Kenansville, Florida facts for kids

The Heartbreak Hotel, a famous spot in Kenansville.

An old bank building in Kenansville.

Kenansville is a small community in Osceola County, Florida, in the United States. It's not a city with its own government, but rather an "unincorporated area," meaning it's part of the larger county. Kenansville is about 61 miles (or 98 kilometers) southeast of the big city area of Orlando. The zip code for Kenansville is 34739.

History of Kenansville

Kenansville started to grow in the late 1800s. This happened when a special train track, called a "spur," from the Florida East Coast Railroad was built through the area. This train track helped connect Kenansville to other places, and it even bypassed a nearby community called Whittier.

The town was mainly focused on raising cattle. It also likely offered services to people traveling through the area. The land around Kenansville has sandy soil that doesn't drain water very well, but it's still used today for rangeland, which is open land where animals like cattle can graze.

The community officially got its name, Kenansville, in 1914. It was named after Mary Lily Kenan, who was the third wife of Henry Flagler, a very important person in Florida's history who helped build railroads.

There's a fun legend about Kenansville! Some people say that the famous singer Elvis Presley once stayed at a place called the Heartbreak Hotel in Kenansville. They believe his experience there inspired him to write his famous song, "Heartbreak Hotel."

Kenansville became less important when the train track that ran through it was removed.

Kenansville's Solar Power Facility

On August 3, 2016, a special power plant called the Osceola Solar Facility opened. It's located about halfway between Kenansville and St. Cloud. This facility is a big area of land, about 17 acres, covered with solar panels.

When it's working at full power, the solar facility can create about 3.6 megawatts of electricity. That's enough power to supply electricity to about 760 homes! This project was part of Duke Energy's plan to use more clean energy from the sun and less energy from burning coal.

Kenansville Community Facts

As of the 2020 census, about 453 people live in Kenansville. This means the population density is about 1.3 people for every square mile. The average age of people living in Kenansville is around 52.1 years old. On average, there are about 2.1 people living in each home in Kenansville.

Climate in Kenansville