Formally incorporated as a City in 1925 with a population of 800, Oviedo has roots that date back to just after the Civil War in 1865 when homesteaders came to the area along the shores of Lake Jesup to begin new lives. Prior to the arrival of these adventurous souls, including former slaves, and immigrants from Europe, primarily Sweden, the area that is now Oviedo was populated by the Timucua, a clan of native Americans who were a part of the Seminole tribe. No evidence of the early Timucuan settlements remains today; their hunting grounds and villages disappeared just prior to the establishment of the Lake Jesup Community, which decades later gave way to modern housing developments, shopping centers, parks, recreation facilities, conservation areas and interstate roadways that can take travelers across the state.