Florida Counties
Source: "Know your State"
Tallahassee: State of Florida, Dept. of Agriculture, N. Mayo, commissioner., 1944
[Chapter 12, transcribed by K. Torp]
Florida Counties
Source: "Know your State"
Tallahassee: State of Florida, Dept. of Agriculture, N. Mayo, commissioner., 1944
[Chapter 12, transcribed by K. Torp]
INDIVIDUAL COUNTIES
In the Following County Statistics Please Note the Dates When Enumerations Were Made:
Statistics on industries-1937 (Florida enumeration)
Population: statistics -1940 (Federal enumeration)
Agricultural statistics-1941 (Florida enumeration)
Tractor statistics -1941 (Florida enumeration)
Automobile and truck statistics (for year 1942, State Motor Vehicle Office)
ALACHUA COUNTY. County Seat, GAINESVILLE.
Historical Events - Created in 1824 from part of Duval County. This section was visited by both Ponce de Leon and DeSoto and was the scene of much conflict during the early colonial strife, the Seminole Indian War and the Civil War. Chief Osceola was captured here and this had much to do with shortening the Seminole conflict.
William Bartram, the botanist and traveler, spent some time in this area in 1774.
A Federal force that had taken possession of Gainesville was defeated August 18, 1864, and driven out with a loss of over 200 by Capt. J. J. Dickison with a small Confederate force.
Population: 38,607
Total acreage: 622,080
Number of farms: 1,282
Acreage in farms: 308,961
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 60,890
Truck crops: 6,725
Groves (citrus, tung, pecan): 7,720
Automobiles: 6,534
Trucks: 1,565
Tractors: 156
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Dairying, tobacco, corn, poultry and eggs, beef cattle and hogs.
Leading industries: Saw mills, marble works, mattress making, machine shops, naval stores.
Fifty crops are grown commercially in Alachua County.
State University is located in Gainesville.
A dozen lakes are in this county.
BAKER COUNTY. County Seat, MACCLENNY.
Historical Events-Created in 1861 from part of Alachua County. The principal battle of the Civil War in Florida was fought in this county at Olustee, the Federal forces being defeated and the interior of Florida saved from invasion. A monument marks the battlefield.
Population: 6,510
Total acreage: 372,480
Number of farms: 896
Acreage in farms: 37,099
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 19,611
Truck crops: 1,255
Groves (pecans) 173
Tractors: 4
Trucks: 278
Automobiles: 827
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: corn, dairying, tobacco, pecans, beef cattle, hogs, poultry, sweet potatoes.
Thirty-eight different crops are grown commercially.
Leading industry: Naval stores.
This county borders on the State of Georgia and the St. Marys River.
BAY COUNTY. County Seat, PANAMA CITY.
Historical Events-Created in 1913 from parts of Washington and Calhoun Counties. Some of the most beautiful beaches on the West Coast are in Bay County.
Confederate salt works valued at $3,000,000 destroyed by Federals in 1863.
Panama City incorporated February 23, 1909.
Population 20,686
Total acreage: 557,440
Number of farms: 50
Acreage in farms: 16,604
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 1,806
Truck crops: 137
Automobiles: 5,743
Trucks: 1,048
Leading industries: manufacturing (paper mill), fishing, saw mills.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: hogs, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Twenty-eight different crops are grown commercially.
Bay County is bordered on the south by the Gulf of Mexico and is indented by East Bay, West Bay, and St. Andrews Bay on which Panama City is located.
BRADFORD COUNTY. County Seat, STARKE.
Historical Events-Created in 1858 from part of Alachua County. Naturally Bradford County shared the early struggles of the district and suffered minor damage during the Civil War.
Bradford Telegraph, one of Florida's oldest weekly newspapers, founded in 1879.
Starke incorporated April 26, 1861.
Population: 8,717
Total acreage: 186,240
Number of farms: 601
Acreage in farms: 38,929
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 11,412
Truck crops: 3,262
Groves (pecans) 2,652
Tractors: 45
Trucks: 649
Automobiles: 2,561
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: poultry, peanuts, corn, string beans, lima beans, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, beef cattle, dairying, hogs, pecans. Strawberries are the most valuable single crop.
Forty-seven different crops are grown commercially. Leading industry: Stave mill.
This is a small county and borders on the New and Santa Fe Rivers.
BREVARD COUNTY. County Seaty TITUSVILLE.
Historical Events-Created in 1844 from part of Orange County, which was then called Mosquito County. It was the scene of early Spanish and French exploration and temporary colonization. One of the early Spanish Missions was established there. Blockade runners used its harbors and inlets during the Civil War.
Ponce de Leon and his men first sighted Florida March 27, 1513, the point observed being Cape Canaveral.
Some 200 French Huguenots surrendered to Menendez in this area, November, 1565.
Population: 16,142
Total acreage: 820,480
Number of farms: 1,257
Acreage in farms: 107,930
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 116
Truck crops: 990
Groves (citrus): 14,435
Tractors: 242
Trucks: 921
Automobiles: 3,700
Forty-six different crops are grown commercially. Leading agricultural sources of revenue: citrus, ornamental bulbs, poultry, dairying, tomatoes, ferns, celery.
Leading industry: Saw mills.
This county borders on the Indian River and has numerous lakes, and includes Merrit Island.
BROWARD COUNTY. County Seat, FORT LAUDERDALE.
Historical Events - Created in 1915 from part of Dade County. The site of county seat was originally a fort used in the Seminole War.
January, 1836, the Colee massacre occurred within the present limits of Ft. Lauderdale.
Ft. Lauderdale incorporated March 29, 1911.
Population: 39,794
Total acreage: 778,240
Number of farms: 2,116
Acreage in farms: 133,275
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 403
Truck crops: 34,898
Groves 7,068
Tractors: 362
Trucks: 2,254
Automobiles: 12,461
Thirty-eight different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue: String beans, to-matoes, peppers, cabbage, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Fertilizer manufacturing, sheet metal works, brick manufacturing, canning.
Broward extends from the Atlantic Ocean into the Everglades.
A Seminole reservation is located in the western part of the county.
CALHOUN COUNTY. County Seat, BLOUNTSTOWN.
Historical Events-Created in 1838 from part of Franklin County. This county had the first steam railroad in Florida. It originally included what is now Gulf County, consequently it included the great boom town of the eighteen-thirties-St. Joseph. It contains the famous "Dead Lakes."
In 1838 Indians were removed from reservations on the Apalachicola River. The name Blountstown honors one of the chiefs, John Blount, who possessed a reservation on the river.
Population: 8,218
Total acreage: 36,544
Number of farms: 707
Acreage in farms: 46,701
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 22,416
Groves (pecans): 11,875
Tractors: 17
Trucks: 294
Automobiles: 518
Thirty-two different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue: Peanuts, water-melons, velvet beans, sugar cane, syrup, hogs, poultry and eggs, sweet potatoes, corn.
Leading industries: Hardwood mills, saw mills.
Calhoun County is bordered on the east by the Apalachicola River.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY. County Seat, PUNTA GORDA.
Historical Events-Created in 1921 from part of DeSoto County. Ponce de Leon visited Charlotte Harbor in 1513 and Menendez in 1566. Indian fighting occurred in this section as late as 1857. Pirates made use of Charlotte Harbor in early Colonial days and even after the American occupation of Florida.
Population: 3,661
Total acreage: 513,920
Number of farms: 58
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 37
Truck crops: 30
Groves (citrus) 747
Tractors: 25
Trucks: 206
Automobiles: 719
Twenty different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue are: citrus, beef cattle, dairying, poultry and eggs, tomatoes.
Leading industry: Machine shop.
Charlotte County is bisected by Charlotte Harbor, extending from the Gulf of Mexico.
CITRUS COUNTY. County Seat, INVERNESS.
Historical Events-Created in 1887 from parts of St. Johns, Alachua, Hernando and Hillsborough Counties. Narvaez and DeSoto crossed this country in 1528. The Seminole War involved considerable fighting here. Before the Civil War Florida's largest sugar cane plantation existed here.
Gen. Duncan L. Clinch fought battle with Seminole Indians on the Citrus County side of the Withlacoochee River, Dec. 31, 1835.
Population 5,846
Total acreage: 417,280
Number of farms: 236
Acreage in farms: 23,020
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 3,165
Truck crops: 290
Groves 1,450
Tractors: 28
Trucks: 371
Automobiles: 1,019
Twenty-six different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue are: citrus, corn, dairying, cattle raising, poultry and eggs, hogs.
Leading industry: Fish packing.
Citrus County is bounded on the west by the Gulf of Mexico and contains a series of large lakes.
CLAY COUNTY. County Seat, GREEN COVE SPRINGS.
Historical Events-Created in 1858 from what had been part of St. Johns, Duval, and Alachua Counties. It shared the early history of these counties, and during the reconstruction era, suffered considerable hardships.
Green Cove Springs is located at the county seat.
Fleming's Island settled in 1790.
Middleburg, a before the war cotton market, founded in 1834.
Population: 6,468
Total acreage: 417,280
Number of farms: 332
Acreage in farms: 29,530
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 3,526
Truck crops: 795
Groves (pecans and citrus) 84
Tractors: 3$
Trucks: 304
Automobiles: 1,835
Twenty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: cabbage, corn, dairying, poultry and eggs, bulbs, hogs, beef cattle.
Leading industry: Saw mills.
The eastern boundary of Clay County is the St. Johns River. It has a number of lakes and Camp Blanding is located in it.
COLLIER COUNTY. County Seat, EVERGLADES.
Historical Events-Created in 1923 from parts of Lee and Monroe Counties. Visited by several early Spanish expeditions, it there lay virtually unknown to white men until Seminole War days. It had little development until the present century and has great possibilities.
Population: 5,109
Total acreage: 395,520
Number of farms: 370
Acreage in farms: 166,851
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 6,220
Truck crops: 3,689
Groves 607
Tractors: 96
Trucks: 230
Automobiles: . 463
Twenty-eight different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue are: Tomatoes, cucumbers, dairying, beef cattle, hogs, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Cooperage shop, crate manufacturing, ma-chine shops, planing mills, seafood canneries, saw mills.
Collier is a large county, much of which is in the Big Cypress Swamp. Its western line is on the Gulf of Mexico.
COLUMBIA COUNTY. County Seat, LAKE CITY.
Historical Events-Created in 1832 from part of Alachua County. This country was thickly settled by Seminoles, who had replaced or absorbed the earlier Indian tribes. The Spanish Road from St. Augustine to St. Marks passed through here. After the war many settlers came in and established a prosperous agricultural civilization.
Lake City incorporated January 15, 1859.
General Charles P. Summerall born at Lake City, March 4, 1867.
Population: 16,859
Total acreage: 505,600
Number of farms: 1,151
Acreage in farms: 124,465
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 44,163
Truck crops: 18
Groves (pecans) 22
Tractors: 64
Trucks: 658
Automobiles: 2,224
Thirty-two different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Tobacco, peanuts, corn, poultry and eggs, hogs.
Leading industries: Saw mills, planing mills, machine shops.
Columbia County extends from Georgia to the Santa Fe River -Part of Osceola National Forest is in this county.
DADE COUNTY. County Seat, MIAMI.
Historical Events-Created in 1836 from part of Monroe County. This section was visited by the Spanish in the sixteenth century but the first white settlement was about 1808. These settlers were molested by Indians during the Seminole War and had to take refuge in Ft. Dallas, whose site is now in down-town Miami. During the past half century the Population: of this section has grown tremendously.
Indian Massacre of white settlers of Indian Key, August 7, 1840.
First passenger train ran into Miami, April 15, 1896.
Population: 267,390
Total acreage: 1,392,640
Number of farms: 2,059
Acreage in farms: 90,222
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 700
Truck crops: 33,484
Groves (citrus) 13,920
Tractors: 522
Trucks: 11,253
Automobiles: 84,123
Fifty-three different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue: Tomatoes, Irish potatoes, cabbage, carrots, string beans, strawberries, citrus, avocados, papayas, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Breweries, sheet metal works, mattress manufacturing, furniture manufacturing, fertilizer manufacturing, machine shop, plumbing plants, sheet metal works, canneries, sign manufacturing.
The most of Dade County is located in the Everglades. Miami is located on Biscayne Bay. Airway service extends from this city to Latin America.
DE SOTO COUNTY. County Seat, ARCADIA.
Historical Events-Created in 1887 from part of Manatee County. When this county was first formed it was the leading cattle raising county in the State. Its early history is the same as that of the parent county of Manatee.
Fort Ogden founded 1861.
Arcadia incorporated December 8, 1886.
Population: 7,792
Total acreage: 403,840
Number of farms: 604
Acreage in farms: 146,291
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 292
Truck crops: 153
Groves (citrus) 6,576
Tractors: 104
Trucks: 455
Automobiles: 2,024
Thirty-five different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, dairying, cattle raising, hog raising, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Crate manufacturing, canning.
DeSoto is a square county and is located between Hardee County on the north and Charlotte County on the south.
DIXIE COUNTY. County Seat, CROSS CITY.
Historical Events-Created in 1921 from part of Lafayette County. This section was visited by both Narvaez and DeSoto 1528. Suwannee Old Town was one of the largest Indian towns in Florida j it was here that Andrew Jackson's men captured Am-brister, April 18, 1818, the English renegade who incited Indians against white settlers. The region suffered during the Civil War and the reconstruction era but after 1876 peace and progress came again. Dixie County is one of the best hunting sections of the state.
Population: 7,018
Total acreage: 469,760
Number of farms: 118
Acreage in farms: 17,600
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 4,339
Truck crops: 7
Tractors: 10
Trucks: 251
Automobiles: 849
Twenty different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue: Corn, peanuts, dairying, cattle raising, hog raising, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Saw mills, cross tie camps, crate manufacturing.
Dixie lies between the Suwannee River and the Gulf of Mexico.
DUVAL COUNTY. County Seat, JACKSONVILLE.
Historical Events-Created in 1822, this county included the site of one of the first white settlements in what is now the United States. French Huguenots founded a village and fort on the St. Johns River in 1564. A year later Spanish from St. Augustine destroyed the settlement, killing most of the people. They occupied the fort and were, in turn, destroyed by a French expedition in 1567. Another fort, San Mateo was built by the Spanish and missions set up along the St. Johns River. During the English occupation of Florida this section prospered. Duval County territory was part of the American "Republic of Florida" estab-lished in 1812. After the United States bought Florida, Jacksonville, now the largest city in the State, was established at "Cow Ford", where King's Road crossed the St. Johns River. The settlement suffered from Civil War, yellow fever and destruction
by fire but it came out stronger and better after each period of destruction.
First store within present city of Jacksonville opened in 1818 on the south side of present Adams Street by William G. Dawson and John R. Buckles.
Population: 210,143
Total acreage: 545,280
Number of farms: 567
Acreage in farms: 78,503
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 2,652
Truck crops: 1,737
Groves 1,182
Tractors: 77
Trucks: 8,111
Automobiles: 45,350
Fifty different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue: Corn, mixed vegetables, watermelons, citrus, guavas, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Broom manufacturing, cement manufac-turing, saw' mills, cigar manufacturing, welding shops, fertilizer manufacturing.
The St. Johns River runs through Duval County. Jacksonville is a large shipping center, by rail, ship, truck and plane.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY. County Seat, PENSACOLA.
Historical Events-Created in 1821, when the United States took Florida, Escambia County had been the site of the earliest Spanish settlement in Florida-1559. This colony failed and was abandoned until 1695. Diego Miruelo discovered Pensacola Bay in 1516. Pensacola founded by a body of Spaniards under Don Andres de Arriola in 1698.
It was ruled by Spain, France, England and the United States during the eighteenth century and the early years of the nineteenth until it finally passed to our own government, General Andrew Jackson being the first territorial Governor of Florida. Pensacola was captured by Union forces early in the Civil War and was held by them until its end. Interesting old forts, dating back to early Spanish and Civil War days, still exist.
Population: 74,667
Total acreage: 485,760
Number of farms: 753
Acreage in farms: 37,130
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 17,093
Truck crops: 256
Groves (fruits, pecans, tung nut) 988
Tractors: 72
Trucks: 2,311
Automobiles: 16,076
Forty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Corn, cotton, Irish potatoes, blue berries, peanuts, tung nuts.
Leading industries: Brewery, brick manufacturing, fertilizer manufacturing, saw mill, cooperage, ceramics.
Escambia is the most western county in the state and lies between the Escambia and Perdido Rivers. Pensacola, one of the oldest cities in Florida, is a leading port and the seat of a large navy airport.
159
FLAGLER COUNTY. County Seat, BUNNELL.
Historical Events-Created in 1817 from parts of St. Johns and Volusia Counties, this section shared the early history of the east coast region.
Bunnell incorporated June 2, 1911.
Flagler Tribune established in 1913.
Population: 3,008
Total acreage: 323,200
Number of farms: 120
Acreage in farms: 32,786
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 5,881
Truck crops: 918
Groves (citrus) 315
Tractors: 39
Trucks: 171
Automobiles: 524
Twenty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Irish potatoes, cabbage, dairying, beef cattle, hogs, poultry and eggs.
Leading industry: Stave mill.
Flagler County was named for the builder of the East Coast Railroad. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean. Crescent Lake is on the west.
FRANKLIN COUNTY. County Seat, APALACHICOLA.
Historical Events-Created in 1832, this section was an early refuge for escaped slaves and was the scene of pirate raids. Renegade British organized negroes and Indians to fight the Americans and built a strong fort for them on the Apalachicola River. Edward Nichols, a British Lieutenant built a fort for the Seminole Indians seventeen miles above mouth of Apalachicola River, and placed therein $250,000 worth of ammunition late in 1814. Runaway slaves afterward occupied this fort, which was destroyed by American forces July 27, 1816.
After the American occupation, much traffic in cotton and other agricultural products moved down the river and was shipped abroad from Apalachicola.
Dr. John Gorrie, of this city, invented the manufacture of ice here in 1851. He is known as the "father of modern refrigeration." The city was held by Union forces during most of the Civil War and later became an even more important shipping point for oysters, lumber and naval stores.
Population: 5,991
Total acreage: 448,320
Number of farms: 23
Acreage in farms: 4,756
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 88
Truck crops: 84
Groves (pecans) 22
Trucks: 315
Automobiles: 794
Thirty-two different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue are: Hogs, poultry and eggs, dairying, beekeeping.
Leading industry: Fisheries.
Franklin County is bordered on the south by St. George Sound -of the Gulf of Mexico-and on the west by the Apalachicola River. Apalachicola is the main port. Carrabelle is near Camp Gordon Johnston, a large military base.
GADSDEN COUNTY. County Seat, QUINCY.
Historical Events-Created in 1823, this county originally included all land between the Suwannee and Apalachicola Rivers, besides much land west of the Apalachicola. It was named after an officer of Andrew Jackson's triumphant army. The largest Fuller's Earth mine in the world is in this county.
Spaniards erect fort of Santa Cruz de Sabacola on or near present site of Chattahoochee about 1690. This place had a very brief existence.
Tobacco production began in 1830.
U. S. arsenal now one of Florida State Hospital buildings completed in 1838.
Population: 31,4-50
Total acreage: 341,120
Number of farms: 2,397
Acreage in farms: 163,269
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 68,953
Truck crops: 395
Groves (pecans) 2,850
Tractors: 97
Trucks: 656
Automobiles: 2,461
Forty different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of income: Tobacco, corn, sugar cane syrup, peanuts, sweet potatoes, pecans, dairying, hogs, poultry and eggs, beekeeping.
Leading industries: Saw mills, Fuller's earth, canning, dehydration plant.
Gadsden County is bounded on the north by Georgia and on the south by the Ocklockonee River.
GILCHRIST COUNTY. County Seat, TRENTON.
Historical Events - Created in 1925 from part of Alachua County, its history is to be found in the story of the parent county.
William Bartram, traveler, botanist, visited region in 1774, stopping at the Seminole town of Tallahasochte on Suwannee River.
Trenton founded in 1875.
Population: 4,250
Total acreage: 226,560
Number of farms: 479
Acreage in farms: 63,326
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 24,613
Truck crops: 2,599
Groves 479
Tractors: 50
Trucks: 350
Automobiles: 778
Twenty-four different crops are grown commercially. Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Watermelons, corn, hogs, beef cattle, dairying, poultry and eggs, peanuts.
Leading industry: saw mills.
Gilchrist is bordered on the north and west by the Suwannee River and contains many small lakes.
GLADES COUNTY. County Seat, MOORE HAVEN.
Historical Events-Created in 1921 from part of DeSoto County, which, prior to 1887, was part of Manatee County. See the story of these counties for the history of this region. A great portion of it is in the Everglades.
Population 2,745
Total acreage: 480,000
Number of farms: 159
Acreage in farms: 38,220
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 414
Truck crops: 382
Groves 64
Tractors: 13
Trucks: 240
Automobiles: 845
Twenty different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue are: Cabbage, cattle, dairying, poultry and eggs.
This county is not wholly in the Glades. It lies west of Lake Okeechobee. The only canal leading west from Lake Okeechobee leads from Moore Haven.
GULF COUNTY. County Seat, WEWAHITCHKA.
Historical Events-Created in 1925 from part of Calhoun County, which had been part of Gadsden County. It was the location of the early boom town of St. Joseph and in it was built the first railroad in Florida. This town vanished but near its site is modern Port St. Joe, a thriving city with a large paper mill.
French built fort on St. Joseph's Bay and called it Crevecover (broken heart) in 1718. It was soon given up to the Spaniards who later abandoned it.
St. Joseph founded in 1835 was wiped out in 1841 by a yellow fever epidemic and a hurricane that followed.
December 3, 1838-January 11, 1839 a convention assembling at St. Joseph formed Florida's first constitution.
Population: 6,951
Total acreage: 416,000
Number of farms: 51
Acreage in farms: 4,090
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 1,013
Truck crops: 25
Groves (pecans) 45
Tractors: 9
Trucks: 271
Automobiles: 885
Thirty-one different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Dairying, honey, beef cattle, hogs, poultry and eggs.
Leading industry: Saw mills.
Gulf County lies west of the Apalachicola River and contains the Dead Lakes. In this vicinity, the Tupelo honey, which never crystallizes is produced. Port St. Joe is the leading port.
HAMILTON COUNTY. County Seat, JASPER.
Historical Events-Created in 1827 and named for Alexander Hamilton. The country was thickly settled by Indians when white men first came in but there was little fighting here during the Seminole War or the Civil War. The Stephen Foster Memorial is located on the banks of the Suwannee River in this county.
Jasper founded 1830.
The Times, the county's first newspaper, founded in 1879.
Population: 9,778
Total acreage: 330,240
Number of farms: 997
Acreage in farms: 142,058
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 66,061
Truck crops: 658
Tractors: 39
Trucks: 290
Automobiles: 649
Thirty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Tobacco, corn, water-melons, hogs, beef cattle, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industry: Saw mills.
Hamilton County borders on Georgia; is bounded on the east and south by the Suwannee River and on the west by the Withlacoochee River.
HARDEE COUNTY. County Seat, WAUCHULA.
Historical Events-Created in 1921 from part of DeSoto County, which had been part of Manatee County. This country shares the history of the parent counties and this section of Florida. It is the second largest strawberry producing county in the State.
Capt. George S. Payne and D. Whiddon were killed at a trading post on Peace River, June 17, 1849.
First bank in Wauchula founded March 15th,, 1904, the cor-poration being known as Carlton and Carlton Bankers.
Population: 10,158
Total acreage: 406,400
Number of farms: 1,061
Acreage in farms: 222,198
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 2,604
Truck crops: 4,043
Groves (citrus) 4,688
Tractors: 175
Trucks: 823
Automobiles: 1,717
Forty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, lima beans, tomatoes, corn, dairying, beef cattle, poultry and eggs, peppers.
Leading industries: Crate manufacturing, canning.
Hardee County lies just south of Polk and is bisected by the Peace River.
HENDRY COUNTY. County Seat, LA BELLE.
Historical Events-Created in 1923 from part of Lee County. Its early history is that of the parent county and of the district. LaBelle incorporated June 7, 1913.
The first manufacture of sugar in Florida on large scale began by Southern Sugar Company at Clewiston, January, 1929.
Population 5,237
Total acreage: 737,920
Number of farms: 156
Acreage in farms: 224,164
Trucks: 362
Automobiles: 962
Nineteen different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue are: Sugar cane, cucumbers, tomatoes, citrus, beekeeping, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industry: Sugar mill.
Hendry County is largely in the Everglades. It touches Lake Okeechobee. Clewiston is located on the shore of the lake and is the home of the Southern Sugar Company.
HERNANDO COUNTY. County Seat, BROOKSVILLE.
Historical Events-Created in 1847 (first called Beuton County). This county suffered little from any of Florida's wars. It contains the famous Chinsegut Hill wild life refuge and forest experimentation area.
Hernando News, newspaper, was founded in 1876. Brooksville incorporated October 7, 1880.
Population: 5,641
Total acreage: 314,880
Number of farms: 554
Acreage in farms: 23,272
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 4,954
Truck crops: 148
Groves (citrus) 2,513
Tractors: 53
Automobiles: 1,118
Trucks: 322
Forty-one different crops are grown commercially.
The leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, peanuts, velvet beans, corn, dairying, cattle raising, hog raising, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Rock crushers, canning.
Hernando joins the Gulf of Mexico on the west and lies between Citrus and Pasco Counties.
HIGHLANDS COUNTY. County Seat, SEBRING.
Historical Events-Created in 1921 from part of DeSoto County, which had been part of Manatee County. See these two counties' historical sketches for the history of the region. This county lies in the beautiful rolling hill and lake section of Florida.
Through influence of the great Librarian, Melvil Dewey, name of Lake Stearns (incorporated December 1, 1925) was changed to Lake Placid and under that name incorporated June 6, 1927.
Population: 9,246
Total acreage: 698,240
Number of farms: 599
Acreage in farms: 335,511
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 234
Truck crops: 882
Groves (citrus) 17,122
Tractors: 82
Automobiles: 3,213
Trucks: 661
Thirty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, string beans, avocados, beef cattle, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: saw mills, canning.
Highlands County occupies the southern end of the hill section of the central part of the Peninsula. It has numerous lakes, the largest of which is Istopoga.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. County Seat, TAMPA.
Historical Events-Created in 1834, this county was named for the Marquis of Hillsborough, who owned much Florida land under the British rule. Robert Ambrister, who was executed in 1818, by order of General Andrew Jackson, visited this section probably to promote a Florida Indian protectorate under the British, in 1817.
Attempts to establish missions here met with murderous op-position from the Indians. The Spanish named Tampa Bay "Espiritii Sants." The Indian town of "Tampa" was the site of the present City of Tampa. The modern city was built around Fort Brooke, an army post to protect it against Seminole ravages. Many famous Indian chiefs embarked here on their final exile from Florida. Tampa was captured by Union forces in 1864, but there was little fighting in this section. This was the point of embarkation for American troops, Cuba-bound during the Spanish-American War. Hillsborough is the leading strawberry growing county of the State.
John Mercer Brooke,, inventor, the man who superintended the plating of the world's first successful fighting ironclad, the Virginia, was born at Fort Brooke, December 18, 1826.
Population: 180,148
Number of farms: 12,752
Total acreage: 790,400
Farm acreage 168,068
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 9,087
Truck crops: 19,936
Groves (citrus) 20,576
Tractors: 681
Automobiles: 40,824
Trucks: 7,872
Sixty-eight different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, strawberries, string beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, peppers, Irish po-tatoes, sweet potatoes, hay, corn, velvet beans, papayas, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Fertilizer manufacturing, cement, furniture manufacturing, feed mills, lumber manufacturing and cigar manufacturing, canning.
Hillsborough County borders Tampa Bay, on which the City of Tampa is located-a large shipping port. It is quite an industrial city.
HOLMES COUNTY. County Seat, BONIFAY.
Historical Events-Created in 1848 from parts of Washington and Walton Counties. Its history is a part of the story of the region and its growth has been quiet and steady.
Population: 15,477
Number of farms: 1,800
Total acreage: 316,800
Farm acreage 117,507
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 67,391
Groves (citrus) 589
Tractors: 31
Automobiles: 949
Trucks: 472
Thirty-three different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue are: Peanuts, dairying, corn, cotton, hog raising, poultry and eggs, watermelons, velvet beans.
Holmes is a north border county and is drained by the Choctaw-hatchee River.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY. County Seat, VERO BEACH.
Historical Events-Created in 1925 from part of St. Lucie County. Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his soldiers marched through this area, November, 1565. Jonathan Dickensen and others shipwrecked at Hobe Sound in September, 1696, passed through present Indian River County early in October, 1696.
This region was not really settled until after the Civil War. It is now a properous citrus and truck growing region and has great sub-tropic beauty. McKee Jungle Gardens, in this county, attracts many out-of-state visitors.
Population: 8,957
Number of farms: 640
Total acreage: 336,000
Farm acreage 149,046
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 3,186
Truck crops: 623
Groves (citrus) 13,272
Tractors: 149
Automobiles: 1,963
Trucks: 510
Twenty-three different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, sugar cane, tomatoes, poultry and eggs, dairying.
Leading industry: Planing mills.
Indian River County borders on the Indian River from which it gets its name. Lake Wilmington is in the western part.
Fellsmere Sugar Mill is located in the county.
Indian River County has more canals than any other in the state.
JACKSON COUNTY. County Seat, MARIANNA
Historical Events-Created in 1822, this section had experienced bloody war between Indians and Andrew Jackson's forces. Massacre by Seminole Indians of Lieut. Scott's command, December 6, 1817. Battle of Marianna fought September 27, 1864.
The worst horrors of reconstruction in Florida occurred in this county, many carpet baggers and their negro followers being killed, whipped or driven out as a result of their radical methods and murders committed by them. Near Marianna are the famous Caverns.
Population 34,428
Number of farms: 3,700
Total acreage: 602,240
Farm acreage 364,650
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 211,352
Truck crops: 9
Groves (pecans) 4,952
Tractors: 108
Automobiles: 2,620
Trucks: 866
Thirty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Peanuts, corn, cotton, velvet beans, watermelons, dairying, hogs, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Saw mills, rock mines, peanut mills.
Jackson County is separated from Georgia on the east by the Chattahoochee River. The county is bisected by the Chipola River. It has a number of small lakes.
JEFFERSON COUNTY. County Seat, MONTICELLO.
Historical Events-Created in 1827, this county had been the scene of bitter war between the Spanish and English and their Indian allies.
Battle of Ayavalla, a few miles southwest of the present Monticello, Jan. 25,, 1704.
Achille Murat, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte died near Wacissa, April 15, 1847.
Population: 12,032
Number of farms: 779
Total acreage: 382,080
Farm acreage 66,002
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 37,871
Truck crops: 19
Groves (pecans, tung groves) 2,899
Tractors: 42
Automobiles: 984
Trucks: 405
Thirty-six different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Pecans, corn, dairying, eggplants, poultry and eggs, tung groves.
Leading industry: Saw mills.
Jefferson County extends from Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico. It is bounded on the east by the Aucilla River. Miccosukee is its principal lake. :i~
LAFAYETTE COUNTY. County Seat, MAYO.
Historical Events-Created in 1856 from part of Madison County. DeSoto's party, in 1539, encountered fierce opposition from the Indians occupying this region. There was considerable fighting.during the Seminole War and Forts McComb, Barker and Downing were erected to control the savages. Florida's largest unworked phosphate beds are in Lafayette County.
J. N. Kreminger, former Speaker of the Florida House, murdered at New Troy, October 5, 1871.
Population: 4,405
Number of farms: 676
Total acreage: 350,720
Farm acreage 94,207
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 50,504
Groves (pecans) 23
Tractors: 82
Automobiles: 378
Trucks: 222
Twenty-five different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue are: Tobacco, hog raising, corn, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Saw mills, cross tie camps.
Lafayette County was named for; General Lafayette. It is bounded on the east by the Suwaxmee River. The Steinhatchee
Springs, are in the southwest part of the county.
LAKE COUNTY. County Seat, TAVARES.
Historical Events-Created in 1887 from parts of Sumter and Orange Counties. Spaniards, in colonial days, introduced the orange to this region for American settlers resulting in wild orange groves in abundance. Indian trouble continued until 1850 and real development did not come until after the Civil War. Lake is the leading watermelon county of Florida and it also ranks high in citrus and grape production.
Hernando de Soto and his men passed through county July, 1539'. Leesburg founded 1866.
Florida Conference College predecessor of present Southern College was founded at Leesburg, 1887.
Population: 27,255
Number of farms: 3,206
Total acreage: 736,640
Farm acreage 139,282
Acreage cultivated:
Field crops: 9,354
Truck crops: 2,964
Groves (citrus) 49,531
Automobiles: 5,947
Tractors: 167
Trucks: 1,608
Forty-five different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Dairying, citrus, poultry and eggs, cotton, cabbage, ferns.
Leading industry: Canning.
Lake County is rightly named. It is said to have 400 lakes. It is a peculiarly shaped county and extends 60 miles north and south from Lake George to the head tributaries of the Kissimmee and Withlacoochee Rivers.
LEE COUNTY. County Seat, FT. MYERS.
Historical Events-Created in 1887 from part of Monroe County. This section was visited and mapped by early Spanish explorers. During the Seminole War several forts were built, including Fort Harvey, later rebuilt as Fort Myers. The city of the same name which grew on this site was the winter home of the late Thomas A. Edison.
Population: 17,488
Number of farms: 515
Total acreage: 652,800
Farm acreage 19,460
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 822
Truck crops: 1,902
Groves (citrus) 5,142
Tractors: 141
Automobiles: 4,168
Trucks: 1,044
Twenty-seven different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue are: Citrus, Irish potatoes, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Saw mills, canning.
Lee County was once a very large county but five counties were made of it. It is divided by the Caloosahatchee River which is connected with the Cross State Canal that drains from Lake Okeechobee.
LEON COUNTY. County Seat, TALLAHASSEE.
Historical Events-Created in 1824 from part of Gadsden County. It was inhabited by Apalachee Indians in early colonial days and they were great hunters and fishermen and fierce warriors. Spanish missions were established here and much commerce was carried on with the settlement at St. Augustine.
In 1704 an English expedition from South Carolina destroyed these flourishing settlements and plantations. Later, in 1818, the natives here were chastised by the American forces of Andrew Jackson for having made British instigated raids on Georgia. He crossed the Ocklockonee River at what is now known as Jackson's Bluff-an electric power plant is located there.
In 1824 Tallahassee became the territorial capital and a log statehouse erected on the Southeast corner of the present capitol square. The name of this settlement had already been fixed by Indian inhabitants.
Natural Bridge is just south of Tallahassee and was the scene of a Confederate victory in 1865. Tallahassee was the only southern capital not captured during the entire Civil War. The region suffered during reconstruction but prospered later.
Florida State College for Women and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes are located in Tallahassee, and also the State Supreme Court.
DeSoto and his men wintered in Tallahassee or immediate vicinity October 25, 1539, to March 2, 1540.
One night in July, 1839, Mr. Green Chairs, his wife and six children were attacked by Indians five miles southeast of Tallahassee. Mrs. Chairs was shot dead. Mr. Chairs, a grown daughter and three children escaped in the darkness. Two young children were burned alive. Niles' National Register, August 10, 1839.
Population 31,646
Number of farms: 1,328
Total acreage: 452,480
Farm acreage 168,977
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 68,902
Truck crops: 273
Groves (pecans) 3,249
Tractors: 82
Automobiles: 3,330
Trucks: 744
Forty-eight different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Corn, pecans, dairying, poultry and eggs, velvet beans, cotton, hay, sugar cane. Leading industries: Crate manufacturing and saw mills.
Leon County is bounded on the west by the Ocklockonee River. It has several good sized lakes. The State Capital, State Supreme Court, The Woman's College, the A & M College, are located in Tallahassee.
LEVY COUNTY. County Seat, BRONSON.
Historical Events-Created in 1845. This county was the scene of early Spanish exploration and activity during the Semi-nole wars. Cedar Key was established as a principal point for landing American troops and supplies. Millions of feet of cedar were shipped from here and it is still a great fishing port.
The Suwannee River flows into the Gulf of Mexico in Levy County and stories of hidden pirate gold still bring searchers to its banks.
First cross-state railroad, the Florida, from Fernandina to Cedar Key was finished in 1860.
Narvaez and his men passed through area in 1528.
Population: 12,550
Number of farms: 483
Total acreage: 737,920
Farm acreage 70,239
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 30,543
Truck crops: 993
Groves (pecans) 102
Tractors: 49
Automobiles: 1,144
Trucks: 520
Thirty-seven different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Hog raising, beef cattle, corn, poultry and eggs, watermelons, peanuts.
Leading industries: Feed mills, hamper manufacturing. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf and the Suwannee River, and on the west by Marion County.
LIBERTY COUNTY. County Seat, BRISTOL.
Historical Events-Created in 1858 from part of Gadsden County. This section filled up with fugitive negro slaves from Georgia and Florida. Their fort on the Apalachicola was destroyed in 1816 and the country cleared of them. The white Population did not begin to increase greatly until after 1890.
Population 3,752
Number of farms: 1,350
Total acreage: 528,000
Farm acreage 46,221
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 19,231
Truck crops: 99
Groves 91
Tractors: 7
Automobiles: 178
Trucks: 132
Seventeen different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Corn, hog raising, dairying, beef cattle, peanuts, velvet beans, sugar cane.
Leading industry: Saw mills.
This county lies between the Apalachicola and the Ocklockonee Rivers. The greater part of the county is the Apalachicola National Forest Reservation.
MADISON COUNTY. County Seat, MADISON.
Historical Events-Created in 1827. This region did not have permanent white settlers until the 1820s, though Spanish explorers visited it and missions were established during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. There was considerable conflict here during the Seminole wars and much suffering during the reconstruction period.
In 1880 at Madison, the county seat, the largest sea island cotton gin in Florida was established and it became the greatest sea island cotton market in the world, but declined when the boll weevil reached Florida.
About 1685 what later came to be known as "Old Spanish Road" was built through this area.
January 3, 1861, John C. McGehee of Madison County was made president of the Secession Convention.
Population: 16,190
Number of farms: 1,346
Total acreage: 455,680
Farm acreage 174,547
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 78,538
Truck crops: 1,664
Groves 2,631
Tractors: 112
Automobiles: 1,352
Trucks: 489
Forty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Pecans, tobacco, corn, peanuts, velvet beans, watermelons, hog raising, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Cross tie manufacturing, saw mills.
Madison County lies between the Aucilla and the Withla-coochee Rivers and is bounded on the north by Georgia.
MANATEE COUNTY. County Seat, BRADENTON.
Historical Events-Created from part of Hillsborough County. It was named for the Manatee or Sea Cow which was then plentiful along the coasts and rivers of the section. Gamble Mansion, near Bradenton, was the place of refuge of Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of State of Confederacy, while eluding Federal troops after the collapse of the Confederacy. Baden Castle is also a point of great interest to visitors.
Population: 26,098
Number of farms: 935
Total acreage: 540,160
Farm acreage 260,873
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 1,576
Truck crops: 7,571
Groves (citrus) 6,295
Tractors: 209
Automobiles: 5,435
Trucks: 1,426
Forty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, tomatoes, celery, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industry: Canneries.
Manatee lies south of Hillsborough County and is bordered on the west by the Gulf of Mexico.
MARION COUNTY. County Seat, OCALA.
Historical Events-Created in 1844 from part of Alachua County. Wild orange groves attest the existence of early Spanish Missions in this region. In 1708 an English expedition drove out most of the Indian inhabitants. Later on the section was made part of the Seminole Reservation with its agency at Fort King, near Ocala. It was there that Osceola declared war on the whites. Fort King was the original county seat but soon the government was moved to Ocala. Part of this county is included in a federal forest reservation.
Hard rock phosphate in Florida was first discovered in this county and it is still a great production region for the industry. Silver Springs is one of natures greatest wonders and is visited yearly by thousands. Blue Springs is another attraction of note.
Hernando de Soto and his men passed through this section in the summer of 1539.
December 28, 1835, General Wiley Thompson, U. S. Seminole Indian agent, and Lieutenant Constantine Smith were shot from ambush by Osceola and a number of his Indian followers.
Population: 31,243
Number of farms: 2,023
Total acreage: 1,039,360
Farm acreage 248,741
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 54,941
Truck crops: 7,751
Groves (citrus) 7,646
Tractors: 292
Automobiles: 5,008
Trucks: 1,610
Fifty different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Dairying, citrus, hog raising, sheep raising, peanuts, corn, poultry and eggs, tung trees, beekeeping, tomatoes.
Leading industries: Road material manufacturing, phosphate plants, cooperage shops, canning.
This county is bisected by the proposed Cross State Canal extending from the St. Johns River to the Gulf of Mexico. The famous Silver Springs are the source of the Ocklawaha River which was to furnish part of the canal. The eastern part of the county is occupied by the Ocala National Forest Reservation.
MARTIN COUNTY. County Seat, STUART
Historical Events-Created in 1925 from parts of St. Lucie and Palm Beach counties. The region was not permanently settled until after the Civil War. The waters of this section afford fishing of world renown.
Jonathen Dickenson and his party passed through this section September, 1696.
Stuart incorporated May 9, 1914.
Population: 6,295
Number of farms: 183
Total acreage: 368,640
Farm acreage 62,961
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 180
Truck crops: 2,135
Groves (citrus) 2,185
Automobiles: 1,315
Tractors: 49
Trucks: 368
Twenty-seven different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Bulb growing, citrus, poultry and eggs, dairying, tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, string beans.
Martin is one of the tier of eastern counties and lies between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Okeechobee. The St. Lucie Canal runs through this county.
MONROE COUNTY. County Seat, KEY WEST.
Historical Events-Created in 1824, this county was named for the man who was then president of the United States, James Monroe. Key West, the county seat, was a thriving port and the largest city in Florida before the Civil War. Fort Jefferson, on the Dry Tortugas, was the place of imprisonment of Dr. Mudd who had set the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth after the latter had assassinated Abraham Lincoln. Key West became a naval base in 1822 and was of great importance during the Civil War, the Spanish American War, first World War and again in the second World War.
It is a most interesting city with its ancient houses-, its "Turtle crawls" and its tropical vegetation.
It is reached by buses, Trucks: and passenger cars over a highway running from Florida's mainland over a series of long and narrow keys connected by bridges, the center of one bridge being out of sight of land.
John W. Simonton purchased island of Key West from Don Juan de Estrada, original grantee, December 21, 1821.
Florida's first democratic primary held in Monroe County 1876.
Population: 14,078
Number of farms: 94
Total acreage: 1,245,440
Farm acreage 3,320
Acres cultivated:
Groves (citrus) 1,550
Tractors: 2
Automobiles: 3,190
Trucks: 400
Four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Fisheries, canning.
This county occupies the extreme southern extension of the state. It consists mainly of islands and undeveloped area. The county seat is the farthest south of any city in the United States.
A state highway extends from the mainland to Key West.
NASSAU COUNTY. County Seat, FERNANDINA.
Historical Events-Created in 1824 from part of Duval County. Fernandina, the county seat, has a fine- harbor and is the site of large paper mills. It has a most interesting history, for over it have flown the flags of Spain, France, England, Mexico, Venezuela, the Confederacy and the United States. Nearby is historic Fort Clinch.
Spanish made short lived settlements on Amelia Island prior to 1600.
Gregor McGregor and other filibusterers took Amelia Island in 1817. Luis Aury, who succeeded McGregor, forced to surrender to American forces December, 1817.
Population: 10,826
Number of farms: 1,439
Total acreage: : 417,280
Farm acreage 57,285
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 3,933
Truck crops: 339
Groves (pecans) 68
Tractors: 11
Automobiles: 1,483
Trucks: 410
Thirty-seven different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue are: Poultry and eggs, dairying, corn, hog raising, beef cattle, sweet potatoes.
Leading industries: Fisheries, canning.
This is the northeast corner county in the state. It is bordered on the west and north by the St. Mary's River.
OKALOOSA COUNTY, County Seat, CRESTVIEW.
Historical Events-Created in 1915 from parts of Santa Rosa and Walton Counties. Okaloosa shared their early history. It is a land of rolling hills, forest and farm land, with fine gulf beaches.
Spanish expedition consisting of Governor Laureano de Torrs Y. Ayala and others passed through this section June, 1693.
Beginning of blueberry culture through domestication of wild plants 1894-96.
Population: 12,900
Number of farms: 604
Total acreage: 634,240
Farm acreage 49,197
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 32,444
Truck crops: 8
Groves (pecans) 426
Tractors: 2
Automobiles: 2,365
Trucks: 674
Twenty-eight different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Corn, dairying, velvet beans, cattle raising, cotton, peanuts, hogs, poultry, eggs.
Leading industry: Saw mills.
This county extends from Alabama on the north to the Gulf of Mexico on the south. A goodly part of it is taken up with the Choctawhatchee National Forest.
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY. County Seat, OKEECHOBEE.
Historical Events-Created in 1917 from parts of St. Lucie, Osceola and Palm Beach Counties. It was the scene of much Indian fighting from 1835 to 1842 and the fiercest battle of the war was fought near Okeechobee City in 1837. The county suffered severely from the hurricane of 1928. It is a great truck growing region. It was once quite a lumbering section.
Population: 3,000
Number of farms: 167
Total acreage: 487,040
Farm acreage 79,176
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 251
Truck crops: 156
Groves (citrus) 414
Tractors: 32
Automobiles: 609
Trucks: 267
Thirty-two different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Cattle, dairying, poultry and eggs, citrus, cabbage.
Leading industry: Saw mill.
Okeechobee County lies just north of Lake Okeechobee and east of the Kissimmee River.
ORANGE COUNTY. County Seat, ORLANDO.
Historical Events-Created in 1824, this was originally called Mosquito County and embraced most of what are now Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, Osceola, Lake and Seminole Counties. The region suffered greatly during the Seminole Wars. The county name was changed in 1845 and after the Civil War ended, the Population: began to increase rapidly. The great freeze of 1895 injured the county badly, but it began to build up again immediately. Rollins College was opened in 1885 and has made Orange County a noted cultural center. Orange County is Florida's second county in the production of oranges. It possesses more than 1500 fresh water lakes.
Population 70,074
Number of farms: 1,089
Total acreage: 635,520
Farm acreage 52,980
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 1,152
Truck crops: 961
Groves (citrus) 19,161
Tractors: 147
Automobiles: 19,555
Trucks: 3,626
Fifty different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, dairying, celery, cabbage, corn, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Utilities manufacturing, fertilizer manu-facturing, ornamental iron manufacturing, canning.
This county has a name true to its characteristics. It is bordered on the west by Lake County and the east by Brevard and Semi-nole. It has many lakes.
OSCEOLA COUNTY. County Seat, KISSIMMEE.
Historical Events-Created in 1887 from part of Orange County. The region suffered from the Indian Wars and somewhat during the Civil War. It was not until after this struggle that cattlemen began to make it one of the two greatest cattle raising counties in Florida.
Disston Canals completed in 1885.
St. Cloud settled as Grand Army of the Republic colony in 1905.
Population: 10,199
Number of farms: 320
Total acreage: 954,880
Farm acreage 732,211
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 601
Truck crops: 139
Groves (citrus) 3,014
Tractors: 96
Automobiles: 2,411
Trucks: 463
Thirty-eight different crops are grown commercially. Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, cattle, cabbage. Leading industry: Saw mills.
Osceola County was named for the famous Indian Chief of that name. It lies just east of Polk County and has numerous large and small lakes.
PALM BEACH COUNTY. County Seat, WEST PALM BEACH.
Historical Events-Created in 1909 from part of Dade County. The entire region was most sparsely settled by white people until the last decade of the nineteenth century. The coming of the Florida East Coast Railroad and the Everglades drainage project brought in many settlers as farmers and merchants and Palm Beach became a resort of world renown. Thousands of cocoanut palms, royal palms and gorgeous semi-tropical foliage of various sorts make the region a paradise to northern visitors.
Population 79,989
Number of farms: 1,133
Total acreage: 1,717,760
Farm acreage 158,408
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 34,935
Truck crops: 63,760
Groves (citrus) 3,837
Tractors: 779
Automobiles: 23,646
Trucks: 3,783
Forty-one different crops are grown commercially. Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Sugar cane, celery, cabbage, string beans, lettuce, dairying, poultry and eggs, citrus, papayas.
Leading industries: Machine shops, stone plants, upholstery shops.
Most of the farming done in this county is along the eastern border and along the southeast shore of Lake Okeechobee. Five of the seven canals which lead from the Lake to the sea run through this county.
PASCO COUNTY. County Seat, DADE CITY.
Historical Events-Created in 1887 from part of Hernando County. This region was first visited by white men when Navae's army passed through in 1528. The Indian Population: at that time was small. White settlement amounted to little until after the Civil War. St. Leo's College, one of Florida's outstanding Catholic Schools, is located in Pasco County.
Population: 13,981
Number of farms: 991
Total acreage: 492,160
Farm acreage 159,725
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 8,045
Truck crops: 403
Groves (citrus) 12,298
Tractors: 204
Automobiles: 2,401
Trucks: 672
Forty-eight different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, dairying, poultry and eggs, corn, watermelons, velvet beans. Leading industries: Saw mills, planing mills, canning.
Pasco is just north of Hillsborough County and borders the Gulf of Mexico.
PINELLAS COUNTY. County Seat, CLEAR WATER.
Historical Events-Created in 1911 from part of Hillsborough County. This region was visited by early Spanish explorers but had no white settlements until after the Seminole Wars. Once begun, the steady stream of immigrants increased until the present century when it leaped 1200 percent in forty years. Tarpon Springs is the center of Florida's great sponge fishing industry, and St. Petersburg is the greatest west-coast tourist city in the state.
Pamphilo de Narvaez at the head of 300 Spaniard landed in vicinity of St. Petersburg in April, 1528.
Population 91,852
Number of farms: 800
Total acreage: 275,200
Farm acreage 34,889
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 619
Truck crops: 475
Groves (citrus) 14,223
Tractors: 210
Automobiles: 27,839
Trucks: 3,057
Thirty-eight different crops are grown commercially. Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Canneries, machine shops, cabinet manu-facturing, saw mills.
Pinellas County is a peninsula and lies between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. St. Petersburg and Tampa are connected by a bridge and Clearwater and Tampa connect by a causeway.
POLK COUNTY. County Seat, BARTOW.
Historical Events-Created in 1860 from part of Hillsborough County. The early Spanish explorers and missionaries left wild orange trees in numerous places. The region was made part of the Seminole reservation and so there were no American settlers until after the Indian wars had ended. Many veterans of these wars settled in Polk County. Polk has become Florida's greatest citrus fruit producing county and a leading cattle raising county. It is a delightful region of hills and lakes and possesses the highest point in the state, where Bok Tower is located. It produces more pebble phosphate than any other county in the United States.
South Florida Military Institute founded by Gen. E. M. Law, September, 1894.
Bok Tower completed in 1929.
Population 86,665
Number of farms: 8,104
Total acreage: 1,274,880
Farm acreage 453,936
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 8,143
Truck crops 4,730
Groves (citrus) 128,065
Tractors: 960
Automobiles: 19,081
Trucks: 4,782
Fifty-three crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, dairying, poultry and eggs, strawberries, string beans, peppers, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes.
Leading industries: Planing mills, machine shops, phosphate manufacturing, radiator shop, sash and door manufacturing, saw mills, canning, dehydration plant.
Polk lies between Hillsborough and Osceola Counties. It has many lakes of various sizes. It is the largest phosphate producing county in the United States.
PUTNAM COUNTY. County Seat, PALATKA.
Historical Events-Created in 1849 from part of St. Johns County. French Huguenots traded here in 1564 and later. During the British occupation great plantations were established along the St. John River. The short-lived Republic of Florida, established in 1812, included part of what is now Putnam County. Palatka was established as a fort during the Seminole wars. The region saw considerable fighting by small forces during the Civil War and after it ended there was a considerable inflow of settlers from the north. It is a land of beautiful lakes and rivers and has an unusual attraction at the Azalea. Ravine Gardens at Palatka.
Follestown, a settlement on a 40,000 acre grant to Denyo Rolls, founded in 1765.
In 1820 trading post established at Palatka by James Marver and others.
Population: 18,698
Number of farms: 283
Total acreage: 524,800
Farm acreage 78,664
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 2,987
Truck crops: 1,285
Groves (citrus) 3,033
Tractors: 109
Automobiles: 3,316
Trucks: 1,085
Thirty different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Irish potatoes, citrus, cabbage, dairying, cattle raising, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Saw mills, cooperage mills, canning.
Putnam County extends on both sides of the St. Johns River and is between Clay and Marion Counties.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY. County Seat, ST. AUGUSTINE.
Historical Events-Established in 1821, at the beginning of the American occupation of Florida. St. Augustine was the first permanent white settlement in what is now the United States, being established by Spanish under Menendez in 1565. Ponce de Leon had landed near here in 1513. Early Spanish buildings and fortifications are preserved, including ancient Fort San Marcos and the original city gates. The city was captured by Sir Francis Drake in 1586 and later by John Davis. It was besieged by Governor Oglethorpe of Georgia and Governor Moore of South Carolina. The ancient fort held as prisoners signers of the American Declaration of Independence and, later, famous Indian Chiefs of Seminole War days and Arizona Indian Wars. The Confederate flag was the fourth (following Spanish, British and American) to fly over this region, not counting the French in the northern part and the banner of the Republic of Florida. In 1862 the Union forces reoccupied the county and the American flag has flown ever since. St. Johns is Florida's chief Irish potato producing county. Thousands of tourists visit here annually to see the old Spanish and beautiful but more modern buildings of the ancient city.
In 1838 Coacoochee, otherwise known as Wild Cat, made his famous escape from Fort Marion.
Population: 20,012
Number of farms: 319
Total acreage: 444,160
Farm acreage: 15,627
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 9,825
Truck crops: 116
Groves (citrus) 178
Tractors: 147
Automobiles: 3,597
Trucks: 792
Twenty-seven different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of income: Irish potatoes, cabbage, dairying, poultry and eggs, bulbs, beef cattle, citrus.
Leading industries: Fisheries, naval stores.
St. Johns County lies between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. The state capital was located at Tallahassee because it was halfway between St. Johns and Escambia Counties.
St. Augustine has many historic landmarks.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY. County Seat, FT. PIERCE.
Historical Events-Established in 1905 from part of Brevard County and shared the early history of that region. Ft. Pierce was established as an army post during the Seminole Wars and was the only white settlement of any importance until after the Civil War. The coming of the railroad and the freeze of 1895 brought many settlers to this almost freeze-free region along the Indian River.
Population 11,871
Number of farms: 598
Total acreage: 386,560
Farm acreage 29,822
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 10
Truck crops: 5,021
Groves (citrus) 18,571
Tractors: 243
Automobiles: 2,557
Trucks: 768
Forty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, tomatoes, beef cattle, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Canneries, fertilizer manufacturing.
St. Lucie is an East Coast County and has a circular canal that empties into the Indian River at both ends.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY. County Seat, MILTON.
Historical Events-Created in 1842 from, part of Escambia County. There were some Spanish settlers here before the American occupation. Here was established Florida's first cotton factory, near Milton in 1846.
Spanish overland expedition consisting of Governor Laureano de Torres Y Avala, seeking for Pensacola Bay, passed through here in the Summer of 1693.
Population 16,085
Number of farms: 923
Total acreage: 736,640
Farm acreage 61,202
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 39,388
Truck crops: 218
Groves (fruit) 14
Automobiles: 1,344
Tractors: 103
Trucks: 609
Thirty-eight different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Cotton, corn, peanuts, dairying, hogs, velvet beans, sugar cane, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Saw mills, naval stores.
Santa Rosa is next to the last county west and extends from Alabama to Escambia Bay, East Bay and Pensacola Bay. Escambia River separates Santa Rosa from Escambia County.
SARASOTA COUNTY. County Seat, SARASOTA.
Historical Events-Established in 1921 from part of Manatee County. This county shared the history of Manatee and Hillsborough Counties. Sarasota is the site of Ringling Art Mu-seum opened in 1931, and winter quarters of Ringling Circus. John Ringling willed the museum to the State of Florida in 1937.
First golf course in America laid out in Sarasota by J. Hamilton Gillespie..
Population: 16,106
Number of farms: 214
Total acreage: 378,240
Farm acreage 61,763
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 338
Truck crops: 2,441
Groves (citrus) 2,380
Tractors: 107
Automobiles: 5,428
Trucks: 794
Thirty-three different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue: Citrus, celery, tomatoes, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Machine shop, mill works, concrete, dolo-mite.
Sarasota County is between Manatee on the north and Charlotte on the south.
SEMINOLE COUNTY. County Seat, SANFORD.
Historical Events-Created in 1913 from part of Orange County. There were few settlers prior to the Civil War but an extensive settlement was made at Sanford in 1870. It is the head of navigation of the great St. Johns River.
This county was named for the Seminole Indians and Sanford, the county seat, was named for Gen. Henry S. Sanford, a pioneer developer of that county.
Battle of Fort Mellon, an engagement of Seminole War, February 8, 1837.
Railroad built from Sanford to Orlando in 1880.
Population: 22,304
Number of farms: 688
Total acreage: 222,080
Farm acreage 52,650
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 904
Truck crops: 2,443
Groves (citrus) 3,885
Tractors: 162
Automobiles: 3,525
Trucks: 1,088
Sixty-six different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of revenue:. Celery, citrus, cabbage, string beans, dairying, poultry and eggs, bulbs, flowers.
Leading industries: Crate manufacturing, concrete works, machine shops.
Seminole County was named for the tribe of Indians which occupied most of Florida when first discovered. It is bordered on the east and partly on the north by the St. Johns River. Lake Monroe, on the north, is an expansion of the river and the limit of navigation for shipping on the river.
SUMTER COUNTY. County Seat, BUSHNELL.
Historical Events-Created in 1853. This county was very sparsely settled until after the close of the Seminole Wars. It was here, near Bushnell, that the command of Major Dade was massacred by Indians in 1835. The Dade Memorial Park commemorates their sacrifice.
Population: 11,041
Number of farms: 1,650
Total acreage: 366,080
Farm acreage 91,196
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 19,746
Truck crops: 8,147
Groves (citrus, pecans) 1,183
Tractors: 130
Automobiles: 1,362
Trucks: 555
Fifty different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of income: Tomatoes, cucumbers, dairying, hogs, citrus, poultry and eggs, peppers, strawberries.
Leading industries: Crate manufacturing and saw mills.
Sumter County lies between Lake County and the Withlacoo-chee River.
SUWANNEE COUNTY. County Seat, LIVE OAK.
Historical Events-Created in 1858 from part of Columbia County. DeSoto passed through this section in 1539 and the Old Spanish Trail from St. Augustine crossed Suwannee County. The county gets its name from the famed Suwannee River, which forms its western border. Spanish road from St. Augustine to San Luis, opened through this section in 1685.
Population: 17,073
Number of farms: 1,771
Total acreage: 438,400
Farm acreage 238,829
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 136,454
Truck crops: 33
Groves (pecans) 2,035
Tractors: 243
Automobiles: 1,519
Trucks: 688
Forty-two different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of income: Tobacco, pecans, peanuts, corn, watermelons, dairying and hogs.
Leading industries: Naval stores, saw mills.
This County was named for the River made famous by Stephen Foster by his song "Way Down Upon the Suwannee River." This River forms the boundary on the north, west and the greater part of the south.
TAYLOR COUNTY. County Seat, PERRY.
Historical Events-Created in 1856. This county was named for the twelfth president of the United States, who had commanded troops in this region during the Seminole wars. Early Spanish missions were located within the county.
April 12, 1818, a battle was fought between forces of General Andrew Jackson and Seminole Indians at Natural Bridge on Econfina.
In March, 1864, Major Chas. H. Camfield was sent with a Confederate force into Taylor County to capture deserters who had assembled from a number of places to find hideouts in the swamps. Considerable supplies were captured and a number of deserters' houses burned.
Population: 11,565
Number of farms: 392
Total acreage: 668,800
Farm acreage 46,463
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 9,748
Truck crops: 58
Groves (pecans) 50
Tractors: 9
Automobiles: 1,211
Trucks: 460
Forty-four different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of income: Hogs, dairying, corn, peanuts, poultry and eggs, velvet beans.
Leading industry: Saw mills.
Taylor County is bordered on the north by Madison and on the south by the Gulf of Mexico.
UNION COUNTY. County Seat, LAKE BUTLER.
Historical Events-Created in 1921 from part of Bradford County, thus its history is that of the parent county. Florida's State Prison Farm is located within the county.
Population: 7,094
Number of farms: 448
Total acreage: 158,720
Farm acreage 43,119
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 13,461
Truck crops: 1,030
Groves (pecans) 646
Tractors: 30
Automobiles: 565
Trucks: 211
Forty-one different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of income: Hog raising, Irish potatoes, corn, peanuts, tobacco, cantaloupes, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Saw mills, naval stores.
This county lies between the New River and the Olustee River and south of Baker County.
VOLUSIA COUNTY. County Seat, DELAND.
Historical Events-Created in 1854 from part of Orange County. Ponce de Leon explored inland as far as the St. Johns River from his anchorage within Mosquito Inlet. There are ruins of an early Spanish fort and of Spanish Missions near New Smyrna Beach and Ormond. Dr. TurnbulPs colony of Greeks, Minorcans and Italians was established at the former place in 1767, the name being taken from Smyrna, the birthplace of TurnbulPs wife. The colony was broken up and most of the settlers moved to St. Augustine. During the Seminole wars a battle was fought near present Daytona Beach. The beach here has been noted as the racing course where world's speed records were set. De Leon Springs is a well known resort.
Stetson University was founded in 1887. It was incorporated as De Land University, but in 1889 the name was changed to John B. Stetson University.
Population: 53,710
Number of farms: 497
Total acreage: 794,240
Farm acreage 39,926
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 674
Truck crops: 243
Groves (citrus) 6,401
Tractors: 96
Automobiles: 12,397
Trucks: 1,908
Thirty-eight different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of income: Citrus, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Sheet metal works, paint manufacturing, oyster canneries, insecticide manufacturing, radiator shop.
Volusia is an East Coast County. It extends from Lake George on the northwest to Brevard County on the southeast.
WAKULLA COUNTY. County Seat, CRAWFORDVILLE.
Historical Events-Created in 1843 from part of Leon County. Ponce de Leon attempted a settlement here in 1521 and was mortally, wounded by an Indian arrow. Narvaez built rude ships here in which his followers fled from Florida in 1528. In 1678 a fort was constructed at St. Marks to. guard shipping intended for St. Augustine. Spanish missions had been established earlier in the seventeenth century. St. Marks was captured in 1818 by Andrew Jackson's army when he invaded Florida to punish Indians for raids into Georgia. He executed two British agents at this Spanish fort on a charge of inciting Indians to raid U. S. territory. St. Marks became a great cotton shipping port before the Civil War and later Newport also became a noted port. The trade of both places fell to nothing after railroads were built connecting with the North.
Wakulla Springs, one of Florida's greatest natural wonders, is the source of the Wakulla River.
Population: 5,463
Number of farms: 207
Total acreage: 395,520
Farm acreage 20,976
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 5,881
Tractors: 6
Automobiles: 467
Trucks: 209
Nineteen different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of income: Corn, hogs, peanuts, dairying, poultry and eggs.
Leon County borders Wakulla on the north and the Ocklockonee River on the west. St. Marks is its main port on the Gulf of Mexico.
205
WALTON COUNTY. County Seat, DEFUNIAK SPRINGS.
Historical Events-Created in 1824- from part of Escambia County. The county was first settled largely by Scotchmen. The county was raided by Federal troops during the Civil War but no battles took place. Florida's first Chautauqua Association formed here in 1885.
Population: 14,246
Number of farms: 958
Total acreage: 395,520
Farm acreage: 59,714
Acres cultivated: Field crops:30,405
Tractors: 12
Automobiles: 1,290
Trucks: 611
Eighteen different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of income: Corn, cotton, peanuts, velvet beans, sugar cane, dairying, hogs, poultry and eggs.
Leading industry: Canning.
Walton County extends from Alabama to Choctawhatchee Bay. The southwest corner of the county contains part of the Choctawhatchee National Forest.
WASHINGTON COUNTY. County Seat, CHIPLEY.
Historical Events-Created in 1824 from parts of Escambia and Jackson Counties. Chipley incorporated in 1885-named after William Dudley Chipley who was a pioneer developer of West Florida.
Chipley Banner established 1886.
Population: 12,302
Number of farms: 940
Total acreage: 728,320
Farm acreage 69,932
Acres cultivated:
Field crops: 30,731
Groves (pecans) 149
Tractors: 9
Automobiles: 822
Trucks: 407
Twenty-nine different crops are grown commercially.
Leading agricultural sources of income: Corn, peanuts, water-melons, dairying, hogs, poultry and eggs.
Leading industries: Saw mills, shingle mills.
Washington County lies between Holmes and Bay Counties and is bordered on the west by the Choctawhatchee River.
MOTOR VEHICLES IN FLORIDA 1942
Passenger Cars-private: 417,243
Passenger Cars-for hire: 5,557
Buses: 2,680
Trucks: -private: 80,778
Trucks: -for hire: 2,077
Trailers-private: 20,568
Trailers-for hire: 1,006
School Buses: 1,574
Motorcycles: 2,579
Dealers' Demonstration: 1,516
Maintenance: 1,666
Exempt on official cars: 5,547
Exempt on motorcycles: 144
Ringling Brothers: 185
State Road Department: 1,200
Florida Highway Patrol: 129
Florida Highway Patrol-Motorcycles: 31
Governor's Tag: 1
Florida Interstate Commerce: 12
Reserved: 2,065
Duplicates: 2,373
Transfer for hire certificate: 716
Duplicate Transfer for hire certificate: 2
TOTAL 549,649
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