Orlando, Florida Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fort Gatlin

Fort Gatlin was built during the Second Seminole War. A commemorative marker stands at the intersection of Gatlin Ave. and Summerlin St. at the spot of the fort. Fort Maitland is at the site of modern Maitland, FL; Fort Mellon is at the site of modern Sanford, FL; Fort Christmas is in the east part of the county and the area still bears that name.

Answer: Orlando Reeves, a US soldier

Orlando Reeves was acting as a sentinel and was able to alert the soldiers at Fort Gatlin of an approaching Indian attack before being felled by arrows. He was buried in the area that is now part of Lake Eola Park. A marker at the southeast corner of the lake asserts that this is the origin of the city's name, but there is no proof.

Answer: 85

Of those 85, 22 were registered voters. In the 1880 census, the population had risen to 200. In the 2000 census the population within city boundaries was 185,951. The population of the Orlando Metro Area (Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Lake Counties) was 1,644,561.

Answer: Citrus and Cattle

While the tourism and aerospace industries are very important industries at the start of the 21st century, cattle and citrus were the reason for the area's growth in commerce and importance.

Answer: Osceola

In 1821, the territory of Florida was divided into two counties, Escambia and St. John's, divided by the Suwannee River. In 1824 much of St. Johns County became Mosquito County (the Spanish had named the east coast of Florida "Los Mosquitos"). In 1845, at the time of Florida statehood, what was left of Mosquito County became Orange County. Osceola County was created in 1887 with part coming from Orange County, but not the Orlando area.

Answer: Florida Technological University

Florida Tech was established in 1963, but didn't start classes until 1968. In 1978 the name was changed to University of Central Florida. In the 1980's it was rumored that the State University System was going to rename all the "directional" schools in a UF-City format. This would have turned UCF into UFO! Rollins College is in the neighboring city of Winter Park.

Answer: Herndon Airport

Originally built to handle commercial traffic while the downtown airport was taken over for military us in 1940, the airfield soon became Orlando Army Airfield #2, then Pinecastle Army Airfield, the USAF took over in 1951 and named it Pinecastle Air Force Base. Base Commander, Colonel Michael N. McCoy, died during a flight and the base was renamed McCoy Air Force Base in his honor.

When the USAF deactivated the base in 1974, the field was returned to the city and was named McCoy Jetport, then Orlando Jetport at McCoy, and finally Orlando International Airport in 1981. "McCoy" is the origin of Orlando's airport code, "MCO".

After the military left the downtown airfield, it became Herndon Airport, then Orlando Executive Airport.

Answer: Orlando Breakers

The Orlando Breakers is the fictional team coached by Hayden Fox in the TV series "Coach". Along with the Renegades (USFL), Rage (XFL) and Thunder (WLAF), Orlando has been home to the Orlando Broncos of the Southern Football League, the Orlando Panthers of the Continental Football League, the Orlando Americans of the American Football Association, and the Florida Blazers of the World Football League. Currently Orlando has the Orlando Rage of the Southern States Football League, the Orlando Mayhem of the Independent Women's Football League, and the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League.

Answer: Navy

The 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closing the Orlando and San Diego Naval Training Centers (two warm weather locations) leaving only the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago (a notoriously cold weather location).

Answer: Walt Disney

Walt Disney spent a year surreptitiously purchasing land in Orange and Osceola counties until the Orlando Sentinel correctly guessed who the purchaser was with this headline, "WE SAY OUR 'MYSTERY' INDUSTRY IS DISNEY". Walt Disney World led to a massive growth in the Orlando tourism industry, making it now the "Theme Park Capital of the World".