Wildlife Observation Tower

About forestry service, 31565, Waverly, GA, US, Florida

Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, United States. As a suburb of Jacksonville in neighboring Duval County, it is formally a part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,089 at the 2020 census, up from 8,412 from the 2010 census. while the Town of Orange Park is only 5.32 sq mi large, Orange Park is the designated city on all addresses for all homes and businesses within the zip codes 32065 and 32073, which includes Lakeside, Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace and Oakleaf Plantation. The town's name reflects the hope of its founders for a fruit-growing industry, but their crops were destroyed in the Great Freeze of 1894–1895. Despite recovery elsewhere, the crops never came back to Orange Park. == History == Orange Park in the late 18th century was known simply as Laurel Grove. The name Laurel Grove comes from Sarah and William Pengree, who received a land grant from the Spanish governor. Laurel Grove was sold to Zephaniah Kingsley, of the Kingsley Plantation, upon William's death. Zephaniah developed Laurel Grove into a model farming plantation for over 10 years.