Kissimmee

One Town’s Origins: The History of Kissimmee

Before European settlers set foot in Florida, the Kissimmee Valley region of Central Florida was inhabited by a Native American tribe called the Jororo. The name Kissimmee can be traced back to the language of the Jororo people and means “long water.” There were approximately 350,000 people living in Florida when the Spanish arrived in 1513. In the centuries to follow, war, disease, oppression, and slavery reduced the Native Floridian population to virtually nothing.