Ben Hill Griffin, Inc.’s citrus operations and presence in Avon Park

Founded by Florida citrus pioneer, cattleman, and state legislator Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. (1910–1990) of neighboring Frostproof, Ben Hill Griffin, Inc. established extensive commercial operations across northern Highlands County during the middle decades of the twentieth century, maintaining a substantial business presence and shipping identity in Avon Park.[sjw-1951-12-07][labels-1930s]

Dual-Town Packaging and Shipping Identity

While the firm’s primary fruit-packing and juice-processing complexes were centralized at Frostproof (ten miles north along the Atlantic Coast Line corridor), Griffin expanded citrus grove holdings and purchasing routes throughout the Avon Park sand-ridge ridge belt:

• Lithographed Citrus Crate Labels: Commercial box labels produced for the firm during the 1930s and 1940s explicitly stamped the dual origin “Ben Hill Griffin, Inc., Avon Park & Frostproof, Florida,” reflecting fruit harvested and packed from Avon Park orchards.[labels-1930s]

• Local Commercial Office and Exchange: Throughout the early 1950s, the company advertised directly in statewide business directories and periodicals as an Avon Park grower and shipper:

  “Ben Hill Griffin, Incorporated / Grower and Shipper / Florida Citrus Fruit / Telephone 316 / Avon Park, Florida”[sjw-1951-12-07][sjw-1953-09-18]

  The listing maintained a dedicated line through the Avon Park manual telephone exchange, linking the local fruit procurement staff to regional distributors.

Regional Financial and Civic Integration

The Griffin enterprise maintained enduring financial ties with Avon Park’s business community. In subsequent decades, Ben Hill Griffin, III served on the board of directors of the Highlands County Bank in Avon Park, participating in local commercial banking governance alongside Highlands County agricultural leaders.

This dual-county integration mirrored the broader economic reality of the Lake Wales Ridge citrus belt, where growers, packing houses, and financial institutions operated as an interconnected regional network spanning the Polk–Highlands county line.

References

• sjw-1951-12-07 — The Southern Jewish Weekly. Southern Jewish Weekly (Jacksonville, Fla.), 7 December 1951: advertisement for Ben Hill Griffin, Inc., Avon Park. 7 December 1951. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn88074328/1951-12-07/ed-1/
• sjw-1953-09-18 — The Southern Jewish Weekly. Southern Jewish Weekly (Jacksonville, Fla.), 18 September 1953: advertisement for Ben Hill Griffin, Inc., Avon Park. 18 September 1953. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn88074328/1953-09-18/ed-1/
• labels-1930s — Florida Citrus Commission and commercial lithographers. Florida Citrus Crate Labels Collection: Ben Hill Griffin Inc., Avon Park and Frostproof. 1940. https://archive.org/details/florida-citrus-labels-collection

Related

• Finding: Avon Park’s citrus packing houses and truck farming, 1930–1940
• Finding: Avon Park citrus industrial expansion in 1930
• Finding: Avon Park’s commercial and citrus infrastructure in 1912–1913
• Entity: Avon Park Telephone Exchange
• Finding: Avon Park’s regional relations and inter-community districting

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. The Southern Jewish Weekly, Southern Jewish Weekly (Jacksonville, Fla.), 7 December 1951: advertisement for Ben Hill Griffin, Inc., Avon Park (1951)
2. The Southern Jewish Weekly, Southern Jewish Weekly (Jacksonville, Fla.), 18 September 1953: advertisement for Ben Hill Griffin, Inc., Avon Park (1953)
3. Florida Citrus Commission and commercial lithographers, Florida Citrus Crate Labels Collection: Ben Hill Griffin Inc., Avon Park and Frostproof (1940)

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