Question: What Florida county was renamed from Mosquito County on January 25, 1845?
Answer: Orange County
Today is Orange County’s 181st birthday, honoring the day in 1845 that the Florida Legislature named the county after a citrus fruit. The county that eventually became Orange originally encompassed a vast part of Florida. At 190 miles long and 60 miles wide, Mosquito County at the time of its creation encompassed what’s now Volusia, Brevard, St. Lucie, Indian River, Martin, Seminole, Osceola, Orange, Lake, Polk, and Palm Beach counties. The insect-inspired name was derived from early Spanish monikers for the region’s waterways, such as Barra de Mosquitos (Mosquito Bar or Inlet). It was created by Florida’s territorial council on December 24, 1824. The population in Mosquito County was then less than 2 people per square mile.
