The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Pittsburgh-Florida Fruit Growers Association

The Pittsburgh-Florida Fruit Growers Association (also operating as the Pittsburgh-Florida Citrus Growers Association and the Pittsburgh-Florida Land Development Company) was a major agricultural and land development corporation founded in Avon Park in 1915 by Pennsylvania investors and the Anderson family—A. V. Anderson, C. P. Anderson, and C. Parke Anderson.[maxwell-1976][nrhp-avon-park-district]

Large-Scale Grove Development around Lake Byrd

Capitalizing on the arrival of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1912, the Anderson brothers acquired extensive acreage across northern Highlands County, systematically clearing and planting over 4,000 acres of commercial citrus groves surrounding Lake Byrd.[maxwell-1976][nrhp-avon-park-district] The enterprise represented one of the largest consolidated commercial citrus developments on the Lake Wales Ridge during the First World War era.[maxwell-1976]

Lake Byrd Lodge and Architectural Commissions (1920)

In 1920, the corporation engaged Pittsburgh architect William J. Heim to relocate to Avon Park to design Lake Byrd Lodge on the eastern shore of Lake Byrd.[maxwell-1976]

The lodge served as the operational headquarters of the Pittsburgh-Florida Land Development Company and as a private resort guest house to lodge and entertain prospective northern investors and grove buyers.[maxwell-1976] Heim’s successful completion of the lodge launched his career as Avon Park’s premier boom-era architect, leading directly to his commissions for the Hotel Jacaranda (1926), the Pinecrest Hotel (1926), and Avon Park City Hall (1929).[maxwell-1976]

Packing Operations and First Canned Orange Juice

To process its harvest, the association organized the Lake Byrd Packing Company and built a large, mechanized packing house along the railroad, marketing fruit nationally under the brand name “Floridainty.”[maxwell-1976]

The company also established Avon Park’s first citrus cannery.[maxwell-1976] Local historical accounts document that the first commercial canning of fresh Florida orange juice occurred at this plant; sales representatives Charlie Metcalfe and Mr. Thompson carried cases of the experimental canned juice across Georgia, from Macon to Americus, successfully opening the Southern wholesale market for canned citrus products.[maxwell-1976]

4,000-Acre Land Holdings and Survey Boundaries

The association’s land holdings formed a vast, contiguous agricultural tract extending eastward from the Lake Byrd headquarters across the flatwoods. In the state road designations enacted under Chapter 20297, Laws of Florida 1941, the company’s enclosed pasture and citrus perimeter was established as a statutory survey benchmark for defining public road routes:

  • One state road was defined as “beginning in Avon Park on Main Street; thence East for a distance of approximately four and one-fourth of a mile to a pasture fence constructed by Pittsburgh-Florida Co.”[lof-1941-20297]
  • A second route was defined as “beginning on State Road Number 8 on Township line between Townships 33 and 34; thence East approximately 1¾ miles to the Pittsburgh-Florida Company’s fence.”[lof-1941-20297]

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. 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)
  2. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Avon Park Historic District (reference 90000486) (references/nrhp-avon-park-historic-district-1990.md) (1990)
  3. Legislature of the State of Florida, Chapter 20297, Laws of Florida 1941: Designating State Roads (Highlands County) (1941)

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