Even back in its early days, Orlando loved a parade – especially a patriotic one.
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This parade photo, believed to be from 1886, is historic in several ways.
It shows the July 4 Independence Day parade down Church Street in downtown Orlando, with horse-drawn carriages decorated festively for the occasion.
According to Orlando historian Eve Bacon, in her book “Orlando: A Centennial History,” 1886 marked the beginning of Orlando’s first horse-led street car, the building of Orlando’s second railway station on East Pine Street, the opening of Joseph Bumby’s new two-story brick hardware store on West Church Street and the start of telephone connections between Orlando and Sanford.
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Also notable about this photograph is the person who took it: Stanley J. Morrow.
He was a noted photographer of the 1800s, beginning his career during the Civil War when he worked for famous photographer Mathew Brady. Morrow established a name for himself with his photographs of the American West including Native Americans and soldiers. By 1883, he had a home in Orlando on Lake Holden.
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