Aaron David Jernigan was the first settler of what is now Orange County

Orange County, Florida

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida and is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 1,145,956....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Originally from Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, he lived for a time in the Tallahassee

Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...

 area before moving to Orange County in 1843. He was influential in the city of Orlando

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

's early development; the town was called Jernigan until 1857.

Jernigan and his wife, Mary, settled on the shore of Lake Holden, purchasing 1200 acres (4.9 km²) and moving some 700 head of cattle down from Tallahassee area where Jernigan and his brother Isaac (who also moved to Orlando) continued to own land and raise cattle. Jernigan cleared a spot near Lake Conway and built a small cabin, and began planting crops including corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

, rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

, sugar cane, pumpkin

Pumpkin

A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...

s, and even melon

Melon

thumb|200px|Various types of melonsThis list of melons includes members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit e.g. gourds or cucurbits. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit...

s. Jernigan was a successful tradesman and merchant. He was also a captain of the local militia that patrolled against renegade Seminole

Seminole

The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...

s. Jernigan's settlement quickly grew and he was elected a county representative in 1846. By 1850, according to state files, the Jernigan home had become the nucleus of a settlement and designated a post office.

He died in 1891, and was buried at Lake Hill Cemetery in Orlo Vista

Orlo Vista, Florida

Orlo Vista is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,047 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The boundaries of Orlo Vista are SR 408 in the north, Pine Hills Rd. in...

. A memorial plaque placed at his grave in 1971 honors him as "Orlando's first settler."