ORLANDO HISTORY BIT: The English Colony

In the mid 1880s Orlando was growing, primarily from northerners and southerners moving into the area to try their luck at growing citrus and other cash crops, but not all of Orlando's new settlers were American. A significant number came from Britain including a few that would become some of Orlando's leading citizens such as Gordon Rogers and Joseph Bumby.

The ex-patriot British became known as the "English Colony" which consisted of three different groups: retired businessmen, young men who would not inherit their family's property and came to Florida to become successful, and general laborers who came to serve the first two groups. Along with hard work and determination, the English brought their love of tennis, croquet, golf, and polo to the area, which eventually changed the habits of most of Orlando's inhabitants.

The English Colony changed the look and feel of Orlando at a time when it was already changing from a dusty and nearly lawless cowtown to an agricultural and commercial center.

As for tennis - the first courts were built around 1885. As for polo, it was discovered that the Florida scrub ponies, who were adapt at a rough life in the scrub pine and palmetto forests, made wonderful mounts for the polo games that began in 1888. In 1890 the Orlando Polo Club was formed with over 100 members. Croquet courts were also established early on. Golf began the same year with the establishment of a 9-hole course by Leslie Pell-Clarke on the shores of Lake Eola.