Avon Park Pineapples and Niagara Grapes at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition
During the summer of 1893, agricultural produce from Avon Park was displayed at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, as part of Florida’s horticultural showcase and the promotional campaign of the Florida Development Company[fa-1893-07-05][pineapple].
The July 1893 Shipment from Avon Park
On 5 July 1893, The Florida Agriculturist published a dispatch under the heading “DeSoto County Pines” documenting the direct shipment of fresh fruit from Avon Park to founder Oliver Marvin Crosby at the exposition grounds[fa-1893-07-05]:
“Mr. N. S. C. Perkins, of Avon Park, writes under a recent date: We forward this morning to Mr. Crosby at Chicago, Niagara grapes and pineapples which will be object lessons in the possibilities of Florida, and a credit to DeSoto County. The pineapples grown without protection will bear elegant testimony that Avon Park the last winter was free from harmful frosts.”[fa-1893-07-05]
Agricultural Provenance and Key Contributors
The shipment brought together two of pioneer Avon Park’s experimental non-citrus crops[fa-1893-07-05][pineapple]:
- Niagara Grapes (George Edmiston’s Vineyard): The white Niagara table grapes sent to Chicago were harvested from the lakeside vineyard of pioneer grower George Edmiston, who established extensive trellised plantings in the early 1890s along the sandy slopes near Lake Verona[fa-1893-07-05][pineapple].
- Field Pineapples (William King and Early Growers): The pineapples were cut from outdoor, unshaded plantations established following pioneer settler William King’s initial August 1887 slips[fa-1893-07-05]. By 1893, unheated pineries in the township contained hundreds of thousands of plants, presented to fairgoers as tangible evidence of a sub-tropical microclimate[fa-1893-07-05].
- Logistics and Promotion: U. S. C. Perkins (listed in the 1895 state directory as an Avon Park notary and land agent) managed the careful packing and express forwarding via the stage road to the railhead at Fort Meade, whence fast express rail delivered the fruit to Crosby in Chicago[fa-1893-07-05][gaz-1895].
Promotional Role at the Chicago World’s Fair
The Chicago display served as a visual demonstration for Crosby’s northern homeseeker recruitment drive[fa-1893-07-05]. By presenting ripe tropical pineapples and delicate northern hybrid grapes grown side by side in open ground, the Florida Development Company sought to substantiate its “frost-proof” claims on the Lake Wales Ridge to thousands of prospective Midwestern and Northeastern emigrants[fa-1893-07-05][pineapple].
References
- fa-1893-07-05 — The Florida Agriculturist (DeLand, Fla.). The Florida Agriculturist, 5 July 1893, page 420: DeSoto County Pines. 5 July 1893. florida-agriculturist.md
- pineapple — W. E. Pabor and E. A. Pabor. Pabor Lake Pineapple, October 1892 to September 1897. 15 September 1897. pabor-lake-pineapple.md
- gaz-1895 — Belden Publishing Company. Florida Railroad Gazetteer and State Business Directory, 1895, s.v. Avon Park. 1895. florida-business-directories.md
Related
- Entity: Oliver Marvin Crosby
- Entity: William and Mary King
- Entity: Florida Development Company
- Finding: William King Planted Avon Park’s First Pineapples in August 1887
- Finding: Half a Million Pineapples Before the Freeze
- Report: Avon Park in The Florida Agriculturist, 1890–1910
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
- The Florida Agriculturist (DeLand, Fla.), The Florida Agriculturist, 5 July 1893, page 420: DeSoto County Pines (1893) · newspaper
- W. E. Pabor and E. A. Pabor, Pabor Lake Pineapple, October 1892 to September 1897 (1897) · newspaper
- Belden Publishing Company, Florida Railroad Gazetteer and State Business Directory, 1895, s.v. Avon Park (1895) · book
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