The City of Sanford was incorporated in this date. Situated on the banks of Lake Monroe on the St. Johns River, Sanford was first settled by Native American tribes who lived in the area until the 18th century. By the mid nineteenth century, the Second Seminole War prompted the U.S. government to build a fort at Lake Monroe, later named Fort Mellon in 1837. By 1842 a small community formed around the fort and was named Mellonville, which became the county seat of Orange County. In 1870, Henry Sanford bought a large track of land west of Mellonville and laid out the settlement of Sanford. Fueled by the agricultural industry such as citrus, the city would grow quickly, absorbing Mellonville into its city