The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Corporate Identity and Origins of the Flint Lumber Company and the Penn-Florida Syndicate

Summary

The Flint Lumber Company of Avon Park was never chartered under the name “Penn-Florida Lumber Company.” Florida Secretary of State corporate records establish that the enterprise was chartered directly and originally as The Flint Lumber Company on 9 November 1918 (Charter 8778, with letters patent issued 12 December 1918).[sos-charters-1918] No company named “Penn-Florida Lumber Company” was ever chartered in Florida or enrolled in the corporate registries of Pennsylvania.[pa-charters-1917-1921]

The description of the firm in modern architectural history as “the Penn-Florida Lumber Company (later known as the Flint Lumber Company)” reflects a compression of George Flint’s broader Philadelphia investment syndicate.[carlisle-flint-building] That syndicate financed both The Flint Lumber Company ($75,000 capital, chartered 1918) and the Penn-Florida Cattle Company ($300,000 capital, chartered in Avon Park in 1920 under Charter 9498), while its vice president, L. F. DeBordenave, concurrently directed the affiliated Penn-Jarratt Lumber Company in Marianna ($500,000 capital, chartered 1919 under Charter 9039).[sos-charters-1920]

Corporate Charters and State Records

Florida’s official corporate ledger records the precise incorporation sequence for the enterprise:

  • Name: The Flint Lumber Company
  • Charter Number: 8778
  • Principal Place of Business: Avon Park, Florida
  • Capital Stock: $75,000.00
  • Charter Filed: 9 November 1918
  • Letters Patent Issued: 12 December 1918
  • Affidavit of Treasurer: Filed 28 December 1918 (attesting that ten percent of capital stock was subscribed and paid).[sos-charters-1918]

The Florida charter ledger records no prior filing, preliminary certificate, or amendment changing the name from “Penn-Florida Lumber Company” to “The Flint Lumber Company.” The company operated from its inception under the Flint name, which appeared on local deeds, Sanborn fire insurance surveys, and Atlantic Coast Line railroad freight agreements.[sanborn-1920]

In Pennsylvania, the official biennial registry, List of Charters of Corporations Enrolled in the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, contains no domestic charter under the name “Penn-Florida Lumber Company” or “Flint Lumber Company” during the 1917–1921 period.[pa-charters-1917-1921] George Flint operated his Philadelphia manufacturing firms as separate corporate entities while incorporating the Florida lumber and milling operations under Florida statutes.

The Philadelphia Syndicate and the “Penn-Florida” Name

The origin of the “Penn-Florida” moniker lies in the syndicate structure through which Philadelphia capitalist George Flint and his associates channeled Pennsylvania investment into central Florida lands following World War I.

George Flint was a prominent Philadelphia entrepreneur based on North Broad Street’s Automobile Row.[carlisle-flint-building] Between 1921 and 1922, Flint commissioned W. Steele & Sons to erect the 11-story Flint Building at 219–225 North Broad Street as the executive headquarters for his commercial interests.[carlisle-flint-building] His business empire encompassed:

In Philadelphia banking records, such as the circa 1930 director list of the Bank of Philadelphia and Trust Company, Flint was identified specifically as “George Flint, Flint Lumber Co., 219 N. Broad St., Philadelphia.”[hsp-bank-directors]

In regional promotion and Pennsylvania investment circles, the collective syndicate connecting Pennsylvania capital to Florida development was frequently referred to as the “Penn-Florida” venture. This regional designation took legal form in Avon Park on 16 February 1920, when the syndicate chartered the Penn-Florida Cattle Company (Charter 9498) with $300,000 in capital stock—four times the capitalization of the original sawmill company.[sos-charters-1920] Letters patent were issued on 17 March 1920, and the treasurer’s affidavit followed on 23 April 1920.[sos-charters-1920]

The L. F. DeBordenave Connection and Regional “Penn-” Enterprises

The syndication pattern is further corroborated by the activities of Flint Lumber Company’s vice president and general manager, L. F. DeBordenave.[taplines-mutual]

Concurrently with his executive management of the Avon Park sawmill, DeBordenave served as vice president and manager of the Penn-Jarratt Lumber Company in Marianna, Jackson County, Florida.[taplines-mutual] Florida charter records document that Penn-Jarratt was chartered on 12 June 1919 (Charter 9039) with letters patent issued 17 July 1919 and a capital stock of $500,000.00.[sos-charters-1920]

Like Penn-Florida Cattle Company in Avon Park, Penn-Jarratt Lumber Company in Marianna paired Pennsylvania capital (“Penn-”) with southern operating managers to harvest timber and assemble vast acreage. Dennis Carlisle’s 2013 architectural retrospective in Hidden City Philadelphia telescoped these corporate identities, conflating the “Penn-Florida” syndicate title and the Penn-Florida Cattle Company with The Flint Lumber Company.

Land Use and the Penn-Florida Cattle Company

The creation of the Penn-Florida Cattle Company in February 1920 mirrored the standard lifecycle of Florida extractive timber syndicates:

  1. Timber Harvesting: The Flint Lumber Company acquired large timber tracts (including the 21,000-acre McArtin tract, expanding to 71,000 acres) to harvest virgin longleaf and slash pine for framing lumber, running two steam locomotives over sixteen miles of standard-gauge logging spurs.[taplines-mutual]
  2. Crate Mill Off-Fall: Secondary and smaller timber was diverted to the adjacent Mutual Crate Company and Avon Manufacturing Company mills to supply citrus packing boxes.[sanborn-1920][taplines-mutual]
  3. Cutover Land Conversion: Once cleared of commercial timber, the cutover acreage was transferred or leased to livestock and agricultural corporations. The Penn-Florida Cattle Company held and grazed these extensive tracts across northern Highlands and eastern DeSoto counties.

The Penn-Florida Cattle Company remained active throughout the 1920s Florida land boom. In February 1928, the company accepted a substantial real estate mortgage from the George E. Sebring Company covering large agricultural holdings.[sebring-orourke-1931] That mortgage became the subject of extensive chancery litigation following the real estate collapse, culminating in the Florida Supreme Court’s 1931 decision in George E. Sebring Co. v. O’Rourke (101 Fla. 885, 134 So. 556), which addressed the priority of creditor claims and mortgage recordings in Highlands County.[sebring-orourke-1931]

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. Secretary of State of the State of Florida, Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Florida, list of corporations chartered 1917-1918: charter 8778, The Flint Lumber Company (references/florida-secretary-of-state-corporation-charters.md) (1918) · official
  2. Secretary of State of the State of Florida, Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Florida, list of corporations chartered 1919-1920: charter 9498, Penn-Florida Cattle Company, and charter 9039, Penn-Jarratt Lumber Company (references/florida-secretary-of-state-corporation-charters.md) (1920) · official
  3. Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, List of Charters of Corporations Enrolled in the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1917-1921 (1921) · official
  4. Historical Society of Pennsylvania, List of Bank of Philadelphia and Trust Company directors, circa 1930 (1930) · archival
  5. Dennis Carlisle (GroJLart), Hidden City Philadelphia, From Obscure to Ostentatious: The Flint Building (2013) · secondary
  6. Supreme Court of Florida, George E. Sebring Co. v. O'Rourke et al., 101 Fla. 885, 134 So. 556 (1931) (1931) · official
  7. Donald R. Hensley, Jr. / Tap Lines, The Logging Railroads of the Flint Lumber Company & Mutual Crate Company (2026) · secondary
  8. Sanborn Map Company, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Avon Park, Florida (November 1920, Sheet 4) (references/sanborn-1920-avon-park.md) (1920) · archival

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