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45-765: Ocoee may refer to: Ocoee, Florida Ocoee, Tennessee Ocoee Middle School , in Cleveland, Tennessee Ocoee Street Historic District Toccoa/Ocoee River in Georgia and Tennessee USS  Ocoee  (SP-1208) , a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918 Ocoee, the Cherokee term for the Passiflora incarnata (Purple passionflower) See also [ edit ] Ocoee massacre Ocoee dams (disambiguation) Topics referred to by

90-525: A fire of undetermined origin on December 4, 1928. The Tavares and Gulf Railroad's terminus was in Ocoee. Its former station still stands and is the home of the Ocoee Lions Club. Residents are zoned to Orange County Public Schools . High schools serving sections of Ocoee include Ocoee High School , West Orange High School . and Olympia High School . July Perry By most estimates,

135-479: A group of slaves, similarly stricken, to the north side of an open pine wooded lake that provided clear and clean water to avoid further malaria outbreaks. The camp built by the group provided a base of operations from which to commute during the day to work the fields near Lake Apopka and rest at night. As the camp grew into a village, it took the name Starke Lake, a name the lake upon which the group settled bears to this day. The city's population increased further after

180-519: A household in the city was $ 53,225, and the median income for a family was $ 56,865. Males had a median income of $ 33,628 versus $ 26,519 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 20,896. About 4.2% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over. Ocoee was served by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad . The Ocoee station burned in

225-401: A result of the fires and shootings. Charles Cowe in 1970 described 12 dead. A University of Florida student who interviewed local residents for a history term paper claimed in 1949 that "About thirty to thirty-five [murdered] is the most common estimate of the old timers." The exact number could never be determined. White also learned that many black residents thought the massacre was due to

270-525: A total of 30–80 black people were killed during what has been considered the "single bloodiest day in modern American political history". One of the victims killed two white rioters in self-defense. Most African American-owned buildings and residences in northern Ocoee were burned to the ground. Other African Americans living in southern Ocoee were later killed or driven out of town by the threat of further violence being used against them. Thus, Ocoee essentially became an all-white or " sundown " town. The attack

315-488: A white northerner interested in buying orange grove property in the county. He found that the whites there were "still giddy with victory." A local real estate agent and a taxi cab driver told him that about 56 African Americans were killed in the massacre. White's NAACP report recorded around thirty dead. A Methodist pastor, Reverend J. A. Long, and a Baptist minister, Reverend H. K. Hill, both from Orlando, reported that they had heard of 35 African-American deaths in Ocoee as

360-571: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ocoee, Florida Ocoee ( / ə ˈ k oʊ . i / ) is a city in Orange County , Florida , United States. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . According to the 2020 US Census, the city had a population of 47,295. In the mid-1850s, Dr. J.D. Starke, stricken with malaria , took

405-452: Is no longer a sundown town. Ocoee was incorporated in 1922 (or 1923 ) and became a city in 1925. Highway construction was the impetus for Ocoee's growth in the 20th century. State Road 50 (SR 50) was constructed south of downtown Ocoee in 1959 and provided a direct east-west connection between the City and a growing Orlando. The development of what would become Florida State Road 50 made

450-518: Is water. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild winters. According to the Köppen climate classification , the City of Ocoee has a humid subtropical climate zone ( Cfa ). As of the 2020 United States census , there were 47,295 people, 14,428 households, and 11,474 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States census , there were 35,579 people, 11,586 households, and 9,178 families residing in

495-604: The American Civil War as Confederate soldiers and their families settled into the area, including Captain Bluford Sims and General William Temple Withers who wintered at the location. Captain Sims received a land grant for a 74-acre parcel to the west of Starke Lake in what is now the downtown portion of Ocoee on October 5, 1883. In 1886, Captain Sims, along with a group of original settlers, led an effort to have

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540-646: The Florida Midland Railroad in the 1880s spurred growth in the area and many more settlers moved in. On November 2, 1920, after July Perry and Mose Norman, two Black men , attempted to vote and encouraged other Black people to vote, the entire Black population of the town was attacked by a mob organized by the Ku Klux Klan . On the night of the massacre, white World War I veterans from throughout Orange County murdered dozens of African-American residents. At least 24 Black homes were burned,

585-593: The Orange County Regional History Center , which sponsored an exhibit on it. For almost a century, many descendants of survivors were not aware of the massacre that occurred in their hometown. Twenty-eight enslaved persons and Ocoee’s first white settler, the slave owner, James D. Starke, are included in the 1860 Orange County Census. Beginning in 1888, many African American residents of Ocoee were able to purchase farmland, "bringing them wealth and security often denied to Black folks in

630-598: The African-American community in northern Ocoee. The "white paramilitary forces surrounded the northern Ocoee black community and laid siege to it." They set fire to rows of African-American houses; those inside were forced to flee and many were shot by whites. At least 20 buildings were burned in total, including every African American church, schoolhouse, and lodge room in the vicinity. African-American residents fought back in an evening-long gunfight lasting until as late as 4:45 A.M., their firearms later found in

675-573: The Jim Crow South". Orange County, as well as the rest of Florida, had been "politically dominated by Southern white Democrats " (also known as Dixiecrats) since the end of Reconstruction . In the weeks leading up to the presidential election of 1920, African Americans throughout the South were registering to vote in record numbers. At the same time the Ku Klux Klan had established many new chapters since 1915. Three weeks before election day,

720-724: The Ku Klux Klan threatened the African American community that "not a single Negro would be permitted to vote." Judge John Moses Cheney , a Republican running for the United States Senate from Florida, participated actively in the campaign to register African Americans to vote in Florida. As a lawyer, he had represented African American clients during the segregation era. Mose Norman and July Perry, both "prosperous African American landowners in Ocoee," led

765-483: The backyard. The white mob withdrew and put out a call for reinforcements to whites in Orlando, Apopka and Orange County, either calling them by phone or sending for them by car. During the two- to three-hour lull while the whites were recruiting other men, July Perry, injured in the conflict, attempted to flee with the help of his wife into a cane patch. He was found by the white mob at dawn and arrested. After Perry

810-545: The city. As of the census of 2000, there were 24,391 people, 8,072 households, and 6,554 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,843.1 inhabitants per square mile (711.6/km ). There were 8,405 housing units at an average density of 635.1 per square mile (245.2/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 81.47% White , 6.59% African American , 0.35% Native American , 2.93% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 6.22% from other races , and 2.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.20% of

855-409: The election. Sam Salisbury was a police chief in Orlando, Florida. A native of New York, Salisbury served in the U.S. military and was known as Colonel Sam Salisbury. A white supremacist and a member of the Ku Klux Klan, Salisbury bragged about his involvement in the violent oppression and intimidation of African Americans attempting to vote in the previous 1920 election. He was one of the leaders of

900-413: The events leading up to the Ocoee massacre. He was injured in an attack he led on July Perry's home in Ocoee. African Americans were met with resistance from the white community when they attempted to vote on election day. Poll workers challenged whether African American voters were really registered. The voters had to prove they were registered by appearing before the notary public, R. C. Biegelow, who

945-483: The home of Julius Perry, where Mose Norman was thought to have taken refuge. In the process of attempting to arrest Perry, two white men were killed and others wounded, although the perpetrators were never identified. Perry and his 19-year-old daughter, Caretha, were also wounded by gunfire. Reinforcements from Orlando and Orange County were called upon, contributing to a mob that laid waste to the African-American community in northern Ocoee and eventually lynching Perry, who

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990-430: The house is uncertain; the whites estimated that there were several armed African Americans. Zora Neale Hurston wrote that Perry had defended his home alone. Sam Salisbury knocked the back door open and was shot in the arm, becoming the first white casualty. Two other whites, veterans Elmer McDaniels and Leo Borgard, were killed when they also tried to enter through the back door. Their bodies were found hours later in

1035-481: The institutions constituting the Black community were destroyed, and Perry was lynched . Before the massacre, Ocoee's Black population numbered approximately five hundred; after the massacre, however, the Black population was nearly eliminated. For more than 40 years, Ocoee remained an all-white sundown town . In 2018, the city commission issued a proclamation formally acknowledging the massacre and declaring that Ocoee

1080-549: The local voter registration efforts in Orange County, paying the poll tax for those who could not afford it. In an effort to preserve white one-party rule, the Ku Klux Klan "marched in full regalia through the streets of Jacksonville, Daytona and Orlando" to intimidate opponents. Because African Americans had supported the Republican Party since Reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan threatened Judge Cheney prior to

1125-469: The photo on exhibition by their windows. No one was prosecuted for his murder. Perry's wife, Estelle Perry, and their daughter were wounded during the shooting at their home, but survived. The authorities sent them to Tampa for treatment in order "to avoid further disturbance." Walter White of the NAACP arrived in Orange County a few days after the riot to investigate events. He was traveling undercover as

1170-467: The poll tax on Election Day. Norman was among those working on the voter drive. Angered, he returned armed with a shotgun and threatened poll workers several times so much so that there was a warrant out for his arrest. Reports say they fired at poll workers, but were driven off. Later that day, some white Ocoee residents were deputized by Orange County Sheriff Deputy Clyde Pounds and charged with arresting Julius "July" Perry and Mose Norman. They surrounded

1215-429: The polling place. Later during the evening, Sam Salisbury, the former chief of police of Orlando, was called to lead a lynch mob to "find and punish Mose Norman." He later proudly bragged about his part in the events. Regarding the Ku Klux Klan , Historian David Chalmers asserts: "the evidence does not point to Klan responsibility or participation in the election day race riot in Ocoee in 1920." The armed white mob

1260-404: The population. In 2000, there were 8,072 households, out of which 44.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. 13.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

1305-442: The ruins after the massacre ended. Eventually, black residents were driven into the nearby orange groves and swamps, forced to retreat until they were driven out of town. The fleeing sought refuge in the surrounding woods or in the neighboring towns of Winter Garden and Apopka , which had substantial populations of black people. The siege of Ocoee claimed numerous African-American victims. Langmaid, an African-American carpenter,

1350-407: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Ocoee . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ocoee&oldid=1181867394 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

1395-487: The south. The approximate coordinates for the City of Ocoee is located at 28°34′27″N 81°31′50″W  /  28.574050°N 81.530596°W  / 28.574050; -81.530596 . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 15.7 square miles (40.6 km ), of which 14.7 square miles (38.1 km ) is land and 0.97 square miles (2.5 km ) (6.12%)

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1440-423: The threat of being shot and burned out if they did not "sell out and leave." About 500 African Americans in total were rapidly driven out of Ocoee, resulting in its population being nearly all white. That fall, white residents had to work to harvest the citrus crop because black laborers had fled the region. No African-American residents settled there again "until sixty-one years later in 1981". July Perry's body

1485-661: The town platted and changed the name to Ocoee, after a river he grew up near in Tennessee. Ocoee is a Cherokee Indian word anglicized from uwagahi , meaning " apricot vine place" and this inspired the choice of the city's flower. Bluford Sims began groundbreaking work in budding wild orange trees while in Ocoee. His commercial citrus nursery was the first in the United States in Ocoee, supplying many other groves in Florida with their first trees as well as shipping young citrus trees to California. The construction of

1530-562: The town more accessible to housing developers. Florida's Turnpike was opened just south of downtown Ocoee in 1964. In late 1990, Ocoee was connected to Orlando by a western extension of Florida State Road 408 (the East-West Expressway) which then joined the Florida's Turnpike south of SR 50. In 2000, the completion of Florida State Road 429 (the Western Expressway) linked Ocoee with Walt Disney World to

1575-537: The white community's jealousy of prosperous African Americans, such as Norman and Perry. "No one was ever held responsible for any of the deadly violence. Agents for the Bureau of Investigation (later the FBI) showed up a few weeks later, but they made it clear they weren’t investigating murder, arson or assault. They were interested only in election fraud." The leader of the mob later became mayor of Ocoee. Supporters urged

1620-510: The whites who were violating them. Norman later returned to the polling place in Ocoee. It is not clear whether Norman's shotgun was stolen from his car while he attempted to vote, but whites at the polls drove off Norman using his own shotgun. The white community began to form a mob and paraded up and down the streets, growing "more disorderly and unmanageable". The rest of the African Americans gave up on trying to vote and left

1665-409: Was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.28. In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. In 2000, the median income for

1710-502: Was beaten and castrated. Maggie Genlack and her pregnant daughter died while hiding in her home; their bodies were found partially burned underneath it. Roosevelt Barton, an African American hiding in July Perry's barn, was shot after the mob set fire to the barn and forced him to flee. Hattie Smith was visiting her pregnant sister-in-law in Ocoee when her sister-in-law's home was set on fire. Smith fled, but her sister-in-law's family

1755-404: Was found "riddled with bullets" and swinging on a telephone post by the highway. According to The Chicago Defender , his body was left near a sign reading, "This is what we do to niggers that vote". Another source has said he was hanged near the home of a judge who supported the black voter franchise. A local photographer was selling photos of Perry's body for 25 cents each; several stores placed

1800-491: Was in custody at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, shooting and taking his body to Orlando, where he was hanged from a lightpost to intimidate other black people. Norman escaped, never to be found. Hundreds of other African Americans fled the town, leaving behind their homes and possessions. "Most of the people living in Ocoee don't even know that this happened there", said Pamela Schwartz, chief curator of

1845-419: Was intended to prevent black citizens from voting . Poll taxes had been imposed as de facto disenfranchisement in Florida since the beginning of the 20th century. In Ocoee and across the state, various black organizations had been conducting voter registration drives for a year. In November 1920, Mose Norman, a prosperous African-American farmer, tried to vote, but was turned away twice after refusing to pay

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1890-497: Was killed while they hid and waited for help that never came. The African-American residents of southern Ocoee, while not direct victims of the massacre, were later threatened into leaving. Annie Hamiter, an African-American woman residing in southern Ocoee (sometimes referred to as Mrs. J.H. Hamiter), suspected that the massacre was planned so that whites could seize the property of prosperous African Americans for nothing. According to Hamiter, people in southern Ocoee were coerced by

1935-440: Was on its way to Norman's home when someone informed them that their target had been seen at the home of July Perry. The mob, by then numbering about 100 men, arrived at Perry's house demanding that Perry and Norman surrender. When they received no answer, they attempted to break down the front door. Perry, who had been warned about the mob, fired gunshots from inside the home in self-defense. Exactly how many people were defending

1980-402: Was regularly sent on fishing trips so that he was impossible to find. However, African Americans, including Mose Norman, persisted but were "pushed and shoved away" from the polls. Norman contacted Judge John Cheney, who told him that interference with voting was illegal and told him to write the names of the African Americans who were denied their constitutional rights, as well as the names of

2025-405: Was treated at a hospital for his wounds, he was taken by a white mob from a vehicle while being transferred to a jail. They lynched him, "and left his body hanging from a telephone post beside the highway." Norman was never found. Much of the trouble was attributed to "outsiders" from Winter Garden and Orlando. With the reinforcement of some 200 men, the white mob took the massacre to the rest of

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