Irlo Overstreet Bronson Sr. (August 3, 1900 – March 3, 1973) was an American Democratic politician, rancher and land owner in the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Bronson is perhaps best known for selling land to Walt Disney as part of the construction of Florida's

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

Biography

Bronson was born into a prominent cattle ranching family in 1900 in

Kissimmee Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

to parents George Cephus and Spicey Vianna (Overstreet) Bronson. His maternal grandfather, Eleazar Lewis Daniel (E.L.D.) Overstreet, had previously served in the Florida House of Representatives. He married Flora Belle Bass, (September 21, 1906 – September 27, 1971) of Kissimmee, daughter of Walter ‘Mann’ Bass and Mary Nancy (Yates) Bass in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

on June 22, 1924. He was elected to the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

in 1942, in which he continued to serve, until his election to the Florida State Senate in 1952. He served as speaker pro tempore in 1953. Bronson is perhaps best known as the owner of some land which

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

purchased that would later become part of the grounds of

. He sold it "without hesitation" for about . Though his family had thought he had given away the land for virtually nothing, it was said that Bronson envisioned "a future that included better career opportunities and incentives for young people to stay." He also was the founder and president of the Florida Cattlemen's Association from 1946 to 1950. A 1952 biography on Bronson described him as "an outstanding factor in the life of Osceola County and the state." Following his death in 1973, a large section of

U.S. Route 192 U.S. Route 192 (US 192) is an east–west route of the United States Numbered Highway system in central Florida. It runs from U.S. Route 27 ( State Road 25) in Four Corners, Lake County, east past Walt Disney World and through Kissimmee, S ...

, including the section leading to the entrance of Walt Disney World, was named the Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in his memory. He was inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1981, and the Mid-Florida Business Hall of Fame on November 14, 1985. His son, Irlo "Bud" Bronson Jr. served originally as a Democrat, later as a Republican, Florida State Representative from District 79, having been initially elected in 1982.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronson, Irlo Overstreet Sr. Businesspeople from Florida People from Kissimmee, Florida Florida state senators Members of the Florida House of Representatives 1900 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American politicians Pork Chop Gang