Kissimmee

Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 60,894. It is the county seat of Osceola County.GR6 Kissimmee is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had a 2006 population of 1,984,855.

Kissimmee (pronounced /kɪˈsɪmi/, with the accent on the second syllable) is on the northwest shore of Lake Tohopekaliga (locally called "Lake Toho", "West Lake Toho" or simply "West Lake"). It was founded in the mid-19th century as Allendale. The name was changed when the city was incorporated in 1883. The growth of Kissimmee can be credited to Philadelphian Hamilton Disston, who based his two-million acre drainage operation out of the small town. Disston contracted with the financially wobbly state of Florida to drain its southern lands. Disston would own half of all the land he successfully drained. This deal made Disston the largest single landowner in the U.S.

Disston's dredging and land speculation activities required a small steamboat industry to transport people and goods along the new waterway. The Kissimmee shipyard was responsible for building most of these steamships, which were just one jump ahead of civilization--with Kissimmee as the jumping off point. Concurrently, the South Florida railroad was growing and extended the end of its line from Sanford down to Kissimmee, making the town on Lake Tohopekaliga a transportation hub of central Florida.

The heyday of Kissimmee was short lived. Expanding railroads began to challenge the steamships for cargo and passengers. By 1885, the SF Railroad extended its tracks again to Tampa. The Panic of 1893 was the worst depression the U.S. had experienced crushing land speculation and unsound debt. Disston closed his Kissimmee land operation. Back to back freezes in 1894 and 95 wiped out the citrus industry. The freezes combined with South Florida's growth, steamship operations relocating to Lake Okeechobee left Kissimmee dependent on cattle once again.

Cattle ranching was an important part of the local economy before the opening of nearby Walt Disney World in 1971. After that, tourism and development supplanted cattle ranching to a large measure; however, cattle ranches still operate nearby, particularly in the southern part of Osceola County.

On August 13, 2004, Hurricane Charley passed through Kissimmee with winds in excess of 100 miles per hour, damaging homes and buildings, toppling trees and cutting electrical power to the entire city. Kissimmee Utility Authority restored power to 54 percent of the residents in the first 72 hours; 85 percent were restored within one week. Service was restored to all customers on August 28. Three weeks after Hurricane Charley, the area was struck by Hurricane Frances, followed by Hurricane Jeanne three weeks after Frances.

The Houston Astros conduct spring training in Kissimmee, at Osceola County Stadium. The stadium also hosts numerous amateur baseball events throughout the remainder of the year in conjunction with; USSSA, Triple Crown Sports, World Baseball Federation and Promotion Sports. The Jim Evan's Academy of Professional Umpiring has also called Osceola County Stadium home since 1994.

Osceola Heritage Park is a premier event facility hosting a state of the art concert arena (Silver Spurs Arena) and professional sports stadium (Osceola County Stadium). The Silver Spurs Arena has been host to many acts, ranging from Hillary Duff and Bob Dylan to an annual rodeo event.

Kissimmee is home to a 650-person capacity outdoor water park, in addition to multiple golf courses.