historic Places]] through the Apopka Historical Society housed in the [[Museum of the Apopkans]].

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year Built !! Building Name !! Address || Image
|-
| 1918 || [[Apopka Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot]] || 36 E Station St || 
[[File:Apopka Seaboard Depot01.jpg|thumb|upright|Apopka Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot]]
|-
| 1886 || [[Waite-Davis House]] || 5 S Central Ave || [[File:Apopka Waite-Davis House01.jpg|thumb|upright|Waite-Davis House]]
|-
| 1887 || [[Mitchell-Tibbetts House]] || 21 E Orange St || 
[[File:Apopka Mitchill-Tibbetts House01.jpg|thumb|upright|Mitchell-Tibbetts House]]
|-
| 1920 || [[Ryan & Company Lumber Yard]] || 215 E Fifth St || 
[[File:Apopka Ryan Bros Lumber01.jpg|thumb|upright|Ryan & Company Lumber Yard]]
|-
| 1932 || [[Carroll Building (Apopka, Florida)]] || 407-409 S Park Ave || 
[[File:Apopka Carroll Bldg01.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Carroll Building]]
|}