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

The Florida Citrus Exchange organized at Avon Park in 1909

The establishment of cooperative citrus packing and shipping in Avon Park is commonly dated to the commercial land boom of 1915 or the arrival of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1912.[nrhp-avon-park-district] Contemporary agricultural press records and local historical documentation establish that cooperative marketing began substantially earlier, forming in October 1909 under the Florida Citrus Exchange and tracing direct roots to William A. King’s pioneer 1893 packing house.[fa-1909-10-01][maxwell-1976]

The Evolution of Avon Park Citrus Packing (1893–1915)

The trajectory of commercial citrus handling at Avon Park developed through four distinct stages between 1893 and the First World War:

  1. The Pioneer Local Exchange (1893–1909): In 1893, William A. King erected the settlement’s first packing house on the south side of Main Street, organizing a local cooperative pool named the Avon Park Exchange.[maxwell-1976] Independent pioneer growers, including S. E. (Steve) Roberts, also operated private packing houses, moving fruit overland to distant railheads at Bowling Green or Fort Meade.[maxwell-1976]
  2. The Florida Citrus Exchange Branch (October 1909): Following the statewide chartering of the Florida Citrus Exchange in 1909 (organized to counter private commission buyer cartels through standardized grading and unified marketing), Avon Park growers organized a formal local branch.[fa-1909-10-01] The Florida Agriculturist reported on 1 October 1909 that “at Avon Park a branch of the Florida Citrus Exchange has been organized,” alongside branches at Sarasota and Bowling Green.[fa-1909-10-01] This body incorporated the earlier Avon Park Exchange as the Avon Park Citrus Growers Association.[maxwell-1976]
  3. Pre-Rail Wagon Transit: Between 1909 and 1912, the association operated without direct rail access. Fruit packed at Avon Park was hauled twenty-two miles across deep sand trails by mule wagons to Atlantic Coast Line loading stations at Wauchula and Bowling Green.[fa-1909-10-01][maxwell-1976]
  4. The Industrial Railroad Corridor (1912–1915): When the Atlantic Coast Line’s Haines City branch opened through Avon Park in 1912, the Avon Park Citrus Growers Association built a large industrial packing plant north of Main Street on the new rail siding.[maxwell-1976][nrhp-avon-park-district] In 1915, this was joined by the Pennsylvania-backed Pittsburgh-Florida Citrus Growers Association and its Lake Byrd Packing Company, establishing Avon Park as a primary regional packing and processing center on the Lake Wales Ridge.[maxwell-1976][nrhp-avon-park-district]

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. The Florida Agriculturist (Jacksonville, Fla.), The Florida Agriculturist, 1 October 1909, page 29: a branch of the Florida Citrus Exchange organized at Avon Park (1909)
  2. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida: 1870-1970 (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976)
  3. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - Avon Park Historic District (1990)

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.