The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
Menu
Admin Sign-In

Citrus Packing Plants, Truck Farming, and Agricultural Operations in Avon Park, 1930–1940

During the 1930s, Avon Park served as the industrial and commercial shipping hub for northern Highlands County’s agricultural production, supported by three large fruit-packing plants, specialized truck and bulb farming, extensive subtropical nursery propagation, and New Deal civic improvements[wpa-1939][maxwell-1976].

The Three Industrial Citrus Packing Plants

By 1939, three major commercial citrus packing houses operated along the industrial sidings of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) in central Avon Park[wpa-1939][maxwell-1976][nrhp-90000486]:

  1. Avon Park Citrus Growers Association:

    • Descended from William A. King’s pioneer 1893 Avon Park Citrus Exchange, the cooperative reorganized in 1909 and affiliated with the statewide Florida Citrus Exchange[maxwell-1976][nrhp-90000486].
    • Operated an extensive multi-bay frame packing facility north of West Main Street along the ACL main tracks, packing branded crate fruit under labels including Golden Bud and Verona[nrhp-90000486].

  2. Lake Byrd Packing Company (Pittsburgh-Florida Citrus Growers Association):

    • Established in 1915 by A. V. Anderson, C. P. Anderson, and C. Parke Anderson to process fruit harvested from their 4,000-acre corporate grove holdings on the northern ridge[maxwell-1976][nrhp-90000486].
    • In addition to standard box packing under the Floridainty trademark, the complex housed an early commercial orange and grapefruit juice canning plant that pioneered single-strength canned citrus distribution across southeastern markets[maxwell-1976][nrhp-90000486].

  3. The Maxcy Packing Houses:

    • Founded by agricultural financiers Latimer “Latt” Maxcy, John Maxcy, and Gregg Maxcy on ACL trackage near North Michigan Avenue and West Main Street[maxwell-1976].
    • Provided high-volume commercial packing for private contract growers across Highlands and Hardee counties, later leased and operated seasonally by citrus industrialist Ben Hill Griffin, Jr.[maxwell-1976].

  4. Maxwell Groves:

    • Established by the Maxwell family who arrived in Highlands County in the 1930s to develop commercial citrus acreage[tbb-2021].
    • Steven Maxwell assumed management of the property in the 1960s alongside his father, implementing the packing house technology that remained operational into the twenty-first century, making it the last active citrus packing house standing in Highlands County[tbb-2021].

Specialized Truck Farming and Bulb Agriculture

In addition to citrus monoculture, the low-lying organic muck soils and lake basins between Avon Park and Sebring supported intensive commercial market crops[wpa-1939]:

  • The Rex Beach Celery and Bulb Farm:
    • Novelist and agribusinessman Rex Beach (1877–1949) developed a 70-acre intensive truck farm situated in the fertile muck corridor along State Road 8 (US 27) connecting Avon Park and Sebring[wpa-1939].
    • The farm produced two commercial winter crops of bleached celery per year alongside commercial fields of gladiolus bulbs harvested for shipment to northern floral markets, complemented by Beach’s extensive open-range cattle ranching in Highlands County[wpa-1939].
  • Ward’s Nursery and Subtropical Horticulture:
    • Horticulturalist William F. Ward, who established operations in Avon Park in 1917, maintained a 500-acre nursery propagation complex alongside a 26-acre commercial avocado grove—one of the largest in interior central Florida[wpa-1939][nrhp-90000486].
    • Ward specialized in cold-tolerant avocado rootstocks (including the proprietary “Avon” cultivar) and commercial Persian lime orchards suited to well-drained sandy ridge slopes[nrhp-90000486].

New Deal Civic Infrastructure: Donaldson Park

The community’s agricultural winter economy was directly reinforced by municipal tourism infrastructure developed during the late New Deal[bj-1938-11-17][wpa-1939]:

  • Donaldson Park Development: Planned in December 1929 by Mayor Dr. Charles S. Donaldson as a four-acre municipal park on the western shore of Lake Verona, the park provided a public freshwater bathing beach, landscaped lawns, and recreation grounds[maxwell-1976].
  • 1938 WPA Relief Project: On 16 November 1938, Florida Works Progress Administration administrator Robert J. Dill approved a $3,495 federal relief project ($2,694 WPA allocation, twenty workers for three months) that constructed a recreational pier, three picnic shelters, three tournament shuffleboard courts, and an addition to the community clubhouse[bj-1938-11-17].
  • Tourist Encampments: These federal improvements enabled Avon Park to host major winter visitor assemblies, notably accommodating 180 trailers and trucks during the 1939 national convention of the Tin Can Tourists of the World[maxwell-1976].

References

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
Review
unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
Rights
society

Sources

  1. Federal Writers' Project, Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State (1939), Tour 15, Avon Park (references/wpa-florida-guide-1939-avon-park.md) (1939) · book
  2. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976) · book
  3. Historic Property Associates, Avon Park Historic District, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (references/nrhp-avon-park-historic-district-1990.md) (1990) · official
  4. The Brooksville Journal, Nine Projects Are Approved By WPA Head, The Brooksville Journal, 17 November 1938, page 7 (1938) · newspaper
  5. Jillian Ramos, Maxwell Groves: The last citrus packing house in Highlands Co. (2021) · newspaper

Something here wrong, or incomplete? The Society would rather know. Tell a volunteer.

Have a question about this record?

← Back to collection

Ask A.P.

Ask the archive

    Try asking:

    0 / 500

    A.P. answers only from the Society's own archive and cites what it used. Questions are not linked to you; search history is stored on your device only (how it works).Ask a volunteer for anything it cannot answer.