Oviedo Celebrates its Centennial

by Kevin Fritz

One hundred years ago, with a population of 800 hearty souls, the City of Oviedo was officially incorporated. In the years that followed, Oviedo grew by leaps and bounds and is now home to more than 40,000 residents.

Yet despite that growth, the city has managed to retain a small-town, friendly atmosphere – one that is perfect for the many families who have chosen to live, work, and play here.

To commemorate Oviedo’s 100-year milestone, local residents gathered on April 26 at Center Lake Park for an epic celebration that included food, a carnival, and music, with historical highlights woven into the festivities. The trip down memory lane was capped off with a laser light show.

“This was an ideal Oviedo festival designed to be fun while adding a historical aspect,” says Terri Martini, Oviedo’s recreation events superintendent.

To keep the historical aspect front and center during the festival, the city turned the Oviedo Cultural Center into a pop-up history museum, allowing partygoers to look back at key events that have shaped Oviedo over the past century.

Remembering the Past 

While 1925 was the official year of incorporation, Oviedo’s history dates back to just after the Civil War ended in 1865, when families migrated to Lake Jesup to start anew. The city’s original name (Lake Jesup Community) was replaced in 1879 by postmaster Andrew Aulin, who chose to name the settlement after a town in northern Spain – Oviedo. 

In 1886, Gus and Steen Nelson founded Nelson Brothers, an Oviedo citrus packinghouse known today as Nelson & Company.

While the Nelson brothers were building their business, early settler James Hiram Lee built a home in 1890 on South Central Avenue. He sold that house to daughter Charlotte and her husband, Thomas Willington Lawton, Sr. – who then moved the home to its current location on West Broadway. Today, it’s known as the historic Lawton House and is the site of the Oviedo Farmers Market, run by the Oviedo Historical Society.

After the Great Freeze of 1894-95 destroyed many of the town’s orange groves, Nelson Brothers continued to thrive by adding celery to its wares. Others followed suit, which would spur a boom in celery production, lending Oviedo the nickname of Celery City. 

Like the Lawton House, the Wheeler-Evans House is steeped in Oviedo history. Built on South Lake Jessup Avenue in 1928, the home was originally occupied by Benjamin Franklin “Frank” Wheeler, Sr. and his wife George (so named because of a birth certificate error). Her father was James Hiram Lee, who had built the Lawton House. Frank and George had a daughter named Clara, who would marry John Wesley Evans, Sr. The couple would have four sons: Arthur, David, Wes, and Charles.

When Frank Wheeler was 16 years old, he bought his first citrus grove in 1898. That grove is where the Wheeler-Evans house sits today.

After Frank Wheeler bought out Nelson Brothers in 1923 and changed its name to Nelson & Company, he asked John Evans to join him as a business partner. The Evans family continues to run the company today.

For decades, Nelson & Company produced celery and citrus for markets throughout the United States and Canada. As subsequent freezes and disease took their toll, the company diversified its holdings and bid farewell to the agricultural business model that started it all back in 1886.

As Oviedo’s focus shifted away from citrus and celery production, the city’s landscape gave way to the housing developments, shopping centers, parks, recreation facilities, conservation areas, and interstate roadways of today.

A New Day Dawns

“It’s the beginning of a new era,” says Mayor Megan Sladek, who was born and raised in Oviedo and has been in office since 2019. “I have been part of the town for 45 percent of its existence.”

As Mayor Sladek marks the city’s 100th anniversary and celebrates its future, she is especially appreciative of the rich history surrounding Oviedo. 

“We made it from one square mile to 16 square miles,” she says. “Look what we’ve become.”

Mayor Sladek has seen a wealth of changes and growth in the city during her lifetime, but still characterizes Oviedo as a small town that is reminiscent of yesteryear.

She and her family live in the former Lake Charm Memorial Chapel, the oldest building in Oviedo. Built in 1880, the 1,200 square-foot church was transformed into a 3,000 square-foot home more than 100 years ago.

“Even with growth, we are still friendly,” says Mayor Sladek. “It’s all about citrus, celery, trains, and chickens. That’s what represents Oviedo. It always goes back to the roots.” 

Small-Town Charm 

Beverly Hughes Evans, part owner with husband Arthur of Nelson & Company, says when she came to town in 1973, there were less than 7,000 residents. Back when she and Arthur married and built their home on Lake Charm, Mitchell Hammock was a dirt road.

“So much has changed, but we still have that small-town feel,” says Beverly. “People here come to your aid when you need help. It’s not the size of the city that matters; it’s the people who make it great.”

Today, Nelson & Company is a commercial real estate, land planning, and asset management company. Hundreds of the company’s former orange grove acres became part of Oviedo’s current landscape, including the Oviedo on the Park development – the crown jewel of which is Center Lake Park.

Currently, Nelson & Company is working with the city on the Water Tower District redevelopment of downtown. As the Evans family joins in celebrating Oviedo’s 100th anniversary, Beverly promises that the company’s commitment to the city will never waver.

“We look back, and there have been wars, the Great Depression, economic upturns and downturns, and we are still here,” says Beverly. “And we plan to continue that into the future.”

There’s No Place Like Home

Judith Dolores Smith, an author, community leader, and former Oviedo City Council member, grew up in Oviedo during the days of segregation.

Her family, which is descended from slaves, has strong ties to Oviedo. In 1917, Judith’s father received a land patent in Oviedo near Alafaya Woods, before homesteading on East Broadway and eventually finding work at Nelson & Company.

Judith plans to open the Historic Jamestown Colored School Museum soon, in a building that once housed the Gabriella Jamestown Colored Elementary School.

However, Judith says, the narrative surrounding the early Black communities that helped shape Oviedo is not about Black or white, or even segregation and discrimination.  

“Our story is every man’s story,” she says. “Our story is only different because we were enslaved, and we were just trying to better ourselves.”

Judith is sentimental about the early days of Oviedo, as are many people who have spent their entire lives in this community.

“No matter how many homes they build, I still remember the orange groves,” she says. “I’ve had dreams of moving away somewhere, but I have roots here. This is home.”

Oviedo Celebrates 100 Years with an Epic Party

The City of Oviedo commemorated its 100th year with a blowout celebration in late April, marking its 10 decades of history. The afternoon of fun transformed Center Lake Park into a time machine, with 70s-themed carnival games, specialty cocktails through the decades, and an interactive history lesson where guests could walk through Oviedo’s key moments in history. 

During all the fun, Oviedo’s favorite local businesses lined the streets, illustrating how the city has always thrived on community togetherness. The festivities culminated with a dazzling laser light show that night – the perfect way to end a birthday party that folks will remember for years to come.