Aaron David Jernigan (September 14, 1813 – August 25, 1891) was the first white settler of what is now

Orange County, Florida Orange County is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,429,908, making it Florida's fifth most populous county. The county seat is Orlando. Orange County is the central county ...

. Originally from Camden County, Georgia, he lived for a time in the

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

area before moving to Orange County in 1843. He was influential in the city of

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

's early development; the town was called Jernigan until 1857. Jernigan and his wife, Mary, settled on the shore of Lake Holden, purchasing and moving some 700 head of cattle down from Tallahassee area where Jernigan and his brother Isaac (who also moved to Orlando) continued to own land and raise cattle. Jernigan cleared a spot near Lake Conway and built a small cabin, and began planting crops including corn, cotton, rice,

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

, pumpkins, and even melons. Jernigan was a successful tradesman and merchant. He was also a captain of the local militia that patrolled against renegade

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. Jernigan's settlement quickly grew and he was elected a county representative in 1846. By 1850, according to state files, the Jernigan home had become the nucleus of a settlement and designated a post office. He died in 1891, and was buried at Lake Hill Cemetery in Orlo Vista. A memorial plaque placed at his grave in 1971 honors him as "Orlando's first settler."

References

External links

Info re Aaron and Mary Jernigan
1813 births 1891 deaths Florida pioneers History of Orlando, Florida People from Orlando, Florida {{Florida-bio-stub