Hey St. Cloud -

Somewhere between last Thursday and this one, the 5,000th St. Cloud local joined this newsletter. 14 issues in, three months old. Not bad for a free email about a city most people outside Osceola County have never heard of.

Father's Day is Sunday and summer is officially here. Friday night there's a party over in Harmony, Sunday the dads get soaked, and we dug up the guy who bought half of Florida for a quarter an acre. Here's everything worth knowing this week.

Live music, food trucks, and drink specials on the green for the longest day of the year. Worth the short drive.

Free inflatable water slides, yard games, and food trucks. Bring Dad, let the kids wear themselves out. Details still being confirmed so check local St. Cloud Facebook groups for updates before heading out.

Free movie on the big screen by the water. Chairs and blankets, that's all you need.

St. Cloud is officially bringing back its original motto. At Thursday's council meeting, Mayor Robertson announced the city is replacing the current slogan "Your Centerplace for Life" with the historic "Soldier City," the name the city has carried since 1909. If you've ever heard someone call this place Soldier City and wondered why, now you know it's not just a nickname. It's going back on the sign.

We're the fastest one in the county now. New numbers put St. Cloud as the fastest-growing city in Osceola County, up about 19% since 2020 while Kissimmee grew around 7%. You can feel it on 192 at 5pm.

Speaking of growth, City Council just approved the final development agreement for Roan Bridge off Old Hickory Tree Road. The 276-acre project brings 625 single-family homes, 599 multifamily units, 100,000 square feet of commercial space, a K-8 school, and a new fire station, all about 2.5 miles from downtown. D.R. Horton is one of the confirmed builders. Construction on the first homes is underway.

Right downtown at 1122 Pennsylvania Ave with a laid-back island feel. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a full bar, live music Friday and Saturday nights, and prime rib every Saturday at 5. Wednesday trivia if you want to test the family. Easy call for a Father's Day meal that isn't a chain.

Got a business to nominate? Reply and tell us who and why.

Your roof takes a beating in a Florida summer. CTR Roofing has been serving St. Cloud homeowners with inspections, repairs, and full replacements and they make the process easy from first call to final nail.

“Every Roof Is Our Reputation”

Get a free inspection today at stcloudrooferctr.com

In 1881 a Philadelphia tool maker named Hamilton Disston bought four million acres of Florida for 25 cents an acre, the largest private land purchase by one person in the world at the time. He drained the swamps, cut canals between the Toho lakes, and started a 420-acre sugar plantation near Southport in 1886. That sugar operation is the seed St. Cloud grew from. The land eventually passed to the Seminole Land and Investment Company, who sold five-acre lots to Union veterans for $50 each. That's how this city started.

Sources: Hamilton Disston historical marker (hmdb.org), Osceola History (osceolahistory.org)

If you missed Issue 14, downtown threw a Flag Day passport party, the Soldier City Market reopened on its new Saturday schedule, and we explained how 427 Union veterans at Mount Peace Cemetery earned this town the Soldier City name. Full issue at thecloudlocal.com

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