Osceola County (pop. 268,685) is east of Polk County. Most of the population is in the northwestern corner, just south of Walt Disney World. The other Osceola counties are in Iowa and Michigan.
The county was named for Seminole Indian leader Osceola (1804-1838), whose original name was Billy Powell and who was of mixed Creek, Scots-Irish, and English parentage.
A leader in the Second Seminole War
Today, about 25% of the population of Osceola County is of Puerto-Rican ancestry.
The county seat of Osceola County is the city of Kissimmee (pop. 59,682).
New Osceola County Courthouse (2001)
Osceola County Stadium (1984) in Kissimmee is the spring training home of the Houston Astros; the Astros are scheduled to move away in 2017.
The Kissimmee Astros
Fun Spot America is a family-owned amusement park in Kissimmee.
The Tupperware World Headquarters Museum is in Kissimmee. Tupperware was founded by Earl Tupper in 1948.
The #1 market is now Indonesia.
Kissimmee has an attraction called Machine Gun America, where patrons can shoot real machine guns. “Live shooting experiences” start at $99.
Visitors may not bring their own weapons.
In downtown Kissimmee, the 50-foot Monument of States dates from 1943. It features rocks from 50 states and 21 countries.
Renovated in 2001
The master-planned community of Celebration (pop. 7,427) was originally developed by the Walt Disney Company, beginning in 1996.
Yeehaw Junction is in the southeastern corner of the county – a remote area that’s full of cattle ranches.
The community was formerly known as Jackass Junction.
The Florida Turnpike has an exit in Yeehaw Junction. The other nearest exits are 48.9 miles north and 40.5 miles south – among the longest exitless distances on limited-access highways in the U.S.
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