The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Charles H. Smith

Charles H. Smith was a Jacksonville civic officer and commercial promoter who served as Secretary of the Jacksonville Board of Trade and was one of the four original incorporators of the Florida Development Company in November 1891.[savannah-1891-11-02][maxwell-1976]

Career in Jacksonville Real Estate and Commerce

During the mid-1880s Florida land boom, Smith became heavily involved in commercial real estate and urban development in northeastern Florida. He served as secretary of the Tropical Land Company, headquartered at 39 1/2 West Bay Street in Jacksonville, an enterprise presided over by prominent banker Jonathan C. Greeley (president of the Florida Savings Bank) alongside vice president J. Willis Westlake and treasurer John T. Talbott.[gazetteer-1886]

In addition to private corporate management, Smith became the administrative leader of the Jacksonville Board of Trade (the forerunner of the modern Chamber of Commerce). As the Board of Trade’s long-serving Secretary and Secretary-Treasurer throughout the 1890s and early 1900s, Smith acted as the primary voice and promotional compiler for commercial growth across Florida.[board-of-trade-facts][fhq-crooks-1984] He authored and compiled the official promotional series Jacksonville and Florida Facts, printed by The H. & W. B. Drew Company, which marketed agricultural, timber, and residential opportunities across the peninsula to northern and international investors.

Drafting the Florida Development Company Charter

In 1889, British map publisher George W. Bacon visited America, examined the infant colony at Avon Park, and urged founder Oliver Marvin Crosby to reorganize his venture into a formal stock corporation. Bacon went to England to solicit investors, and Crosby traveled to London in May 1891 to aid in marketing the venture.[maxwell-1976]

Upon returning to the United States in October 1891, Crosby engaged Charles H. Smith at Jacksonville to organize the corporate enterprise. According to local historical records, Crosby instructed Smith, in his capacity as secretary of the Board of Trade, to draft the formal Charter and By-Laws for the Florida Development Company, Limited, with an authorized capital of 1,000,000 shares.[maxwell-1976]

On 2 November 1891, articles of incorporation were formally filed with the Florida Secretary of State, listing Smith as one of four incorporators alongside Crosby, Connecticut sales agent Frank E. Sperring, and former Circuit Judge Robert B. Archibald.[savannah-1891-11-02] The charter established official corporate offices at London, New York, Jacksonville, and Avon Park. Smith’s involvement gave the newly incorporated land company immediate credibility with Jacksonville commercial lenders, maritime shippers, and promotional networks.

References

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
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unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
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society

Sources

  1. The Morning News (Savannah, Ga.), The Morning News (Savannah, Ga.), 2 November 1891, page 1: Articles of incorporation of the Florida Development Company, Limited (1891) · newspaper
  2. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976) · book
  3. The South Publishing Company, The Florida State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1886–1887 (1886) · book
  4. Charles H. Smith, Jacksonville and Florida Facts, Prepared for the Jacksonville Board of Trade (1906) · book
  5. James B. Crooks, Changing Face of Jacksonville, Florida: 1900–1910 (1984) · secondary

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