What is the history of Sanford, Florida?
The Timucuan Indigenous peoples of the AmericasIndians once inhabited the shores of Lake Monroe (Florida)Lake Monroe, where the domain of Chief Utina extended to just north of Lake George. By 1760, however, war and disease had decimated the tribe, which would be replaced by the Seminole Indians. Florida was acquired by the United States from Spain in 1821, but the Seminole Wars would delay settlement. In 1835, the Indians burned the port of Palatka, FloridaPalatka on the St. Johns River, then the major artery into Central Florida from the East Coast of the United StatesEast Coast. Consequently, in 1836 General Andrew Jackson, the territory’s provisional governor, had an army garrison established upstream on the southern side of Lake Monroe near a trading post. Called Camp Monroe, the log breastwork was attacked on February 8, 1837. It would be strengthened and renamed Fort Mellon in honor of Captain Charles Mellon, the sole American casualty. General Zachary Taylor had a road built con
