4Orange Park, Florida, once known as Laurel Grove Plantation, was incorporated in 1879. Luring people with its healthy climate, therapeutic spring, and charming views of the St. Johns River, the town has played host to the rich and famous as well as the poor and humble. In early days, steamboats carried the likes of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Pres. Ulysses S. Grant, William Astor, and B.J. Johnson to the grand Hotel Marion for recreational or health benefits. Later, one of Florida's first integrated schools thrived just yards away. Important scientific studies were conducted at the town's "Monkey Farm" for 35 years. Orange Park, far more than a bedroom community for Jacksonville, has all the charm of small-town America.