Town file
Chuluota, Florida
Chuluota, Florida (Seminole County, Florida) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 507, "Webcam Model Madness" (4 July 2024). Chuluota is a small, rural community in Seminole County in central Florida, about half an hour outside Orlando.
- Town
- Chuluota
- County
- Seminole County
- State
- Florida
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 507
- Approximate location
- 28.640, -81.118
Episode 507 / 4 July 2024 / 174 min / full
Webcam Model Madness
"This is, and I gotta say it right, Chuliota Florida, which is spelled CHUL UOTA... it is in central Florida. It's about a half hour outside of Orlando... if this is in Seminole County, it's a small little place too." about 0:04:54
The case: Murder of Chad, Margaret and Cody Amato (January 24, 2019). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 2,792
- Median age
- about 33.3
- Median household income
- $85,274
- Median home value
- $350,200
- Two-bedroom rent
- $2,430
- Property crime
- ▼ just below
- Violent crime
- ▼ about 20% under
History, in brief
- The name Chuluota allegedly means Isle of Pines, Pine Island, Land of Lakes and Pines, or beautiful place; the episode says nobody knows which. about 0:06:12
- The pronunciation is said to derive from the Creek Indian word chuliodo. about 0:06:26
- The area was first settled after the Civil War by people who came down from North Carolina by ox cart to escape the war. about 0:06:38
- The settlers found plentiful fish, deer, wild hogs and orange groves, and opened cattle ranches and saw mills. about 0:06:48
- An early developer chose the name Chuluota and claimed it was the name of the original Seminole village, apparently making it up for marketing. about 0:07:01
- The next man to buy the land continued the name and set up a company to sell the plots. about 0:07:19
- When that developer died, the land plats sat unused into the 1950s, and the houses built were small working-class homes. about 0:07:27
- The place died out in the 1950s and 1960s, then Disney World and its proximity to Orlando helped it recover, with the population booming since 2000. about 0:07:48
The reviews read out
"Small stores and restaurants serve surprisingly good food, and there are peaceful parks on the edge of the lakes."about 0:08:18
4 stars
"The reviewer enjoys living somewhere with trees and nice-sized yards, with a rural feel but close to shopping and entertainment."about 0:08:43
4 stars
"A lifelong resident loves the close-knit community where people help each other; neighbours are friendly, it is good for families and pets, there is land and quiet country living with barely any traffic, though shops are a fifteen to twenty minute drive away."about 0:08:54
4 stars
"A semi-rural area with nice people and hardly any crime, but five minutes down the road the community turns into rich white snobs; there are not many places to go out and the mall is practically dead; the reviewer expects more houses crammed in and nature destroyed; the schools are great except for a handful of teachers arrested for sexual harassment; despite the flaws the reviewer loves it."about 0:10:17
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Indialantic, Florida51 miles
- Alturas, Florida65 miles
- Plant City, Florida75 miles
- McIntosh, Florida87 miles
- St. Augustine, Florida88 miles
- Fort Pierce, Florida96 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.