Although Lake Mary's beginning dates back to the 19th century, the City did not incorporate until August 7, 1973. Named after the wife of a minister who settled on the northern shores of the lake, Lake Mary started as a village of two tiny settlements called Bent's Station and Belle Fontaine. They were located along the railroad that ran between Sanford and Orlando.
The City began primarily as a citrus-based agricultural community. In the early seventies, as the Disney development surge pushed northward, Lake Mary began to transform into a semi-rural bedroom community serving Orlando. During the late eighties and early nineties the City experienced tremendous growth in residential development as well as an economic development center with hundreds of thousands of square feet of office, retail and industrial uses.
The Lake Mary Chamber of Commerce was established in January of 1923. The Chamber has been active continuously since its inception and is said to be the oldest one in the state with this distinction.
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