Our Story

The Migrant settlement of Midway/Canaan City was established for Blacks during the celery boom of the 1920.’s  However, a few blacks were residing in the area as early as 1885-1890.  Migrant farm workers who worked in the nearby celery fields began settling in the area now known as Midway in the late 1800s just west of the St. Johns River and north of what today is State Road 46.  Initially the settlement was called “The Midway Point.”  The Midway population were primarily delivered by midwives and resided in Cameron City and the Hammocks.  Others resided in Fort Reed/Sand Hill which is now the location of the Orlando/Sanford International Airport.  The name was given because at that time farmers and cattlemen were traveling between Geneva, Cameron City, and Sanford.  Two artesian wells were located on Sipes Avenue and the farmers and cattlemen would stop to retrieve water from these wells.

It was in the 1940s and 50s that the unincorporated community began to grow rapidly. Clusters of small wood-framed houses, many with wells and lacking indoor plumbing, were built at that time in the area bordered by S.R. 46 and Brisson, Beardall and Celery Avenues. The poor people who resided in Midway had lived on sulfurous well water and its stench was discernable upon entering the community.  In addition, many in the community had outhouses that were placed close to the wells on the same property.  The Midway-Canaan Water Association (Hereafter referred to as MCCWA) a nonprofit utility company was formed in 1966 to bring water to Midway farming and migrant community.  The utility’s board of directors is made up of Midway residents.  At some point in 1966, Midway began purchasing water from the City of Sanford.  That contract remained in effect with no changes from 1966 to on or around 2019.  From 1966 to 2019 the MCCWA had been managed by various individuals.  The majority of the time it operated in a way that was not appropriate for all of the residents in the Midway area.  The information about the MCCWA and its management during those years is limited.  However, in 2019 a new Board of Directors was appointed.  Since that time the MCCWA has set goals to accomplish what the original members set out to do in 1966.  The MCCWA currently serves 571 Homes.

Note 

Midway has a population of about 1,440 residents, according to census estimates. According to the 2013-2017 American Community Survey produced by the U.S. Census, 34% of the Midway community is impoverished and the median household income is $23,317, whereas Seminole County’s overall median household income is nearly $61,000.