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Kissimmee (FL)

Kissimmee, Florida
City
City of Kissimmee
The Osceola County courthouse in October 2009
The Osceola County courthouse in October 2009
Flag of Kissimmee, Florida
Flag
Official seal of Kissimmee, Florida
Seal
Motto: "A community of neighborhoods for families!"
Location in Osceola County and the state of Florida
Location in Osceola County and the state of Florida
U.S. Census Map
U.S. Census Map
Coordinates: 28°18′14″N 81°24′46″W / 28.30389°N 81.41278°W / 28.30389; -81.41278Coordinates: 28°18′14″N 81°24′46″W / 28.30389°N 81.41278°W / 28.30389; -81.41278
Country  United States of America
State  Florida
County Osceola
Incorporated 1883
Government
 • Type Council-Manager
 • Mayor Jim Swan
 • City Manager (1984–2010) Mark Durbin
 • City Manager (2010-present) Mike Steigerwald
 • City Attorney Don Smallwood
Area
 • City 17.32 sq mi (44.8 km2)
 • Land 16.68 sq mi (43.2 km2)
 • Water .64 sq mi (1.6 km2)  3.7%
Elevation 49 ft (15 m)
Population (2012)
 • City 80,400
 • Density 4,600/sq mi (1,800/km2)
 • Metro 2,267,846
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 34741-34747, 34758-34759
Area code(s) 321, 407
FIPS code 12-36950
GNIS feature ID 0285145
Website http://www.kissimmee.org/

Kissimmee (/kˈsɪm/ kə-SIM-ee) is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 59,682. It is the county seat of Osceola County. Kissimmee is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2010 population of 2,134,411.

The area was originally named Allendale, after Confederate Major J. H. Allen who operated the first cargo steamboat along the Kissimmee River – the Mary Belle. It was renamed Kissimmee when incorporated as a city in 1883. The etymology of the name Kissimmee is debated, apart from general agreement that it is Native American in origin. Its growth can be credited to Hamilton Disston of Philadelphia, who based his four-million acre (8,000 km2) drainage operation out of the small town. Disston had contracted with the financially wobbly state of Florida to drain its southern lands, for which he would own half of all he successfully drained. This deal made Disston the largest single landowner in the United States.

Disston's dredging and land speculation required a small steamboat industry to transport people and goods along the new waterway. The Kissimmee shipyard was responsible for building most of these large steamships, which were just one jump ahead of civilization—with Kissimmee as the jumping off point. Concurrently, the South Florida Railroad was growing and extended the end of its line from Sanford down to Kissimmee, making the town on Lake Tohopekaliga a transportation hub for Central Florida. On February 12, 1885, the Florida Legislature incorporated the Kissimmee City Street Railway.


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