SANFORD, Fla. – Happy birthday, Sanford!
The city is celebrating 146 years on Friday, with 62,000 people calling Sanford home.
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“The City of Sanford was simply a dream for town founder, Henry Shelton Sanford when he bought 12,547.15 acres by way of the Sanford Land Grant in 1870,” city officials said. “This land eventually would become known as Sanford, the Gateway City.”
Sanford was incorporated in 1877.
Sanford’s main economy was in citrus, but the great freezes in 1894-95 forced a shift and celery was chosen as the next staple. This is why it’s known as the “Celery City!”
“As time went on, the celery industry was deemed not profitable, to boost the local economy, the City was in need of other economic employers. As fate would have it, the U.S. Navy decided to call Sanford home, establishing the Sanford Naval Air Station, which today is home to the Orlando Sanford International Airport,” officials said.
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Sanford has seen baseball teams hold training camps there and even 700 players of the New York Giants’ major and minor leagues in 1948-49 come together at the deactivated Sanford Naval Air Station.
“In 1950 the station was reactivated in response to the Korean War, and the Giants asked the City to build a new stadium, which is where the Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium still stands today,” the city said.
The city of Sanford also has an official podcast that goes over different topics related to the city.
Click here to learn more about its history.
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