By the 1880s, Central Florida boasts thousands of acres of "liquid gold''- citrus. It's the tasty fruit that contains an essential vitamin, remains fresh in a protective jacket when shipped, and has a long shelf life.
Before the 1880s, shipping citrus north is an incredibly arduous endeavor. First, the crop is loaded on horse-drawn wagons and then carried by barge up the Ocklawaha River to the St. Johns River where it is reloaded onto steamboats.
Credit: University of Florida
The boats then sail up the Atlantic coast delivering fruit to ports along the way as far as New York, where fresh Florida oranges are considered a luxury commodity. The demand for citrus increases each year, but the fruit cannot reach northern markets quickly enough. Once the tracks are laid into Florida, trains carry tons of citrus to northern markets in a matter of days.
Credit: Winter Park History Archives and Collections
By the late 1800s, the citrus industry becomes the leading
industry for Winter Park's 600 residents. Nearly all year-round residents, and many winter visitors, have ties to the citrus industry. The wealthy own the groves, the packinghouses, and the rail services. The homesteaders build the wooden crates, pick fruit, inspect, pack, and ship it north. The groves flourish alongside the growth of the town.
The Great Freeze
One hundred twenty-six years ago this morning, February 8th 1895, everything changes. People across central Florida awake surrounded by the total devastation of the citrus industry which was caused by the Great Freeze. This is the 2nd freeze of that winter. Six weeks previously the cold kills all the fruit on the trees. The Great Freeze is much worse. Overnight it makes rich men poor. It kills the trees and wipes out the citrus industry in Winter Park and central Florida.
Credit:Winter Park History Archives and Collections
Many grove owners give up and pack up. Orange County's population plunges. It is 15 years before Orange County's groves again produce a profitable cash crop.
Anticipating this revival, the Winter Park Growers' Association is incorporated and by 1909, six to ten railcars of citrus daily leave the Winter Park station for the north laden with local citrus. The Winter Park Growers' Association serves this region for 105 years.
Citrus industry rebounds
"The perfume of the orange blossoms, the beauty of every scene, combine to make me wonder whether I am not in Paradise." -Winter Park visitor, 1918.
Credit: El Jardin de Mendel
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