The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Closing the open range in Highlands County with the stock laws of 1923 and 1925

When Highlands County was created out of DeSoto County in 1921, it remained open-range cattle country in the historic Florida cracker tradition. Cattle roamed unfenced through longleaf pine flatwoods, scrub, and prairie from the Lake Wales Ridge east to the Kissimmee River.

Official agricultural statistics compiled by the State of Florida in 1923–1924 reveal the scale of the open-range livestock economy:[agr-1924]

  • 146,272 acres were reported in farms across the new county.
  • Only about 8,000 acres were in actual cultivation (citrus groves, truck crops, and home gardens).
  • The county ran 18,887 head of stock cattle against only 70 dairy milk cows.
  • Over 94 percent of the county’s agricultural acreage was unfenced, native range utilized for free-grazing beef cattle.

The Conflict: Free-Roaming Cattle vs. Citrus Groves

Under traditional Florida open-range law, property owners were required to “fence out” wandering livestock if they wished to protect crops. As commercial citrus acreage expanded rapidly around Avon Park following the 1912 arrival of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad—growing to over 157,000 bearing orange trees and 86,000 bearing grapefruit trees by 1924—citrus growers faced recurring tree and crop damage from wandering herds.[agr-1924]

The simultaneous arrival of 1920s boom subdivisions and automobile highway construction on the Lake Wales Ridge created an unsustainable clash between free-ranging livestock and intensive horticultural investment.

The Legislative Solution: Special Acts of 1923 and 1925

To resolve this conflict, the Florida Legislature enacted four targeted special acts that systematically dismantled the open range in the western and settled sections of Highlands County:

  1. Chapter 9459, Laws of Florida 1923: Established the first statutory no-fence “stock law district” in Highlands County, making it unlawful for cattle, horses, hogs, or other livestock to run at large within designated townships surrounding Avon Park, Sebring, and the primary citrus corridors. Landowners were authorized to impound trespassing stock and recover damages from owners.[laws-fl-1923-ch9459]
  2. Chapter 9640, Laws of Florida 1923: Regulated perimeter boundary fencing and legal impoundment fees across newly partitioned commissioner districts.[laws-fl-1923-ch9640]
  3. Chapter 10614, Laws of Florida 1925: Expanded and amended the territorial limits of the 1923 stock law district, extending mandatory fencing requirements eastward to protect developing grove tracts and new road corridors.[laws-fl-1925-ch10614]
  4. Chapter 10619, Laws of Florida 1925: Established final impoundment, arbitration, and local referendum procedures governing the transition from open range to enclosed pasturage across Highlands County.[laws-fl-1925-ch10619]

Geographical Retraction to the Kissimmee River Basin

The passage of the 1923 and 1925 stock laws forced cattle ranchers to fence their pastures or shift herds eastward into the unincorporated flatwoods and marsh prairies of the Kissimmee River basin, Arbuckle Creek, and Lake Istokpoga. Prominent cattlemen—including members of the Pearce, Raulerson, Whidden, Durrance, and Godwin families—maintained extensive herds on the eastern range until World War II military land acquisitions (the Avon Park Bombing Range) and the 1949 statewide livestock fencing law (Chapter 25236) closed the open range across Florida entirely.

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. Florida Department of Agriculture, Biennial Report of the Department of Agriculture of the State of Florida for the years 1923-1924 (1924)
  2. Florida Legislature, Chapter 9459, Special Laws of Florida 1923: An Act to Prohibit Livestock from Running at Large in Certain Defined Territories of Highlands County, Florida (1923)
  3. Florida Legislature, Chapter 9640, Special Laws of Florida 1923: An Act Regulating Livestock and Fences in Highlands County, Florida (1923)
  4. Florida Legislature, Chapter 10614, Special Laws of Florida 1925: An Act to Amend Chapter 9459, Relating to Livestock Running at Large in Highlands County (1925)
  5. Florida Legislature, Chapter 10619, Special Laws of Florida 1925: An Act Regulating Stock Law Boundaries and Impoundment in Highlands County, Florida (1925)

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