Robert Raymond Reid II (1789-1841)
The namesake of Fort Reid (Mellonville Road east side of Sanford) was Robert Raymond Reid II, Florida’s Territorial Governor from 1839 until his death from typhoid fever in March 1841. Reid II was soon mistaken by surveyors with several Reed’s who came to Florida, including Florida's Governor Harrison Reed, who served from 1868 thru 1873.
Reid II spoke in favor of allowing the Army to wage
war as they saw fit when the Second Indian War began to drag on. The Army
showed their appreciation for his support by naming Fort Reid in his honor. Named
in 1842, surveyors showed it as Fort Reed as early as 1846 – locking in the
confusion throughout Florida’s history. The survey section below is borrowed from my 2015 book, First Road to Orlando.
1845 Government Survey showing "Fort Reed."
"First Road to Orlando" Exhibit
Robert R. Reid II was the father of Robert R. Reid
III, the merchant of Palatka who traveled in 1867 to the wilderness of Orange
County to submit the low bid of $900 at a Sheriff’s auction for 113 acres of
what we now know as downtown Orlando. Thirteen years after acquiring Orlando at
auction, Reid III, in 1880, paid to resolve the land dispute between himself
and the Patrick clan, a dispute that threatened to have the railroad bypass
Orlando.
First Road to Orlando (2015)
Reid III is indeed an important name in the
fascinating story of 19th Central Florida, a story I first wrote of
in 2013 in ‘First Road to Orlando,’ and a fascinating history expanded upon in
my 2023 book, ‘Orlando: A History of the Phenomenal City.’
Orlando: a History of the Phenomenal City (2023)
Available at Pine Castle Pioneer Days, 24 & 25 February 2024
Ethel State Park Grand Opening, 9 March 2024
And at Amazon.com
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