| Although Lake Mary’s beginning
dates back to the 19th century, it did not become an
incorporated city until August 7, 1973.Named after the wife of a
minister who settled on the northern shores of the lake, Lake
Mary started as a village of two tiny settlements, Bent's
Station and Belle Fontaine, located along the railroad that ran
between Sanford and Orlando. The Lake Mary Chamber of Commerce
was established in January of 1923. The Chamber has been active
continuously since its inception and is said to be the oldest
one in the state with this distinction.
The City began primarily as a citrus-based agricultural
community. In the early seventies, as the Disney development
surge pushed northward, Lake Mary began to transform into a
semi- rural bedroom community serving Orlando. During the late
eighties and early nineties the city experienced tremendous
growth in residential development as well as economic
development center with hundreds of thousands of square feet of
office, retail and industrial uses. |