Sanford is a city and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Seminole County, Florida Seminole County (, ) is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 470,856, making it the 13th-most populated county in Florida. Its county seat and largest city is Sanfo ...

, United States. It is located in

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

and its population was 61,051 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City", Sanford sits on the southern shore of Lake Monroe at the

head of navigation The head of navigation is the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships. Determining the head of navigation can be subjective on many streams, as the point may vary greatly with the size or the draft of the ship b ...

on the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River () is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders 12 counties. The drop in elevation from River s ...

. Native Americans first settled the area thousands of years before the city was formed. The

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

s arrived in the area in the 18th century. During the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

in 1836, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

established Camp Monroe and built a road now known as Mellonville Avenue. Sanford is about northeast of

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

. Sanford is home to

Seminole State College of Florida Seminole State College of Florida is a public college based in Sanford, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida College System. History Established by the Florida Legislature in 1965 as Seminole Junior College, the school began ope ...

and the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Its downtown attracts tourists with shops, restaurants, a marina, and a lakefront walking trail called the Sanford Riverwalk. The

Orlando Sanford International Airport Orlando Sanford International Airport is a commercial, public use airport in Sanford, Florida, United States, near Orlando. It was built as Naval Air Station Sanford, a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance aircraft, ...

, in the heart of the town, functions as the secondary commercial airport for international and domestic carriers in the Orlando metropolitan area.

History

Early history

The Mayaca or Jororo Indians inhabited the shores of Lake Monroe at the time of European contact. By 1760, however, war and disease had decimated the tribe, which would be replaced by the

. Florida was acquired by the United States from Spain in 1821, but the

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

would delay settlement. In 1835, during the

the port of Palatka on the

, then the major artery into

from the East Coast, was burned. Consequently, a U.S. Army

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

was established upstream, on the southern side of Lake Monroe near a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

. Established as Camp Monroe in 1836, the site was enclosed by log breastwork on three sides but open to the river, with approximately 300 men based there. The camp was attacked by allied Seminoles on February 8, 1837. It would be strengthened and renamed Fort Mellon in honor of Captain Charles Mellon, the sole American casualty of the attack. During the war, General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

had a road built connecting a string of military defenses from Lake Monroe to

Fort Brooke Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River (Florida), Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native S ...

(now

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

). The town of Mellonville was founded around Fort Mellon in 1842 by Daniel Stewart. In 1845,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

became a

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

. That same year, Mosquito County was renamed Orange County and the

was moved from

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

to Mellonville. Orange groves were planted, with the first fruit packing plant built in 1869.

Early years as Sanford

In 1870, "General" Henry Shelton Sanford bought to the west of Mellonville and laid out the community of Sanford. Believing it would become a transportation hub, he called it "The Gateway City to South Florida." Sanford imported two colonies of

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

(totaling about 150 adults) as

indentured servants Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or ser ...

to labor a year for their travel expenses. The Swedes would do the back-breaking work of establishing a new town and clearing the sub-tropical wilderness in advance of creating a citrus empire, arriving by

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

in 1871. Incorporated in 1877 with a population of 100, Sanford absorbed Mellonville in 1883. In April of that year, President Chester A. Arthur arrived by steamer to vacation for a week at the Sanford House, a lakeside hotel built in 1875 and expanded in 1882. Meanwhile, Sanford was becoming a hub of rail transportation. The

South Florida Railroad The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. It served as the southernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's ma ...

opened a

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

route from Sanford to Orlando in 1880, and eventually built a connection to the Port of Tampa by the end of 1883. The

standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railroad opened a route from Sanford to

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

in 1886, completing a rail link across the peninsula. The Orange Belt Railway, another narrow-gauge line, was established in 1885 and reached

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

in 1888. (All three of these railroads would become part of the

Plant System The Plant System, named after its owner, Henry B. Plant, was a system of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. South, taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system was the Savannah, Florida and Western ...

in the 1890s, and the narrow-gauge lines were standardized.) Easy access to transportation soon made the area the largest shipper of oranges in the world. In 1887, the city suffered a devastating fire, followed the next year by a statewide epidemic of yellow fever. When the

Great Freeze The Great Freeze was a period of back-to-back freezes during the winter of 1894–95 in the Southern United States, particularly notable for destroying much of the citrus crop in Northern Florida. Entire communities, such as Earnestville, fa ...

of 1894 and 1895 ruined the citrus industry, farmers diversified by growing vegetables as well.

Celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'' Dulce Group or ''Apium graveolens'' var. ''dulce'') is a cultivated plant belonging to the species ''Apium graveolens'' in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times. The original wild ...

was first planted in 1896, and because of this Sanford is nicknamed the "Celery City." On December 1, 1891, merchant William Clark and registered African American voters of Goldsboro incorporated as a town just to the southwest of Sanford. In 1878, Mrs. Henry Sanford created the first library for public use in Sanford. A room was provided with a few books and a paid librarian. The initial library failed. In 1889, Mrs. Thrasher and Mrs. A.M. Deforest attempted to revive the library project with the aid of the Wednesday Club, the president, Mrs. Brown encouraged the women to begin fundraising efforts. The effort's fundraising progress was slow and sporadic. A Subscription library was established in a storefront on First Street. Mrs. Duver was the librarian at this location. The library later moved to Magnolia Avenue next to the theatre at this location the library was run by volunteers. The library grew at this location, until it moved in 1914 to the Women's Club on Oak Avenue. An official Public Library was built and opened in 1924 on 5th Street. This library was supported by the City of Sanford.

20th century

In 1911, the community of Sanford Heights seceded from Sanford, because of discord over municipal services provided by Sanford. This added to concerns that Sanford's ability to expand would be constrained by the surrounding towns of Goldsboro, Georgetown and Sanford Heights, as well as Lake Monroe to the west. Florida State Representative and former Sanford mayor Forrest Lake led legislative efforts to curtail Sanford Heights' ability to incorporate as an independent entity. Goldsboro was also a target in Forrest Lake's annexation process, prompting Goldsboro's leaders to start a letter writing campaign to local newspapers. On April 6, 1911, the Sanford city council passed a resolution to annex Goldsboro and on April 26, 1911, the Florida legislature passed the Sanford Charter Bill, dissolving the incorporation of both Sanford and Goldsboro, and reorganizing Sanford as a city that included Goldsboro within its boundaries. In 1913, Sanford became the county seat of Seminole County, created from Orange County. Agriculture continued to dominate the economy until 1940, when it proved cheaper to cultivate produce in frost-free

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

Naval aviation

In 1942,

Naval Air Station Sanford Naval Air Station Sanford was a naval air station of the United States Navy in Sanford, Florida, approximately 20 miles north of Orlando, Florida. Opening less than a year after the start of World War II, NAS Sanford's initial function was as ...

was established, which conducted operational training in the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura, Lockheed PBO Hudson, Grumman F4F/General Motors FM-1 Wildcat and the

Grumman F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...

. At its peak in 1943–45, NAS Sanford was home to approximately 360 officers, 1500 enlisted men and 150

WAVES United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942, ...

and included an auxiliary airfield to the east near Lake Harney known as Outlying Field Osceola. The base was inactivated and reduced to caretaker status in 1946, but was reactivated in 1950 in response to the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. A major construction program ensued, with NAS Sanford redeveloped as a Master Jet Base for carrier-based

Douglas A-3 Skywarrior The Douglas A-3 Skywarrior is a jet-powered strategic bomber that was developed and produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was designed by Douglas on behalf of the United States Navy, which sought a carrier-capable strategic bomber. In ...

and later North American A-5A and RA-5C Vigilante aircraft. At its peak in the mid-1960s, the base was home to nearly 4000 military personnel, comprising the air station personnel complement, an Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department, the Navy Dispensary, the Marine Barracks, a Replacement Air Group/Fleet Replacement Squadron for the RA-5C, and nine deployable Fleet RA-5C squadrons that routinely deployed aboard large aircraft carriers to the Mediterranean and the Pacific. The latter were heavily engaged in combat operations during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. As a result of the increasing costs of the Vietnam War and concurrent federal domestic spending related to President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

Great Society The Great Society was a series of domestic programs enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the United States between 1964 and 1968, aimed at eliminating poverty, reducing racial injustice, and expanding social welfare in the country. Johnso ...

social programs, NAS Sanford was one of several stateside military installations identified for closure by the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

in 1967. Flight operations were rapidly scaled down during 1968 as the squadrons of Reconnaissance Attack Wing ONE transferred to the former Turner AFB, renamed Naval Air Station Albany, Georgia. This resulted in a significant economic downturn for the City of Sanford and Seminole County with the departure of all military personnel and their families. The airfield was conveyed to the City of Sanford via quitclaim deed by the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...

(GSA) in 1969, renamed Sanford Airport and redeveloped as a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

facility. Subsequently renamed Sanford Regional Airport, then Central Florida Regional Airport, the airport commenced commercial airline service in 1995 and was renamed

the following year. The Navy's presence is commemorated at the airport by two historical markers and the NAS Sanford Memorial Park, which was dedicated on Memorial Day in May 2003 and includes a restored RA-5C Vigilante on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum that was placed on permanent static display at the entrance to the commercial airline terminal.

Tourism

The opening of

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

in October 1971 shifted the economy of Central Florida away from agriculture, military installations, defense/aerospace industries, and the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

crewed and uncrewed space programs, and further towards tourism, service industries and residential development, the center of which is

. But because of Sanford's former preeminence as a trade center, the city retains a significant collection of older commercial and residential architecture, on streets shaded by live oaks hung with

Spanish moss Spanish moss (''Tillandsia usneoides'') is an Epiphyte, epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon large trees in tropical and subtropical climates. It is native to much of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central America, South America (as far ...

. Its location on Lake Monroe and access to the navigable waterway of the

has made it Central Florida's additional center for numerous marinas, allowing access for pleasure boats and commercial vessels to and from the Atlantic Ocean and the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...

via

and Mayport to the north.

Jackie Robinson

Sanford Field, built in 1926, was the location where Jackie Robinson first took the field to play as a member of a racially-integrated baseball team. Robinson arrived at

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

in early 1946 for

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club ( Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

, a minor league affiliate of the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

. Since the Dodgers organization did not own a spring training facility, training took place at several local baseball stadiums, including Sanford Field. Robinson's presence on the team was controversial in racially charged Florida. He was not allowed to stay with his white teammates at the team hotel, and many other local towns prevented the team from playing while he was part of the roster. The police chief in Sanford had threatened to cancel the game there if Robinson was to play. Robinson joined his team despite the threat, but the uproar from the mainly white audience in the stands caused him to be escorted off the field and he was not able to play. Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium was built in 1951 near the site of the old Sanford Field as the Spring Training Facility of the New York Giants. The ballpark is located just south of Lake Monroe on Mellonville Avenue, less than a mile from Historic Downtown Sanford. Other Major League stars have played in the Sanford stadiums, including

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

Tim Raines Timothy Raines Sr. (born September 16, 1959), nicknamed "Rock",Raines received this nickname at an Expo rookie camp when he was seventeen, based on his physique. is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a left ...

, and David Eckstein.

21st century

Sanford was in the news in 2012 due to the

killing of Trayvon Martin On the evening of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States, George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, who was visiting his father while suspended from his Miami-area school. Zimmerman, a 28-yea ...

and the actions taken by the Sanford Police Department. A city streetscaping project began in 2004 as city leaders sought to attract new businesses and visitors to downtown. By 2016, downtown Sanford was becoming known as a center for craft beer production in Central Florida, with two microbreweries, a home brewing supplier, and at least five other pubs focused on craft beers.

Geography

The approximate coordinates for the City of Sanford is located at . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and of which is water. Sanford is bordered by Lake Mary to the southwest and to the north by Lake Monroe and DeBary.

Climate

Like the rest of

, Sanford experiences a warm

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

with dry warm winters and wet hot summers. The dry season lasts from October to May, while the wet season is from June to September.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 61,051 people, 22,236 households, and 14,084 families residing in the city. According to the 2020

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, there were 2.66 persons per household and the population per square mile was 2,589.21. By age, the population in 2020 was split with 6.4% under 5 years old, 23.3% under 18 years old, and 12.4% 65 years and over. 49.2% of the population were female persons. In 2020, the median value of owner-occupied housing units was $196,100. The median gross rent was $1,255. 94.7% of the households had a computer and 86.9% had a broadband internet subscription. In 2020, 89.3% of the population 25 years and older were high school graduates or higher and 25.9% of that same population had a bachelor's degree or higher. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 53,570 people, 18,911 households, and 11,379 families residing in the city.

Transportation and infrastructure

Aviation

The

(SFB) provides some international and commuter airline service for central Florida. Approximately 2.9 million passengers used SFB in 2017.

Bicycling

The Sanford Riverwalk is a multi-use trail including around Lake Monroe and a connector to the Florida's Coast to Coast connector—linking the west and east coasts of central Florida.

Bus

Sanford has multiple

Lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

bus routes serving various destinations including its historic downtown, Seminole State College, the Sanford Sunrail Station, and its mall (

Seminole Towne Center Seminole Towne Center was a super-regional enclosed shopping mall in Sanford, Florida. The mall was located at the interchange between Interstate 4, Seminole County Expressway (SR 417), and Wekiva Parkway (SR 429), approximately n ...

Rail

Sanford is the southern terminus of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Auto Train ''Auto Train'' is an scheduled daily train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando, Florida, Orlando). ''Auto Train'' is the only mot ...

which conveys Eastern Seaboard travelers and their vehicles to

Lorton, Virginia Lorton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,072 as of the 2020 census. History Lorton is named for a village in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, in England. Joseph Plaske ...

, about south of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The nearest passenger-only Amtrak stations are in nearby Winter Park, FL and

Deland, FL DeLand is a city in and the county seat of Volusia County, Florida, United States. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. It is a ...

SunRail SunRail is a commuter rail system in the Greater Orlando, Florida, area. Services began on May 1, 2014. The system comprises 17 stations along a former CSX Transportation line connecting Volusia County and Osceola County through Downtown Orla ...

, the Central Florida commuter rail system, serves the city out of a new station off State Road 46. A new trolleybus (route and schedule) provides service between Sunrail and the historic downtown.

Roads

Sanford is near the northern end of the I-4 Corridor between Daytona Beach and Orlando. The State Road 417 or Seminole Expressway begins in Sanford at Interstate 4 and forms the Eastern Beltway around Orlando ending at

Major routes

* * * * * * This is where 417 and 429 meet

Water

Sanford was historically a hub for Central Florida transportation as a port on the

. Today, it has a downtown marina that includes free day slips for boaters visiting the downtown.

Education

The Sanford

public school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

is served by Seminole County Public Schools.

Higher education

High schools

* Crooms Academy of Information Technology * Seminole High School

Middle schools

* Millennium Middle School * Sanford Middle School

Elementary schools

* All Souls Catholic School (K–8) * Bentley Elementary School * Galileo School for Gifted Learning (K-8) * Goldsboro Elementary Magnet School * Hamilton Elementary School of Engineering & Technology * Idyllwilde Elementary Future Ready Academy * Midway Elementary School of the Arts * Pine Crest Elementary School of Innovation * Wicklow Elementary School for Global Pathways * Wilson Elementary School

Public Library

Sanford is served by the North Branch Library of the Seminole County Public Library. It is located at 150 N. Palmetto Avenue, Sanford, Florida 32771.

Attractions in Sanford

* The Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens * Local Parks ** Fort Mellon Park ** The Paw Park Sanford ** Park on Park * The Wayne Densch performing arts center * Annual Oktoberfest(second weekend of October) * Alive After Five (Second Thursday of every month in downtown) * Sanford Museum * Central Florida Soapbox Derby * Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium * Theater West End

City initiatives

The city's RiverWalk trail is a bike/walk/run trail that was completed in 2004. The ten-foot wide paved walkway spans a distance of several miles in Sanford's downtown area along the waterfront of Lake Monroe. Phase 2, which adds over 3000 feet to the trail, was completed in 2014. Phase 3 is expected to be complete by 2020. The city completed multimillion-dollar streetscapes of 1st Street and Sanford Avenue in its historic downtown, using brick pavers, creating wider sidewalks, and adding trees, flowers, and benches. Sanford is connected to the central Florida commuter railway

, with the station 2 miles from the downtown. To support green initiatives, Sanford has added five electric car charging stations. The city is proposing to replace streetlamp bulbs with LED lights. In 2012, the city launched the "Imagine Sanford" initiative, which asks all Sanford residents to get involved in city planning by submitting and voting on improvement ideas via the city's Imagine Sanford website. The city of Sanford also launched a redesigned city government website in 2012.

Notable people

* Raul Aguilera (b. 1999) – soccer player * Ray-Ray Armstrong (b. 1991) –

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) player *

Red Barber Walter Lanier "Red" Barber (February 17, 1908 – October 22, 1992) was an American sports announcer and author. Nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", he was primarily identified with broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four ...

(1908–1992) –

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB)

sports commentator In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

* Zinn Beck (1885–1981) – MLB player *

Jeff Blake Jeffrey Bertrand Coleman Blake (born December 4, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the East Carolina Pirates. Bl ...

(b. 1970) – NFL player * Reggie Branch (b. 1962) – NFL player * Serderius Bryant (b. 1991) - CFL player * Alwyn Cashe (1970–2005) – U.S. Army sergeant first class posthumously awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

Jim Courier James Spencer Courier (born August 17, 1970) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 58 ...

(b. 1970) – tennis player * Gabe Davis (b. 1999) – NFL player * David Eckstein (b. 1975) – MLB player * Rick Eckstein (b. 1973) – MLB

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...

Kadeem Edwards Kadeem Edwards (born January 24, 1991) is an American former professional American football, football offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Dallas Cowboys. He was selected b ...

(b. 1991) - NFL Player * Trinity Fatu (b. 1987) –

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

* Elvira Garner (1886–1956) – author and illustrator * Jimmy Horn Jr. (b. 2002) - NFL player * Joseph C. Hutchinson (1894–1982) – U.S. Army

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Trayvon Martin Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was killing of Trayvon Martin, fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic an ...

(1992–2012) – murder victim * Logan Misuraca (b. 1999) – stock car racer *

(b. 1959) – MLB player and coach * Marty Raybon (b. 1959) – singer and co-founder of the Shenandoah and Raybon Brothers bands * Bill Swaggerty (b. 1956) – MLB player * Mary Lou Zoback (b. 1952) –

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...

and

seismologist Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...

Gallery

File:Fort Mellon at Lake Monroe.jpg, Fort Mellon, c. 1837 File:St. Johns River near Sanford.jpg, St. Johns River, c. 1910 File:Park Ave., Sanford, FL.jpg, Park Avenue, c. 1910 File:Celery Growing, Sanford, FL.jpg, Celery growing, c. 1912

References

External links

*
City of Sanford official website
{{Authority control Cities in Seminole County, Florida County seats in Florida Cities in the Greater Orlando Populated places established in 1877 Populated places on the St. Johns River Sanford family Cities in Florida 1877 establishments in Florida