Class Book__ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT it i^i TiiTiiTitniiHHtiiiiiffifliifliilliiJlliaiiHiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiinMHiiiiiiuiiiiiriiHiiiiinhiHiimn^ Polk County, Florida. " Let us go where the wild flowers bloom, Amid the sweet dews of the night, Where the orange dispels its perfume, And the rose-bud speaks of love and of light. liiilaiifljiMiMmiiiHiitHinniiiiMninifflimniiininif>ns and taught caution ; how shall I be assured to a certainty that Polk County is all that it is pictured in these pages? No one section has all the good things. The bitter ever mingles with the sweet, the evil with the good. It is thus throughout the whole realm of nature. What we denizens of other localites desire are the exact facts, the bad as well as the good, the unpleasant as well as the attractive features. The writer of these pages knows from his own experience that demands like the foregoing will be made, and justly, therefore he will earnestly endeavor fairly, squarelv and conscientiously to present as plain, truthful and unexagerated a picture of Polk County as it is possible to make. Before coming to Florida, in 1881, he had had an extended and active experience for nearly half a century in the Eastern, Middle and Western States, as well as in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia,, and therefore is not only well acquaiTited with the characteristics, re- sources,capabilities and advatages possessed by those important sections of the country, but with their disadvantages also. He well knows the character, aims and aspirations of the Northern and Western people, the difficulties with w'hich they have to contend their annoyances, the hardships consequent upon the storms, drouths and vigorous in- clemencies of the seasons, and compare them fiiithfully and honestly with the conditions in this and other parts of Florida. His locks have been duly bleached by the frosts of many winters, and his enthusiasm tempered by experience and adversit}-. Fie may not have lost his youthful fire and earnestness, but he has been schooled by the cares and duties of active life to close observation, thoughtful reflection and carefulness of expression. For several years before coming to Florida he received the news- papers of all sections of the State, as exchanges, and studied theiu carefully ; also, many books and pamphlets regarding Florida. His health steadily improving since reaching here, he has personally studied South Florida from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, the results of his observations being published in various Northern newspapers and magazines, and in the local press of South Florida. He was also the author of " Orangeland," the Orange County pamph- let, and has devoted his time and abilities to securing as thorough a knowledge as possible of the characteristics, resources and advantages possessed by the different sections of South Florida. Thus far, no one has accused him of exaggeration or misrepre- 34 HOMELAND. sentation, and his constant aim has been to neither flatter the country nor the people, but to give such unequivocal information as may be of the greatest benefit to inquiring minds svherever they may be located. In writing this work, at the solicitation of leading citizens of Polk County, who desire the exact facts to be made known, the same rule is observed. " But," the interested reader will say, " you have given the poetry of Polk County ; give us the plain prose. We shall be glad to enjoy every delight, every comfort and luxury that Polk County has to give, but the first practical question is, how shall we so invest our moderate means that, with our labor, we can secure a livelihood and an increas- ing competence for our old age and for our children." The question is a pertinent one to the majority who come to Flor- ida, to Polk County, to the true Homeland. The wealthy — and many of this class are coming to Florida — can get along without diffi- culty anywhere, yet I have noticed that they are quite as careful in regard to their investments, and in the choice of a location for a home as are those possessed of less means. To them Polk Cotinty offers at- tractive inducements in the most delightful climate anywhere to be found, in the very choicest of building sites, with or without lake fronts, in an enterprising and very rapidly increasing population, no- where excelled for good qualities, in ready access to the other parts of the country by the lines of enterprising railroads, in chances for profitable business, in sure and speedy increase of fortune by invest . ments in land. To people of moderate means, the first necessity is a place to live. Unless they have acquaintances in other sections near whom they in tend to locate, their objective point will be rapidly-growing Bartow the county seat. This is reached by the South Florida Railroad, either from Tampa, on the Gulf of Mexico, or by way of Jacksonville, from Sanford, on Lake Monroe, at the head of navigation, by large steam- boats, of the St. Johns River. Or, the Florida Southern Railroad be- ing completed from Jacksonville to Lakeland, in Polk County, where it forms a junction with the South Florida Railroad, will be a favor- ite route with many, as it runs north and south through the interior of the State. It is expected that this road will be extended to Bar- tow, Fort Meade and beyond, the present season, opening up one of the very finest tracts of country in Florida. The South Florida is soon to be extended also, and several other lines are chartered, travers- ing various parts of the county, and will soon be built. There is also an all-rail route from Jacksonville to Orlando, thence to Bartow — broad gauge as far as Orlando. This runs through the finest and most developed portions of the State. Reaching Polk County, a few days will be judiciously devoted to examining the merits of different sections, and the advantages oflfered, by the varied properties. Bartow has good hotels and boarding-houses whose charges are moderate — one to two dollars per day, but less by the week — and there are active real estate agents who will gladly show you the country. Everything looks strange to the new-comer. The contour of the country and the vegetation is difterent. The soil, a sandy loam, un- derlaid with clay in the best sections, is totally unlike the soils of the HOMELAND. 35 ^orth and the West, yet the growing crops and the thrifty and abun- •dant vegetation prove that it has surprising elements of fertility. There is a firm, substantial tread to the land, totally unlike that of many other sections of Florida, which is a pleasant surprise to the visitor. Though essentially a pine country, the abundance of vigorous oaks that greet the eye in every direction, on the uplands as well as in the valleys, give a character of solid, substantial permanence that con- firms the impression that this is the best and the most desirable portion of Florida, and that it will speedily be thickly dotted with beautiful homes. It is the true Homeland, soil and climate, productiveness and healthfulness, with comparative freedom from troublesome and annoying insect pests and harmful reptiles, combining to make life here not only endurable, but delightful, profitable, and pleasant. A livelihood is easily secured here, while a competence or a fortune re- quires but little effort, when combined with active and intelligent judgment. As the, prospector goes over the country he finds a great variety of locations. To secure the most profitable requires not only intelligent judgment, but assistance from those acquainted with the country. Where to locate depends upon the designs, the contemplated business of the locator, his desires as regards society, and the amount of capital at his disposal. If he designs engaging in mercantile busi- ness, or kindred pursuits, he should locate either in a town, or where a "trade centre will soon be established. Bartow is the county seat, and is likely to remain such as long as Polk County exists. Therefore, there is a fixed centre that is sure to increase rapidly in population, ■while landed property will constantly augment in value. It has also a superior back country surrounding it, that will make this the grand centre, shipping and receiving their supplies from here, and here estab- lishing new industries. There is no present prospect that Polk County will have any large cities, as compared with cities at the North, but there is every indication that it will soon be very thickly populated, with a residence on every acre or two of the more healthful and desirable lands, the produce from which, with the intensive system of culture, will be sufficient to maintain each family in comfort, and even in luxury. This will compel trade centres every three or four miles at the far- thest, with post-office, telegraph, telephone, and express offices, schools, churches, stores, and public libraries. In many of these social centres varied manufactories will be established, to supply the wants of the community and provide articles for shipment. People will come here in multitudes, as soon as the superior at- tractions of the climate, the agreeable healthfulness and the encour- aging ease of securing a livelihood here become known, as they are sure to be in a brief period. There is great activity here now, but it is not a drop in the bucket, compared with what will soon be seen. Prices of lauds, now moderate, will double and double with so aston- ishing rapidity as to be beyond the reach of all, except those of con- siderable means. Thousands will secure fortunes in the advance in the price of lands. Hence, those who are on the ground first will have the best opportunity to secure fortunes, with no effort except that .arising from intelligent and judicious investments. 36 HOMELAND. Polk County already has two railroad lines, the South Florida and the Florida Southern. They strike the county in its northern portion, and will extend through the county from north to south. These, with their branches, and with other contemplated lines, will bring every section within easy reach of railroad transportation to any part of the Union. Many will deem it most desirable to locate along the lines already built. That will give a present convenience and a certainty as to the future, but the lands are held at higher prices. Along the route of contemplated railroad lines are many excellent bargains in land, the prices of which will greatly increase when the roads are built, which will doubtless be done at a very early period. Away from the rail- road lines completed, and those prospective, that are certain to be built, the very best judgment of the locator is necessary, in order to make the best possible investment ; for, the qualities of the location being otherwise equal, lands within a mile of a railroad depot are sure to be of considerable more value than those farther away, though, at present prices, I know of no lands but will eventually prove profitable investments, and before the close of the present century it is probable that every desirable locality here will be within two or three miles of a railroad, at farthest. Though Polk County has not had the advantages of railroad transportation to its county seat, Bartow, until the present year, and to no part of the county until the year previous; people who visit it are surprised at the extent and the rapidity of its development. There is here a character of progress and substantiability that does not fail to fiivorably impress every one who investigates the condition and the j)rospects of this section. The buildings of the earlier settlers Avere mostly small and unpretentious, as well as widely scattered. They were all that the few and simple wants of stock-growers and general farmers requi;-ed in so mild and genial a climate. Most of them set out a few orange trees for home supply. Few groves were set in Polk County until since the commence- ment of the present decade, but the few trees about the cabins showed that both soil and climate were peculiarly adapted to their vigorous growth and prolific yield of the delicious golden fruit. With the progress of the South Florida Pailroad from Sanford, and the fast in- creasing certainty of speedy railroad transportation, numbers of groves were set, especially on that wonderful tract of beautiful and fertile country that extends from north to south a few miles each side of Peace River, Bartow being near the northern, and Fort ^leade near the southern portion. Numbers of these groves are now yielding abundant returns, and well illustrate the great capabilities of the country, especially the few that were set eight or ten years since. To see is to believe. The past two years have shown an immense and remarkable de- velopment in every respect. People are locating here from every State in the Union, and the population is doubling rapidly. Hundreds of new groves are being set, and many acresoflandbeing rapidly cleared. New substantial, commodious and elegant buildings are being erected^ that will compare favorably with those of any section of the State. In HOMELAND. 37 fact, no part of the country shows more active, rapid and substantial development. Its destiny is secure and glorious. To decide upon the location where you will make your home is not the easiest matter in the world, as there seem to be so many things to be considered ; so many conflicting claim-;, advantages and disad- vantages. There is the nearness to, or distance from, a present or future centre, the comparative fertility of the soil, the relative health- fulness, the natural beauty of one location as compared with another, the actual market value of the land positive and comparative, the chances of the future importance of the several localities, the pros- pective main routes of travel, etc. All these things are to be considered, if one would do the best possible. So many new and divergent ideas are likely to be crowded on the prospector's consideration that he will be fortunate if he is not attacked by mental dyspepsia or indigestion, and rendered unable to properly digest the heterogenous information received from all sources. There is one consolation and encouragement, however, and that is, if he does not locate in a low and undrainable locality, or on barren scrub or sand-hills, he is sure, at present prices, to make a good invest- ment and one that will pa}'. Some will do even better than this, and secure prizes, but though all can be thoroughly assured of doing well, who will secure the larger prizes none can tell. Luck and chance, as well as judgment, here come into play. The unexpected location of a road, of a manufactory, or of some unanticipated enterprise, are things that the wisest cannot foresee, and this kind of lightning is liable to strike anywhere. Perhaps the new comer himself may be the conductor that will bring it to his location. To a certain extent, as in Oriental countries, "it is the unexpected that happens," mainly, however, the conditions are determined by sound judgment and active energy. To a great extent the new comer must rely upon the opin- ions of his intelligent and conscientious acquaintances who have se- cured a knowledge of the country by experience, yet it will not do to place too implicit confidence in any one. Not that they would in- tentionally misrepresent or mislead, but from the fact that every one soon gets very positive opinions here, and I have yet to find the first land-owner who did not veritably believe that, taking all things into consideiation, he had the very best location anywhere to be found in the State. Hence, all who have been here a few years are happy, con- tented and hopeful. INIost men are ready to sell a part of their hold- ing that they may secure neighbors and the means for more extensive improvements ; or the whole, because they know where they can rein- vest their money to greater advantage. None sell to leave the country. They appreciate the country and its solid, substantial future prospects too highly to return to their former homes. They are here to stay and grow up with the country. Having secufed a location, the first thing to do is to clear, fence and build. Polk County is a land of substantial fences. Unless you have abundant means, better clear and fence only an acre at first. Do not go to work with the idea that you can do everything in a day, a month, or even a year. Make ha.ste slowly. Build comfortably, but not extravagantly. Do not use up all your means in building, even though some of your neighbors may have a finer house than you can now comfortably afford. It will come by and by. Your money, if 38 HOMELAND. your means are somewhat limited, can be used to better advantage in making a grove, a pine-apple orchard, a strawberry field, or iu getting^ some other fruit well on the way to bearing. A little spare cash al- ways comes handy. AVhile getting started, your outgo will probably exceed your income. I am not now speaking of those extra smart peo- ple who, by sharp trades, can pay their way as they go, nor of those exceptionally fortui^ate ones who secure big crops the first year, and sell them at the very highest prices. Numbers do have such expe- periences here, but my remarks are intended for ordinary mortals,. like myself, who secure results by patient and continued industry. All steady, persistent workers are sure to thrive, if they do not yield too much to their ambition, and overwork at first. I have had the experience, consequently I am entitled to give advice. You have every day in the year to labor, therefore don't rush to show how much smarter you are than your neighbors. People don't brag on big days' work, but the contrary, in this country. They could if they chose, but there is no use in it. There is plenty of time. If you have a few acres of land, the increase in value of that alone will make you rich. Smaller tracts, with groves properly cared for, will accomplish the same result. The man who would succed here, and be happy and contented,, should be a land-owner. He should be his own master. A man may secure a livelihood by working for others for wages, but no man ever got rich that way. It is frequently necessary to get a start by work- ing for wages. Work and save and invest. Our most successful men have done that at first. You can do likewise if you are short of funds,. but, if you have sufficient means to live, it will pay you much better to work upon your own place and improve it. If you are skillful and intelligent you will accomplish more by steady work and careful super- vision than any man you can hire. I do not mean by this that you should individually do all the necessary preliminary or later work, but that it should be done under your own careful supervision, at least. You should be employer, in- stead of employed, if possible. Some people, however, are only capa- ble of Avorking successfully by working for others. Others have a special talent or capacity in certain fields of labor that enables them to secure large wages. In such cases, I repeat, secure a tract of land and have it improved, even if you have to hire others to do the work while you are otherwise engaged. You have made a start in the right direction. The main future dependence will be in your grove. " What," you ask, "can I do for a living while the grove is coming into bearing?" This is a pertinent and important question, for, with the best trees you can set for a grove — three-year-old trees — it will be five years before you can receive much income from them, and it will be several years more before they are in full bearing. It would be poor policy to sit doAvn and wait all these years, simply cultivating the trees. But there are other matters that can profitably engage your attention, making the tree cultivation a mere incident. Those who have tried it, have met with great success raising veg- etables on the same land. In fact, the growth of the trees is promoted by the cultivation given to the vegetables. The only requisite is, that no- HOMELAND. 39 more shall be taken from the soil than is returned in the way of added fertilizers. The best lands will bring a grove to bearing without the aid of fertilizers, but there is no land tha,t is not benefitted by their ap- plication. On the best lands, however, but little is required. You could probably get along without any for several years, but its appli- cation would be judicious, and would pay well as an investment. Small fruits might be raised on a portion of your land. They would give quicker returns and would tide over the period of waiting for the grove to bear. Pine-apples will make returns the second year, and will find a ready home market at excellent prices. Strawberries set in September will give ample and profitable returns the following spring. They are peculiarly adapted to the soil and the climate. They not only find a ready market at home, but can be shipped North at a time to receive the very highest prices. But why enumerate ? A variety of articles can be raised that will give quick returns. Another important industry, the proceeds of which find a ready market, and give quick and profitable returns, is the raising of eggs and poultry. There is a lively and continuous demand for both, and they are never a drug in the market, but command ready sales at good prices. The climate is peculiarly adapted to this industry. Chickens can be hatched any and every month in the year, and thrive wonderfully with very little care. You must, however, either fence in your garden or your poultry. They are a great benefit to orange trees, as they scratch just about as deep as an orange tree ought to be cultivated. Their droppings are also quite valuable as a fertilizer. Bees do extremely well, and those who have a taste for apiculture could secure quite a revenue from this source. Florida honey is not only equal to, but superior to, that of any other section. In this regard, even California has to take second place. The raising of roses and other flowers for shipment to Northern cities is soon to be a very important industry. This pleasant occupa- tion will give abundant and profitable returns. Vegetables of all kinds grow rapidly and abundantly, and there is a rapidly increasing home as well as a Northern market. The leading standard articles for shipment are : cabbages, beans, cucum- bers, tomatoes, beets, radishes, cauliflower, egg-plant, etc., etc. Sweet corn, of the very finest quality, matures early, and might be placed in the markets of New York and other cities weeks before they could get a supply from any other source. The same is true of melons, squashes, etc. In fact, the lands of Polk County are peculiarly adapted to the speedy and early growth of all kinds of vegetables, and the en- terprising can secure fortunes from that source alone, and another fortune from their orange grove. What, then, does the fertile land and de'icious climate of Polk County offer to its active citizens as a source of livelihood, while growing an orange grove, that shall be a lasting fortune to them and to their descendants for many generations — offering advantages supe- rior to any other part of Florida ? Let us see, commencing with those industries that yield the quickest returns : First. — There is the whole range and variety of vegetables. Second. — Poultry are easily reared and give excellent profits. Third. — Strawberries and other small fruits. 40 - HOMELAND. Fourth. — Bees and honey. Fifth. — Roses and other flowering plants. Sixth. — Pine-apples. Some winters these will need a slight pro- tection a few nights against a light frost, as there is no such thing as a frost line in Florida. The low latitude of Polk County,, however, gives almost complete immunity, and it can be readily seen that at the same elevation, the lower the latitude the greater the exemption. Its lake protection is also tlie most complete of any locality in Florida, being located chiefly in the northern and northeastern part of the county. It must also be remend^ered that these lakes receive the winds after much of the frost has been extracted by passing over the lakes in the counties still further north. Hence, if those sections have any exemption because of their bodies of water — and that they have is unquestionable — Polk County is, and must be, doubly pro- tected. This is an important fact to be considered, and is one reason why the people of Polk have green corn, melons, strawberries, etc., etc., from Christmas to the 4th of July, as well as other fruits and vegeta- bles at all seasons of the year. Indisputable facts like the foregoing, once presented and duly considered, cannot justly fail to convince all, desiring to better their condition, that Polk County presents unequalled advantages as the inducenient for them to locate within her borders. Until the near advent of railroad transportation, the residents of Polk County, being chiefly stock raisers, had little or no desii-e for an increase of immigration, as all accessions of new settlers decreased the range for stock, and, having no facilities of transportation, no outlet by railroad or steamboat, they could derive no income from either fruit or vegetables, consequently they were disinclined to have the superior resources and advantages of this, the very choicest portion of the State, know^n except to their immediate friends. The South Flor- ida Railroad has come, other roads are coming speedily, and the era of progress has commenced with greater vigor than in any other sec- tion of the State. The flow of the tide that leads on to fortune is rapidly increasing, and those who desire to secure the best possible advantages should not delay in their coming. A glorious opportunity is offered to all who desire to improve either health or fortune. This is pre-eminently the Homeland, and it will be speedily occupied by increasing thousands and tens of thousands. Here will be made the choicest, the most delightful homes that the whole world aflbrds. Here will be found every luxury, every appliance of comfort and de- light that the civilized world affords. Here is a climate without a peer — unequalled in winter and in summer. The winters are mild, delicious and delightful. The summers are cooler and more enjoyable than in more northern portions of the State. It is a peculiarity of this portion of the peninsula that should be considered and remembered, viz: That this section is warmer in winter and cooler in summer than the sections further north. No tornadoes nor cyclones have ever passed through this section, and its location is such that those de- va.stating storms are here impossible. Being in the interior of the peninsula it is protected from the storms that rage on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. In fact, a more favorable location does not seem pos- sible. HOMELAND. . 41 " But," says the reader, " you have given the bright and the pleas- ant, what are the darker and more sombre colors. Those are necessary to complete the picture." Let us analyze the matter carefully and plainly state every draw- back, every disagreeable fact that prevents Polk County from being a perfect Eden on earth. The unpleasant is not as agreeable to dwell upon as the pleasant, but it is essential to the purpose of this work, which is to represent things exactly as they are. Some of the days fire stormy, disagreeable, unpleasant, though the number of such days is much less than in the continental parts of America. A light fii-e is needed, a few, a very few, days in winter, when the mercury drops below G0° or 65°, especially such mornings and even- ings, to dispel the chill. The rays of the sun during the mid-hours of the summer days are very hot and piercing. The slightest shade interposed, however — an umbrella, a tree or a roof, or a passing cloud — gives a refreshing sense of coolness. In fact, however hot in the sun, the constant cool breeze always insures a comfortably-cool place. The air is neither sultry nor suifocating. The most oppressive time is usually from seven to nine o'clock in the morning, before the refreshing effects of the sea breeze is felt. The frequent, almost daily, show^ers during the Avet season of the summer months are frequently inconvenient, but the occasional wet- tings do no actual harm, not causing colds, as at the North, though it is disagreeable to be wet. These showers cool the air and cause all kinds of vegetation to grow very rapidly. They are actually one of the good, instead of the bad features of the climate. The necessary out-door work is the lightest during the hot and rainy season, instead of the heaviest, as in other portions of the Union. The showers usu- ally come in the afternoons of the hottest days, but there are no barns to be filled with hay, and very little cultivation or harvesting is re- quired during the summer months. Few crops mature during the fervid heats of summer. No work is then pressing the one who is fairly settled. It is a time of natural, not enforced, idleness, and is much more agreeable than the necessary cessation of out-door farm labor at the North during the cold and severe winters. Extremes are disagreeable anywhere. Here the cold of winter is omitted, while the summers are much more pleasant and enjoyable than at the North. The same fact is also true of every other season of the year. Hence, as regards the seasons, separately or collectively, Polk County has greatly the advantage as regards Northern localities. The labor of clearing land, felling trees, grubbing out roots and making fences is no more difficult or disagreeable than at the North. ' In fact, it is less so, as there are no stones in the way. The labor of cultivation is also less, and much easier here. There is also no inter- ruption from frost, ice and snow, which makes a great saving of time and expense in favor of Polk County. Here one loses the pleasure of doing the hardest and most ex- haustive work during the hottest months, to fill barns, granaries and cellars with hay. grain and roots to be fed to stock on the most frosty mornings and the coldest and most disagreeable days. The residents of Polk County lose the pleasure and profit derived 42 HOMELAND. from frozen fingers, ears and toes. Another disagreeable matter is the fact that ice has to be made artificially here. As nature is not in the ice-making business the boys and girls cannot go skating on the ponds, lakes and rivers, as at the North, but go boating instead at all seasons of the year. Other luxuries that the youth here have to fore- go are those of sliding down hill, building snow-men and houses, throwing snow-balls and fishing through the ice. Nor do they have the pleasure of wallowing through snow-drifts, shoveling roads through the snow or going sleigh-riding. They manage to do their courting all the same, however. Another disagreeable feature of Polk County, much missed by Northern and Western people, is the speedy drying of the ground and vegetation within a few minutes after each shower, which prevents those disposed to take a walk, from enjoying the pleasure of wet feet and attendant colds and rhuematism. Another thing much missed is the lack of mud here, the porous soil absorbing the water instead of permitting it to stand in puddles in the road. There is also such an absence of dust that the course of carriages cannot be traced by clouds of dust, and the occupants are prevented from enjoying the familiar luxury of dust-baths so familiar to Northern and Western people. There are other equally enjoyable luxuries common to other sections that people here are compelled to forego, but those mentioned will suffice. "Each matchless morning marches from the East In tints inimitable and divine ; Each perfect noon sustains the endless feast, In which the wedded cliarnis of life combine; Sweet evening waits till golden day, released. Shall lead her blushing down the world's decline. WHERE AND WHAT IS FLORIDA? In deference to the wishes of the publishers, and for the conven- ience of those who have a thousand times read and re-read the history of Florida, from the year of its discovery to the present time, I will endeavor to give a brief outline of the more salient points, beginning with the earliest records. Geologically speaking, Florida is of very recent formation, although that was doubtless millions of years ago. The learned savans say it is like a book with only the title page and last chapter inclosed be- tween the covers. That is to say, that its foundation, being the primi- tive granite, the usual succeeding formations are omitted until reach- ing the limestone and like strata of a recent epoch. As there has been no thorough geological survey of the State, though one is much needed and would unquestionably repay the cost a hundred-fold, the statement may be considered as theoretical instead of an actual cer- tainty. The State is, however, unquestionably one- of recent develop- ment and still in process of formation. In process of time those ndustrious workers, the coral insects, which, like the trout, love swift running water, will undoubtedly connect Florida with the island of Cuba; the Mississippi and other rivers, that year by year deposit immense quantities of soil and drift in the Gulf of Mexico, will eventually fill it, and Floi'ida will not only cease to be a peninsula, but will lose a great charm of its delicious climate — the cool night breeze from the Gulf. This fact should be a warning to those thoughtful ones who contemplate a permanent residence in Polk County. Advancing to pre-historic times we find that the Mound Builders "were the first inhabitants who have left any recognizable trace of their occupation. Whether they wei'e the first settlers, or whether then, as in these recent years, an irresistible wave of immigration poured from the North into this delectable land, must ever remain a matter of conjecture. Let the wise men discuss the probabilities. For aught we know, Florida may have been the site of the veri- table Garden of Eden, some of the streams running in such a manner as to make it easy for a skilful philologist and geographer to find their counterpart in the description in Genesis of the streams from whence "a mist went up to water the garden." In the land of Havillah there was gold. That doubtless referred to Georgia. Noah's ark doubtless floated across the sea to Mount Ararat. The length of his voyage unquestionably gave sufiicient time. I leave the full elucidation of the matter to those deeply versed in Biblical lore, without charge for the suggestion. AVe know that Polk County is in 44 HOMELAND. about the same latitude as the supposed site of the sacred garden, and also, that it is in the same zone as the greatest and most prosprous cities of antiquity. This is another 'matter for profitable considera- tion. Scientists tell us that the birth-place of the human race must have been near the sea-shore and in the southern edge of the North Temperate Zone. Both these conditions are better fulfilled by Florida than by any other portion of the known world, its system of interior lakes and water courses of both salt and fresh water, its numerous bays and lagoons, and its very superior climatic conditions, giving it the precedence over all other localities in the matter of de- sirability. These facts being duly considered, it becomes evident that here is a favorable locality for the genius of the nineteenth century to create and develop one of the most prosperous, wealthy and power- ful of States. The early Greek M-riters tell us of the famous city of Atlantis, westward of the Gates of Hercules (now known as the Strait of Gibraltar), and interesting articles have been composed by modern authors on the subject. But I will leave to others the tracing of any connection between that wonderful locality and Florida. It was in this direction, and its site remains undetermined. In more modern times, the daring Scandinavian voyagers, from Norway and Iceland, visited Greenland and planted colonies there. They also sailed southward along the east coast of North America. This was about the close of the tenth centur}: . There is, however, no evidence that they visted Florida. Columbus, on his first voyage in search of a route to the Indies, discovei-ed San Domingo, October 14th, 1492, and on a later voyage the coast of South America, but he had no idea of the existence of Florida, In 1497, Sebastian Cabot discovered North America, but did not proceed as fiir southward as Florida. In 1512 or 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon, having heard reports in the West Indies of a wonder- ful youth-restoring fountain, that would smooth the wrinkles of age and restore the whiteness, smoothness, vigor and agility of youth to the one who drank its waters, made diligent inquiry and learned that it lay to the westward. After an extended cruise he reached the un- known coast of Florida, March 27th, on Palm or Easter Sunday, land- ing near Fernandina, April 2d. May 1st, 15(i2, a colony of French Protestants, under command of Jean Ribaut, entered the St. Johns^ River. Another colony of Huguenots left France, April, 1564, landed at St. Augustine, but located at St, John's Bluff, on the St. Johns River. The next year the French colonists were massacred by the Spanish under Menendez. In 1507, Dominie de Gourges avenged this act by the destruction of the Catholics. jNIay 30, 1539, Hernando De Soto landed at Tampa with a large force, sent his ships back to the West Indies, and marched through the interior of the country as far as Geoi'gia, and thence to the westward in the search for gold and populous cities, Avhich were not to be found. jNIattcrs were then quiet in Florida for many years, the lithe, hardy and freedom-loving native Indians, who had occupied the country from time immemorial, being alienated by the cruelties of the Spaniards, successfully resisted them, and attempts to subdue and HOMELAND. 45 colonize the country were abandoned until it passed into the hands of the English, February 13, 1763. A few attempts at settlement were made, but abandoned in 1783, when it was re-ceded to Spain. The United States made a treaty with Spain in 1819, making- Florida a part of our domain, the transfer taking place July lOlh,, 1821. It then became a Territory, with General^ Andrew Jackson as Military Governor. May 3d, 1822, Congress established a civil govern- ment and William P. Duval was appointed Governor. The Indians held the whole State, with the exception of a few military posts on the coast and along the northern border, and troubles with them continued frequent. While under Spanish rule it had become a resort for desperadoes, and those guilty of crime in the States to the North, which retarded development and tranquility. December 28, 1835, a fearful Indian war was commenced by the massacre of Colonel Dade and his force of 115 men, and a general uprising of the Indians to resist removal to the west of the Mississippi River, which had been determined upon by the General Government. It lasted until 1842, the Indians being subdued. This year the Armed Occupation Act was passed to hold the land by force. March 3, 1845, the State was admitted to full membership in the Union. The State progressed slowly, Indian troubles from 1855 to 1859 keeping matters in an unsettled condition and retarding emigra- tion and development. January 10, 18H1, the State seceded and joined the Southern Confederacy. The war being over, the State re- turned to the Union, October 28, 1865. Since then the development has been very rapid, surely and steadily augmenting from year to year. At first the immigrants were mostly from the Southern States, near the northern border, mostly from Georgia, though there have been increasing numbers from South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and other States. The people of the North did not begin to take much interest in Florida until after 1875. The State had been a Spanish possession from the time of its discovery,in 1512 or 1513 (the exact year is unknown), until it passed into the possession of the United States, in 1821, with the exception of the English occupancy from 1763 to 1783; and where Spain rules, civilization languishes. Her power is the bane to progress. After this the Indian troubles kept things in a turmoil until all culminated in the civil war, which impoverished the whole South. Is it any wonder that Florida had made so little progress up to the opening of the present decade, although she has the most delicious climate in the world, a soil and productions that give the greatest and the most profitable returns to the acre of any State of the Union, a land where seed-time and harvest go hand in hand, where crops grow every month in the year, successive productions being taken from the same piece of ground ; a land where the cultivator can work in hia field every day in the year, if he chooses ; a land where nearly every production and industry can thrive ; where labor, energy and in- telligence secure a sure reward ; where one's needs, wants and ne- cessities are less than in other portions of the country, and the neces- saries of life more easily obtained ; where provision does not have to be made for bitter and inclement winters ; where the summers are; 46 HOMELAND. pleasant, comfortable and enjoyable ; where the poor man can secure a competence for himself and family, and the man of means increas- ing wealth and fortune ; where bitter storms can never come; where the general healthfulness is greater than that of any other State ; where acclimatizing fevers are unknown ; where the most virulent diseases of other sections, pneumonia, diphtheria, typhoid fever' phthisis, yellow fever, hydrophobia, sun-stroke andseveral other destruc- tive ailments, are either unknown or very rare; where malaria is not prevalent ; where the occasional sickness is of a milder type than in other States, and yields rapily to proper medical treatment ; a land where there is abundant and profitable employment ; where beauteous homes can be easily made, and where flowers bloom all the year ? The enumeration might be continued for pages. Such are a few of the inducements offered by that choicest and most delectable por- tion of the State, Polk County. Great as may be the charms of other portions of the State, and there are many, Polk County claims to sur- pass them all in desirability and attractiveness. It is the centre of the most delicious and delightful zone the State affords. Her people are not given to boasting and self-praise ; they present the solid at- tractions, that those who see may understand. Polk County makes no depreciative or invidious comparison with other sections. Their attractions are great and genuine. Where there is a good there may be a better, and Polk unhesitatingly claims the best. Come, see and believe. The northern part of the State has many attractions, and was the first settled. The growth there has not been rapid. The climate, soil and productions are essentially the same as those of the adjacent Southern States. Being further south, the climate is somewhat milder, but being a part of the continental portion of the United States, the characteristics of the peninsula are absent. It has, however, a variety of charms and attractions that will eventually ensure its development. It was the fashion and the custom until quite recently to decry South Florida. Parties interested in the northern, or continental part of the State, represented it to be a vast swamp, interspersed with bar- ren sand hills. They claimed that it was virtually uninhabitable by man, being the home of alligators, poisonous serpents and other disa- greeable vermin, and so malarious and insect-infested that civilized man could not exist. Also, that the heat was too intense to be endured. These phantoms of their selfish imaginations have been dispelled by the light of knowledge derived from actual experience, and South Florida is found to be the most delightful and the most healthful part of the State. Its products are also found to be the most valuable and the most reliable. As it becomes better and better known, immigra- tion is pouring into this jDortion of the State much more rapidly than into any other, and active towns and busy, bustling cities are spring- ing up as if by magic, especially through the central portion from the Atlantic to the Gulf. Railroads are also being built here very rapidly. Everywhere energetic progress is manifest. The Indian troubles that continued until 1859, not only prevented any considerable settlement in this southern peninsula, but it also kept the old-time planters from locating here with their slaves. Conse- quently this favored portion of Florida is not encumbered with the HOMELAND. 47 flotsam and the jetsam left by the late war in the more northern por- tions of the State. South Florida is ruled by white men without any fear of negro suiDremacy. It does not need any peculiar provisions to be inserted in the State Constitution to prevent the intelligence and wealth of the community from being helplessly outnumbered and overridden by a large, ignorant, servile population with whom they have and can have no sympathy. This is the land of the free, not the slave. It is only a decade since the tide of Northern emigration began to be attracted to Southern Florida. They reached it by the St. Johns River, landing atSanford. Previous to this time the most of the little emigration to the State, and more especially to South Florida, was from the Southern States. About ten years ago there was a little spurt of Northern immigration. The majority spread out from San- ford, on Lake Monroe, the head of large steamboat navigation on the St. Johns River, throughout Orange County. A few stopped oft' in Volusia County, notably at DeLand. A few small and feeble colonies located on the Atlantic Coast, the colony from New Britain, Conn., locating at Ormond, on the Halifax River, being the most notable. Orange County made a beginning, but it was eighty-five miles through the primeval forest without roads or bridges to the capital of Polk County. Northern people did not wish to bury them- selves in the woods away from all the privileges that civilization af- fords, and they did not come. Besides being unknown, this whole southern region was considered virtually uninhabitable. The wheels of Time continued to revolve and 1880 appeared on its dials. The few newspapers, the occasional letters from the happy and prosperous settlers, and the testimony of the increasing number of prospectors, wielded a powerful influence in attracting the attention of the people of the whole North. The tide of emigration to the West had reached and overleaped the Rocky Mountains, and there was a rebound. They too began to turn their attention to Florida. What Western people do, they do on a grand scale, with vim and energetic push. They have less timid conservatism than the people of the East. They are broader and more liberal in their views. They are more ready to adapt themselves to changed conditions, to pull off' their coats and go in to win. Western as well as Eastern people are coming to South Florida. With their combined energy and means, they are making lovely homes, building thriving towns and busy, bustling cities in the tier of counties to the North of Polk ; in Volusia, Orange, Sumter and Hills- boro' Counties. They have done well ; their choice was a wise one, for there was neither railroad nor steamboat, nor other ready means of access to and from Polk County, and its more delicious climate and more fertile i^nd productive lands. A few energetic pioneers from those 'sections pushed on to Polk and were not only surprised, but de- lighted with the intrinsic excellence and attractiveness of the country they saw. The figures on Tme's dial mark 1884, and a railroad from Lake Monroe to Tampa runs through the northern portion of Polk County, through a wonderful Lake Region. Thrifty towns sprang up along the line with a celerity only equalled by the wonders attendant on 48 HOMELAND. Alladin's lump. The Soutli Floridii Railroad was the lamp, and the Plant Investment Company the Alladin that caused this wonderful transformation in the primeval wilderness. Now 1885 appears and the railroad is opened into the heart of the county, to Bartow, with probabilities of speedy extension. The Florida Southern, running throujih the interior of the State, from north to south, forms a junction with the South Florida at Lakeland, and is soon to be extended to Bartow and beyond to the south. Ru- mors of contemplated railroads fill the air. People from all sections are coming to see the country and are delighted. Their friends, neighbors and acquantances follow them as soon as they can arrange their affairs at their present homes. Everywhere is surprising activ- ity, land cleared and buildings erected. The climate is the most de- lightful throughout the year yet know^n, the lands are fertile and pro- ductive, the views are charming and general good health prevails. As regards general beauty and attractiveness, Polk County is vir- tually a continuation of Orange County into a more southern latitude, where the winters are milder and the summers cooler. Like Orange it has immense numbers of beautiful lakes, and they are well stocked with fish. There are, however, many more running streams and beautiful valleys ; the ground has a firmer and more substantial tread, the soil is more fertile, and oak growths are more abundant and vigor- ous, which, with its varied surfs'ce, gives pleasing additional attractions to the landscape. I would draw no invidious comparisons with Orange, the banner county of the State and my adopted home, for Orange County deserves every line of praise that has been given her. I know no county in the State that is, at present, the peer of Orange, and believe there will be none excepting Polk, which I judge to have the most varied, desirable and magnificent natural charms and attractions of any section of fair Florida, the future home and resort of millions of the world's energetic and enthusiastic, as well as tired, weary workers. To these Polk County will be a veritable Homeland. Polk County, like Orange, is an interior county, a watershed, and the balmy and refreshing breezes from Ocean and Gulf, changing semi- daily, are filtrated through miles of balsamic pine on either hand be- fore sweeping over her healthful and inviting territory. Polk h:is all thelatter's natural excellence as well as a number of additional charms and advantages. Polk County has had to await the apparently slow, yet really- rapid, processes of settlement and development, without either natural or artificial highways of ingress or egress. The counties to the North, from Polk to the city of Jacksonville, in Duval, have had the mag- nificent St. Johns River and fleets of steamers to aid in their develop- ment, while, until the present year, Polk County has not only had no steamers, though there is a river running through it from North to South, but Congress would appropriate nothing for its improvement because it was called Peace Creek. The Legislature has changed its name to Peace River, and an appropriation will doubtless be forth- coming, that Polk may have a navigable outlet to the Gulf. Kissim- mee River forms its Ea.«:tern l)oundary and the Drainage Company has recently rendered that navigable. Hence, as Polk County is becom- ing known, her water ways are being made ready for use. Canals could HOMELAND. 49 also be easily cut, and thus her magnificent lakes could be utilized for transportation. I take great pride in the glorious development of Orange County during the past five years, since the commencement of her railroads in 1880, feeling that I have contributed my mite thereto, and would add to rather than diminish one word I have said in her praise. Her population and wealth have quadrupled, her citizens are the creme de la creme of the whole country ; the number of buildings erected and the business industries developing there are astonishing and her wild lands have increased in value from $1.25 to $25, to $50, to $100 per acre, while near the numerous thrifty, fast growing towns $200 to $500, and even $1,000 per acre, is no uncommon price. Even this progress is surpassed in the most wonderful city of Orlando, the county seat, where (I quote ,an editorial in the Reporter of that city) business lots sell at the rate of thirty-six thousand dollars ($36,000) per acre. Yet three to four years ago the pine woods were growing over nearly all the present site of the city. I know this to be a fact for I was there. There seems to be no possible reason why the development of Polk County should not be equally great and even more rapid. I have referred on previous pages to her advantages and attractions. Polk County was much more developed when the first railroad reached her county seat, last January, than was Orange when a like event occurred, and five years will make even greater changes here than the same period has there, wonderful and surprising as the de- velopments have been. Bartow has abundant room for expansion in all directions, and especially to the South, along one of the very finest and most desira- ble plateaus to be found in any State, Already dwellings and beau- tiful groves are quite numerous and rapidly increasing. Soon the whole twelve miles from Bartow to Fort Meade will be one continuous village. The prices of lands are very moderate yet, but the rush of emigration is assuming such immense proportions that prices are sure to advance very rapidly. There is no mistaking the determination of the people of the other States throughout the Union to immigrate from the regions of terrific storms and destructively cold and severe winters. This is evidenced not only by the numbers already settling and prospecting, but also by the interest manifested everywhere, even across the Atlantic, in Florida, and more especially in South Florida. The increase of values has been, and is, so great that many who had purchased larger tracts than they really needed, so much less land being required here than in other sections, were able in a short time to pay for the whole by selling a part, so greatly had the value advanced. The same will be the experience of thousands of others who invest here before prices get beyond their means. POPULATION. In 1850, the whole county was virtually untrodden by the foot of the white man, save at intervals by an adventurous hunter, though there were a few, and but a very few, log cabins to be found among the head waters of the Alafia and Hillsboro' Rivers. Even the few 60 homeland/ adventurous pioneers who located there sought safer quarters upon the outbreak of the Indian troubles in 1854, consequently 1860 found a very limited number of settlers in the county, and they had not even a court-house, nor was the site determined until 1866, when the county building was erected at Bartow. Nor was there a church building or a store, and none but the most primitive of school houses. By the census of 1870 the population is given as 3,113, but the number is believed to be largely exaggerated, as the reliable census of 1880 gave but 3,156 population. These figures are largely increased by immigration, during the past five years, from all parts of the Union, the estimated present population being about 7,000, having doubled in five years. A census will be taken during the summer, which will give the exact figures, and be published in the Trade Edition of the Tivies- Union in Octoher. From this time the population is sure to double very rapidly. REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY. By reference to the tax books of 1866, I find 132 white males over 21 and under 55 years old, and 80 colored. The 13,752 acres of and owned by individuals was valued at $50,104 ; the capital in trade, $4,000. There were 352 horses and mules, valued at $33,975. The cattle, hogs, etc., numbered 87,696, with an assessed value of $178,174, There Avere 272 sheep and goats, valued at $716. The carriages, carts and wagons numbered 135, and Avere valued at $4,270. Household furniture was valued at $8,505; musical instruments, jcAvelry, etc., at $485. Total valuation, $325,604. Tax assessed, $2,024.02; collected, $1,920.67. The poll-tax was $3 each. In 1870, the number of polls has increased to 259, and the tax is reduced from $3 each poll to 50 cents. The land assessed is 15,117 acres, with a valuation of $19,133, Of this land 1,943 acres are im- proved, or cultivated, the value of the improvements being $23,051. There are 423 horses, 1 ass, 47 mules, 28,401 neat and stock cattle, 189 sheep and goats, and 3,684 swine. The valuation of household furniture, etc., is $105,627,and the fiill cash value of personal property is $303, 489. The State tax was $1,745.14; county tax, $872.57, and the school tax, $698.05. In 1880, the number of acres assessed have increased to 29,022 ; acres improved, 1,535; valuation, $70,090; valuation of town lots and improvements, $13,590; horses and mules, 655; cattle, 22,030; sheep and goats, 554; swine, 6,330; full cash value of animals, $156,234 ; value of personal property, except animals, $69,343 ; aggregate value, $225,577 ; while of real estate and personal property it is $309,257. Total state tax, $2,375.30 ; total county tax, 2,529.93, of which the general school tax was $309.26 ; county schools, $773.14. Males over 21 and under 55 are 421. In 1881, the assessed valuation was $368,870 ; in 1882, $684,702; in 1883, $1,036,223; in 1884 it had increased to $1,689,053. During the past year the increase has been very much greater than in any previous year, as is shown by the assessment now in preparation. A number of new and substantially built towns, with stores, post offices, churches, schools, telegraph and other offices, railroad depots, and the HOMELAND. 51 varied appliances of energetic civilization having taken the place of the primeval forest. In 1884, we find the number over 21 and under 55 to have in- creased from the 212 of 1866 to 670; the 13,752 acres of assessed land in 1866 have increased to 223,196 acres in 1884; the improved to 7,288 acres. The value of the land is $1,122,758; of town lots, $59,025. The number of horses, asses and mules is 950 ; cattle, 24,- 108 ; sheep and goats, 1,651 ; hogs, 7,134, with $225,421 as the cash value, and $279,149 as the value of other personalty, making a total of $504,570 for personal and $1,686,373 of both real and personal property. The general revenue tax of three mills yields $5,405.91 ; the school tax of one mill gives $1,420.73; making the total state tax $7,092.94. The county tax proper is $4,560.98 ; school, $5,059.91 ; special, $1,688.73 ; for court-house, $6,748.94 ; making a total for county proper of $18,056.86 ; it being two and a half mills; while the total tax of the county for 1884 was $25,149.80. The present year shoAvs a very large increase of improvements and of resources of all kinds. SCHOOLS. Very greatly increased interest is being shown in educational matters. The number of pupils of lawful age is about 2,000. There are fifty-three schools organized, of which two are colored. Bartow, Fort Meade and Lakeland employ assistant teachers. The last two have just erected fine new school buildings and Bartow will soon invest about $20,000 in supplying her needs in the matter of educational facilities. ORANGE GROVES. The number and acreage of orange groves has increased im- mensely with the increase of transportation facilities, having proba- bly doubled within the past two years. At Bartow, the most reliable estimates give not less than 12,000 trees in grove form, with some millions, from one to five years old, in nursery. The most of the trees in the groves are set thirty feet apart, though many are set at a less distance, thus increasing the number, as my estimate is for fifty trees per acre. At Fort Meade there are about four hundred acres in grove, or some 20,000 trees, while there are millions in nursery. Here, too, the amount of land being set to orange trees is increasing with wonderful rapidity. A trip over the twelve miles between Bartow and Fort Meade shows a very large acreage of groves that are either iji bearing or are making astonishing progress. They are of all ages. There are also numerous groves, not only near other prominent cen- tres, like Lakeland, Acton, Auburndale, Winter Haven, etc., but also throughout the whole extent of this climatically-favored county, where much of the soil is so fertile that trees reach maturity without fertilization and also yield good crops, year after year, to the cultiva- tor. Many groves are in bearing and give immense returns of deli- cious golden fruit to their happy and prosperous owners. A WORD OF ADVICE. To the thousands whose thoughts are turned towards Florida, I would say, be very careful to consider South Florida by itself. Do 52 HOMELAND. not fail to make the distinction necessary between South Florida, and especially between Polk County, and the State at large. Every por- tion has its own especial attractions, advantages, comforts and discom- forts. Each section should be judged by itself and stand or fall on its own merits or demerits. Do not forget that Florida is a very large State. Do not fail to remember that though the whole four hundred miles from north to south, bears the name of Florida, the climate and productions are very much diverse from those of any equal extent of territory in the North, the great West, or the South. Do not fail to give due weight to the fact that South Florida is a peninsula ; that the Gulf Stream flows along its western, southern and eastern coasts, modifying its climate, its temperatui-e and its productions. Do not fail to remember that the delicious and invigorating benefits de- rived from the trade winds are only to be secured in South Florida. Remember that the life-giving, heat-dispelling breezes of the day and the soothing, sleep-inducing, strength-resting coolness of the nights are only to be secured in their full perfection in South Florida, of which Polk Countv is the most desirable and advantageous centre. Do you fear troublesome insects or reptiles, remember that Polk County is centrally situated, and that its elevation above the sea and the absence of salt or other marshes gives it an exemption unkown on the coast. In many of the higher and more prominent localities mos- quito bars are unknown. In fact, it is more exempt from insects and other pests than the average localities of the Union. Especially do not group all the eight distinct belts or zones of Flor- ida as one homogenous whole, as their characteristics are very decidedly varied, and their productious essentially different. Polk Qbunty is decidedly semi-tropical, and its productions very, very different from other parts of the country. Those who come here have to unlearn the lessons they have learned in other parts of the Union and begin anew if they would succeed. If you are so situated that you are perfectly and undeniably con- tented where you are, do not come to Polk County. If you cannot tear yourself away from old associations and form new, do not come to Polk or any other county in Florida. This land has been reserved by Providence for those who desire to renew shat- tered health or fortunes, as thousands are doing, and for a hapj^y and delightful abode. The people here are as good, as kind, as sociable, and as generous to their acquaintances or to strangers as those of any country in the world. There is no difficulty in securing pleasant homes here. In fact, there is less rancor in politics or in religion than in any other part of the world. The people desire increased immigration, especially of educated, refined and well-to-do people, as that insures more and better schools, churches, stores, roads, cultivated fields and im- provements generally that appertain to the highest civilization. Everything is progressive here. The capacities and capabilities of this section are wonderful, but their development has hardly com- menced. If you desire to practice farming, as at the North or West, stay there. Though corn can be raised here and sold at a price that makes it more profitable than at the far West, this is not an agricultural, but HOMELAND. 53 a fruit and vegetable country. The farms must here be made gardens or orchards, and the intensive system of cultivation must prevail to se- cure the best results. Larger returns are secured from five acres here than from fifty at the North. Consequently, though large holdings will give a great profit from the rapidly-increasing values of land, a few acres give all that is needed for the purposes of cultivation. It is simply a question of large returns from a few acres here or small in- come from each of many acres in other sections. You can buy a through ticket to Bartow, Polk County, Florida, at any of the leading railroad offices of the country. This will take you all the way by rail, or you can go by steamer from the principal Eastern cities to Fernandina, and thence by rail to Bartow, or you can make the trip from Jacksonville to Sanford by steamer up the St. Johns River, and the remainder of the trip by the South Florida Railroad. Men have come without moneyed resources and have prospered, securing wealth by their own labor and enterprise, but the majority of people will find it more pleasant to be provided with a reasonable amount of cash ready for use, in case they are pleased with the oppor- tunities for investment. • Do not expect to find things here altogether the same as in the place from which you came. If they were, you might as well stay at home. Climate, soil and vegetation, all, are different from the North- ern or Western country^ Difference in lattitude produces a differ- ence in the habits of the people. Here you can comfortably pass the most of your time in the open air, hence, if the hugging of a base-burner coal stove and the breathing of a close and poisonous atmosphere be your chief delight, remain where they abound, for such have no place in South Florida. Here the sun gives the requisite amount of heat, and the delicious breezes supply an abundance of pure and wholesome air to breathe. If you should be so fortunate as to come to Polk County, do not be so egotistical as to think you know more about the country and the way things should be done than those who have been here for years and obtained their knowledge by experience. However smart and wise you may esteem yourself, it will be well for you to remember that the people here are your peers at least. They not only have a practical knowledge, but many of them are quite as highly educated and cultured as yourself. In the villages you will find as good and as intelligent society as in any part of the Union, and in the country, as kindly neighbors as are to be found anywhere ; nor will you be farther from them than in other parts of the country at large. Do not be in too much of a hurry at first, but settle down quietly in some pleasant locality, rest from your journey and make yourself acquainted with the characteristics of things about you. Do not locate on land that is flooded at times of high water. It may be cheaper at first, but it will prove more expensive, as well as disagreeable, after. There is plenty of good land, but there is much more that is undesirable. All who propose to make a stay of a few, or many years, in South Florida, should purchase land and improve at least a portion of it. 54 HOMELAND. Land here is rapidly increasing in value, and will continue so to do until the minimum price of the best lands will be not less than $1,000 per acre. Those with groves will be worth much more, while in towns and cities the value will be rated by tens of thousands of dollars. The rapid advance in the prices of land in South Florida is not due to a speculative boom, but to its substantial development. The advance has been steady from year to year with the increase of population, and of the facilities for railroad transportation. The new comer requires more cash capital now than a few years since for several reasons; the lands are higher-priced, and conse- quently more money is required to secure a place ; people also build much better houses, as a rule, and also live and dress more expensively; there are more of the appliances of what is called modern civilization. Those who choose can rough it, but it is difficult to get far away from neighbors. If one comes here with the design to work for others — and there is much work being done — he should also secure at least a few acres of land and make it his savings bank and donate his spare time, his dimes aiid dollars to its improvement. He will thus, in a few years, become independent. Women feel the change from an old country to a new more than men, as it is more difficultfor them to form new associations, but as they are credited with the possession of more tact, patience, self-denial and self-sacrifice, they should be able to endure the breaking of old ties, that the fortunes of the family may be permanently bettered. Ladies who delight in flowers can have their yards filled with the most beautiful throughout the year, there being no destructive freezes here, and but few, if any, frosts. They can enjoy a wealth of bloom throughout the year. Here one can live in cottage or mansion, as means or taste may dictate. Social distinction] is not based upon wealth, but upon energy, intelligence and true and desirable qualities of heart and mind. THE POLITICAL SITUATION. You need not fear being ostracised should you be a conscientious Republican. There does not seem to be half the bitterness of party feeling here that there is in other parts of the country. There are and have been, but very few negroes here, consequently the race bitterness of some sections of the South is unknown. This is a " white man's country," and it is also becoming quite cosmopolitan, hence, the question is, "What kind of a man are you?" not "What is your poli- tics ? " Speech is as free here as at the North or West, but people come here to make orange groves, to retrieve wasted health, to make delightful homes, and to secure either competence or fortunes, not to dabble in political cess-pools. The older residents are mostly Demo- crats, the later arrivals represent all parties, while the tendency is for the better elements to work together to secure the greatest possible good for this section of the country. There is no surveilance of or disturbance at the polls. Election days pass oft' quietly, and as the ballot is cast so is it counted. THE SOUTH FLORIDA RAILROAD. Leaving the main line of the South Florida Railroad at Bartow Junction, the tourist passes over the Bartow Branch, 17 miles, to Bar- tow, the county site^of Polk County, one of the most beautiful towns in South Florida. The situation of Bartow and the surrounding country is such as to give promise of a large increase in population, in business and in importance in the near future. The connection made by the railroad line with Tampa on the West coast and Sanford on the St. Johns River, has added very materially to the prosperity of the town, and where only a few years ago wild land was found are now to be seen charming dwellings, beautifully located and surrounded by flourishing ■orange groves. The South Florida Railroad, in every way consistent with busi- ness principles, develops the country through which it passes and gives to the new settler all advantages to add to his income by prompt delivery of produce at the Northern markets, and keeps producers well informed as to market values by constant telegraphic reports from New York, which are posted three times weekly at prominent places in towns along its line. The Bartow Branch passes through some of the most beautiful and fertile land in South Florida — through the centre of the noted Lake Region of Polk County. The road passes along on the summit of a ridge, on both sides of which bright lakes are seen, on whose shores are found a succession of orange groves and gardens. The soil around Bartow is particularly adapted to vegetable culture, and the departure of trains from that point is such as to enable the producers to put their vegetables into a Northern mai-ket in the shortest possible time. Rail communication is soon to be open- ed over the main line of the South Florida Railroad by a branch to the North, connecting with the Florida Southern and then on to the point of connection of that road with the Savannah, Florida and Western. This will materially reduce the time from Bartow and make the place as easily accessible to the tourist, business man or invalid as has been Jacksonville in the past years. The lines of the South Florida Telegraph Company extend from Bartow to all points on the line of the South Florida Railroad and its branches, and at several of these points connects with the wires of other companies, making direct telegraphic communication between Bartow and all points in the North, South and West, as well as to points in Cuba. 66 HOMELAND. Winter Haven, one of the most beautiful spots in Polk County, is situated 5 miles from Bartow Junction, and 12 miles northeast of Bartow, surrounded by lakes. One can there feel almost safe from frosts, as the cold winds are tempered by the warmer water over which they pass. This town, while started only a few months since, is already a prosperous and growing community and gives promise of increased prosperity in the future. Trains leave Tampa and Sanford both morning and evening for Bartow and points on the Bartow Branch. The tourist and hunter will find no more delightful country than that through which the Bartow Branch of the South Florida Railroad passes, being unequal- led in scenery, and aflTording to the sportsman all kinds of game and in the lakes a variety of fish unknown outside of Florida waters. First-class passenger accommodations are furnished by the railroad, parlor cars over the main line, air brakes, steel rails, smooth road- bed and all the comforts that can be found on the large Northern roads. Tickets for Bartow can be procured at all the principal points in the North, East or West, at the Savannah, Florida and Western ticket office in Jacksonville, or on boats of Peoples' Line of steamers. For further information, apply to Frederic H. Rand, General Freight and Passenger Agent. OFFICIAL DIRECTORY OF POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA. Circuit Court — Sixth Judicial Circuit — H, L. Mitchell, Judge ; S. M. Sparkman, State Attorney. County Commissioners — Col. J. N. Hooker, Chairman ; J. F. Kelley, J. H. Kirkland, N. B. Norton, B. F. Holland. County Judge — James A. Fortner, Bartow. County Clerk — William H. Johnson, Bartow. Board of Public Instruction — M. D. L. Mayo, Chairman ; J. T. Wilson, J. W. Brandon. Superintendent of Schools — John Snoddy, Bartow. County Surveyor — J. W. Boyd, Bartow. County Assessor — U. A. Lightsey, Fort Meade. County Collector — J. B. Tillis, Fort Meade. County Treasurer — F. F. Beville, Bartow. Sheriff — R. T. Kilpatrick, Bartow. NEWSPAPERS. Bartow Informant, Ba,rtoyv ; G. A. Hanson, Editor ; D. W. D. Boully, Publisher. Lakeland News, Lakeland ; L. M. Ballard, Editor and Publisher. Fort Meade Pioneer, Fort Meade; F.Q.Crawford, Editor and Publisher. , JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. Precinct No. 1 — D. C. Lancaster, H. E. Padgette, Chicora P. O. Precinct No. 2— V. L. Tillis, Fort Meade. Precinct No. 3 — George S. Durrance, Bartow. Precinct No. 4 — R. E. Windham, Medulla. Precinct No. 5 — J. W. Tucker, Lakeland. Precinct No. 6 — William L. Patterson, Sanitaria. Precinct No. 9 — J. A. Fortner, Bartow. Precinct No. 10 — Eppes Tucker, Lakeland. DESCRIPTIONS OF LOCALITIES. BARTOW. Prominent among the energetic, pushing, beautiful and rapidly- growing towns of South Florida is Bartow, the central and capital town of far-famed Polk County. It is situated near the centre of the elevated and fertile ridge of land, the backbone of the peninsula, that extends in a northerly and southerly direction until lost in the flat lands of the counties in the extreme southern portion of the State; Here, however, the road-bed of the South Florida Railroad has an €levation of 114 feet. At and surrounding Bartow, on every side, are large quantities of the most fertile and the most desirable lands that are to be found anywhere in the State of Florida. The vigorous growth of the beau- tiful pine, intermingled with an abundance of oak of a number of varieties, is a surprise to the visitor who had become tired and wearied of the ceaseless, unbroken pine presented by so many sections. There is a charm in variety, and a fertile soil has an undeniable attractive- ness. Another surprise that arrests the attention of the visitor, is the firm and solid tread that greets the impress of the foot of man and beast. No wading through deep and difficult sands, but hard, smooth and enduring pathways. There is also a variety of surface, which is gently rolling, precluding the monotony caused by broad stretches of flat lands. Here are hill and dale, with gentle swells, furnishing de- lightful building sites and ample drainage — the central portion of the town being higher than the surrounding and contiguous country. The broad streets and avenues cross each other at right-angles, the blocks being of one acre each. Along the streets and in->the yards of the residents are numerous vigorous oaks and other trees that give & most delightful and congenial shade, the like of which is to be found in but few places outside of the fertile ridge of Polk County. Here, too, are vigorous orange trees, laden with an immense quantity of the "apples of the Hesperides— fit food for the gods." The centre of attraction, and of business, is the capacious, elegantly and substantially furnished court-house, the finest in South Florida, w^ich occupies not only a central, but also the highest, part of the town. The fence around it encloses a square of one acre of land — one block — which is surrounded by a line of posts connected by chain cables. About a rod within is a substantial picket fence. On the four streets surrounding, and their extensions, are grouped many of the stores, offices, hotels and business houses. HOMELAND. 59 The depot of the South Florida Railroad is situated about half a mile to the southeast of the court-house which is thus secure from the annoyance caused by the noise of trains, the roar, jostle and push of active business. The court-house fixes the centre, and new buildings, mostly of a very neat, elegant or substantial character, are being erected in every direction around it. Evidently, judging from the present rate of progress, it will be but very few years before the whole of the four miles comprising the area of the corporation of Bartow will be completely covered with buildings and groves, from sixty to seventy new buildings having been erected and many acres set in orange groves since the advent of the South Florida Railroad, last January, while work on both is progressing very rapidly. A careful computation shows that about one-sixth of the area of the corporation, some four hundred acres or more, are already occu- pied by buildings, groves, nurseries, etc. Lemons, limes, guavas, bananas, grape fruit, Japan plums and persimmons, strawberries and a long list of other fruits are cultivated, as well as oranges, besides the beautiful shrubs, flowers, running vines, etc., etc., that adorn the yards of so many of the residents. This is the true Homeland, where meet the productions of both the temperate and the semi-tropic zones, where harvests are continuous and where flowers bloom all the year, destructive freezes being almost, or virtually, unknown, and frosts rare and mild ; its comparatively low latitude giving it much greater exemption from these destructive influences than localities at any distance to the north. The survey of the Florida Southern Railroad runs within less than a quarter of a mile to the west of the court-house, and work is progressing rapidly ; a line already building from Tavares to Char- lotte Harbor is to run through Bartow ; a road is chartered from Bartow to Tampa, and other roads are expected to link Bartow with other parts of the State in all desirable directions, making it a lively railroad and general business centre. In fact, its future seems to be indisputably assured as one of the most important and desirable busi- ness centres of South Florida. ' Bartow is the natural business centre of a large extent of the most fertile country, as well as the most healthful and salubrious and desirable, that any part of Florida affords. The water, too, is excel- lent, and is readily secured by boring or digging through alternate strata of sand and clay to a depth of 25 to 30 feet, at which depth the supply is constant and unlimited. There is also a surprising and unexpected exemption from insect pests, mosquitoes being few in number and so rarely seen that bars are unused and unnecessary. Flies, gnats, etc., are also limited in quantity and fleas are disappear- ing as the laws banish the hogs. The prices of lands are very reasonable, considering Bartow's importance as a trade centre ; the rapidity with which the town is building in every direction; the prospects as regards railroad facilities; the favorable location for a variety of manufactories ; the fertility of the soil; the delicious healthfulness of the climate ; the large quantity of choice outlying lands ; the great variety of fruits and vegetables that can be successfully and profitably raised and marketed ; the many beautiful and desirable locations for homes and for business 60 HOMELAND. places ; the social and enterprising character of the people~and many other reasons that will suggest themselves to the visitor. The first settlement in the corporation's limits was made in 1851. In 1852 several families settled in the near vicinity. Being far dis- tant from transportation and without good roads — Tampa, on the Gulf of Mexico, forty«five miles distant, being the nearest trading post and post-office — the population increased very slowly, notwithstanding the remarkable fertility of the soil and delicious salubrity of the climate. In 1866, Bartow was made the county seat and the International Ocean Telegraph line was built, and opened an office here. The first store was built and opened the same year. The court-house, a hotel, a school-house and Masonic lodge, and several other buildings, were also erected in 1866. Then things resumed their usual quiet course, the lack of transportation being an insurmountable obstacle. The population increased very slowly and no attempt was made to build a town. The chief industry of the people was the raising of cattle and agricultural products for home use. The people were self- supporting from the fertile soil. In 1868, Capt. David Hughes located here, built a store-house, and went into the cattle business on a large scale. W. T. Carpenter had the first and only store for the sale of goods, from early in 1865 to 1870, when Capt. Hughes opened his store to the public and has since done an immense trade. Thus matters continued until 1881, in a quiet humdrum way, the people being virtually isolated from the outside world. They had plenty on which to live, but little else, on account of the lack of mar- kets and the difficulties and expense of transportation. They neces- sarily became self-reliant ; they were happy and contented ; crime was very rare. Railroads were chartered occasionally, but until 1880 none were built in South Florida. That year the South Florida Railroad w^as built from Sanford to Orlando, and extended in 1881 to Kissimmee. It was chartered to run through Bartow to Tampa. Then railroad talk became rife ; a few enterprising prospectors scoured Polk County searching for desirable lands, and brought back glowing reports of the beauty, fertility and delicious salubrity of the country. They dwelt with enthusiam upon the rich lands, the vigorous growths of oak and pine and other woods, the running streams, the rolling country, the pleasant vales, the lovely building sites, the inexpressible deliciousness of the climate, and the wonderful opportunities to secure fortunes. G. W. Smith, one of Bartow's most enterprising citizens and prominent merchants, came in the spring of 1881 ; the trip from Or- lando, with his family and household effects, being %nade in ox-carts over rough trails and swollen unbridged streams. They were eight days on the way, camping at night. Is it any wonder that Bartow, or Polk County, fertile and delicious section as it is, is not more thickly peopled, or that now the South Florida Railroad has its present termi- nus at Bartow, people should be rapidly pushing into the country to secure homes ? Mr. Smith was pleased with the country, its advan- tages and its opportunities, and having had extensive experience" in other sections, he knew a good thing when he saw it. He therefore purchased about one-sixth of the then surveyed town, bought a saw- mill, and later opened a store, to which he has made successive addi- tions to accommodate his steadily increasing business. During the HOMELAND. 61 year he proposes to build a still larger and elegant store, though his present place holds an immense stock of goods. But I have neither the time nor the space to trace the individual history of Bartow. The impetus it received in 1881 has been earn- estly progressive. July 1, 1882, the corporate government was organ- ized, J. H. Humphries, Esq., the present Polk County delegate to the Constitutional Convention, being elected Mayor. Only twenty-eight legal voters were found in the corporation limits, and of these twenty- two were present. They knew the time had come for Bartow to move. The population is now about 700. Numbers of new buildings were erected during the season of 1882 and 1883. Prominent among them were a Baptist and Methodist church, as well as stores and dwellings. Since that time building has been steady, progressive and continuous. In 1884, the old court-house was removed and the present fine and attractive structure erected. Also a fine hotel, an opera-house, and numbers of stores, residences, etc. In January of the present year, the South Florida Railroad reached Bartow, infusing new life into town and country. Its projec- tion, its^survey, and building to Tampa, had given a great impetus to the purchase of land and the setting out of groves, but an actual railroad here not only gave people the opportunity to come and see for themselves, but it also greatly facilitated and cheapened the trans- portation of supplies of all kinds. The manner in which its approach, even, gave an impetus to business and enterprise is evidenced by the fact that of the 12,000 orange trees set in grove, in the corporation limits, about half has been the work of the past two years. This fact alone indicates whether the many new comers have been pleased with the advantages offered by this section to clear-headed and enterprising men. Here many have builded their fortunes anew, many have made for themselves lovely homes. The Bartow of to-day comprises a beautiful tract of rolling coun- try, wide streets crossing: each other at right angles, beautiful oaks and other delightful shade trees scattered throughout the corporation, sub- stantial plank sidewalks and crossings in the chief business portion of the town, though the ground is so firm, and yet absorbs the falling rain so quickly, that they are very much less needed than in other sec- tions of the country. The untraveled parts of the streets, the uncul- tivated parts of the yards and the fields are covered with a vigorous growth of grass. Orange groves abound, and outside of the business part of the rapidly-growing town the lessening tracts of pine, and of pine intermingled with oak, are patiently awaiting their destiny, for they will soon be removed to make place for buildings and groves, and gardens of fruits, vegetables and flowers. To note the town itself, the large two-story court-house, with its tower and four gables, is an appropriate starting point. On the corner of Main Street and Broadway Avenue, to the south, is the general mer- chandise store of Capt.David Hughes, well stocked with every variety of general merchandise, which is sold by his gentlemanly and atten- tive clerks at very satisfactory prices. The stock is not only large, but the yearly sales are immense, some years reaching as high figui-es as $60,000. Two additions have been made to the store since it was first built, to make room for the constantly increasing stock, attrac- 62 HOMELAND. tively displayed, and last spring the active and wide-awake Captain, a Colonel and Commandant of the Militia of Polk County by com- mission, purchased the handsome and commodious opera-house and removed the clothing and gentlemen's furnishing goods to the ground floor, whereon is one of the most elegant and commodious stores in town. Yet his old store is full to overflowing. In front of Captain Hughes' store is a row of vigorous sour orange trees, protected by heaps of stone at their base. Westerly from the court-house, on Broadway, is the general merchandise store of George W. Smith, the pioneer merchant of this decade. His stock of goods is varied and extensive, but though his building is large and commodious he is unable to give them any- thing like an appropriate display. He will soon remedy this, how- ever, by the erection of a new and creditable store, where he will con- tinue his present immense business. The Lang Brothers; on Broadway, directly west of the court- house, have a very fine and attractive stock of dry goods, clothing, gentlemen's furnishing goods, and boots and shoes, as well as a choice selected stock of staple and fancy groceries, canned goods, tobaccos, etc. The store is kept as neat as a parlor, and the goods are displayed in excellent style, while their prices are very moderate and encourag- ingly satisfactory. Their customers receive the most polite and gentlemanly attention, and those who once patronize them are sure to go again. Colonel J. N. Hooker & Co's fine and well-stocked general merchandise store, on Main Street, to the southeast of the court-house, deserves a more than passing notice. It is not only an extensive, neat and well-lighted establishment, but contains a very heavy stock of general merchandise, embracing every variety, which are sold at prices to suit the times, by his attentive and gentlemanly clerks. The Colonel is Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. He also has a large general merchandise store at Fort Meade. Northeast of the court-house is the extensive hardware store of the Reed Brothers, solidly packed with the great variety of articles in general demand, in the way of stoves, plows, pumps, piping, etc., etc. In fact, a variety of general hardware goods and general field and household articles too numerous to mention. They also do a general tinning business, drive and bore wells, etc., etc. North of the court-house, w^e observe a floor laid beneath the shade of some handsome water-oaks, and supplied with seats. This is a first introduction to the Bartow Furniture Store, which, located just across the sidewalk, has an immense stock of the varied kinds of furniture most in demand. The goods are so numerous and so closely packed and piled that you can hardly move around, but you can, no doubt, secure the articles you desire. J. P. Statham & Co. are enterprising druggists and physicians, located on Broadway. They have a varied assortment of druggist's goods, and are doing a popular and very lively business, when the ex- ceedingly healthful state of the country is taken into consideration. Baeumel & Oppenheimer, on Main Street, south of the court- house, are the new druggists from the "West, who have built and opened a nice drug-store the present season. Everything is new and HOMELAND. . 63 very neat and attractive. They also have a handsome soda-water fountain, and dispose of immense quantities of the cooling fluid. They set the example of self-protection from fire by means of a bored well in a rear corner of their store, to which a force-pump is attached. Water is forced to a tank in the attic, from whence, by pipes and hose, it is available in all parts of the building. They also have a Babcock fire extinguisher. L. Lytle has extensive livery, feed and sale stables, just to the east, on Main Street. He also deals extensively in carriages, hay and grain. He keeps a good supply of iine animals and carriages, and can insure any one a pleasant drive. Mr. L. is the pioneer livery man of Bartow, and does an immense business. H. T. Dial hasa very extensive steam planing mill near the north edge of the town plat, and a saw-mill at Peace River, thus insuring a constant supply of lumber at satisfactory prices. He also has wood- working attachments, whereby he fills orders for orange boxes, vege- table crates, brackets, mouldings, etc. He also has a grist mill, and is contemplating starting a furniture manufactory. J. M. Dill is the active and energetic contractor and builder, who is making his progress along the pathway of time, by the erection of substantial and creditable buildings. The work that he has done is his best and most convincing advertisement, and a bright future spurs him to earnest endeavor. Mrs. Snoddy's millinery store speaks for itself, and shows that there are some advantages in this direction, but a lady at one short visit would have more actudl knowledge of the facts than a man could evolve in a week. The three leading hotels of Bartow, taken in the order of the age of the buildings, are the Webster House on Main Street, west of the court-house, E. Webster, proprietor; the Central House to the east, kept by J. F. Kelly, and the Bartow House on Davidson Street, northwest of the court-house, by Dr. R. H. Huddleston. The rates at each are two dollars ($2) a day, the houses present a creditable appear- ance, and the proprietors apparently use their best endeavor to pro- mote the satisfaction of their guests. The Webster House is being- enlarged by a handsome two-story front. Tigner & Tatum, real estate agents, have their office on Main Street, directly south of the court-house. They are wide-awake and reliable men, thoroughly informed by years of personal experience, with the varied qualities and values of lands — past, present and pros- pective. They have large quantities of lands on their books, both im- proved and umimproved, and can suit their customers with town lots, bearing groves, pleasant and desirable residence lots, or wild lands in quantity, as the taste of the purchaser, or the condition of his pocket- book may dictate. They have been residents of Bartow and in active business here for several years, but had previously become well ac- quainted with other parts of the country, consequently they know land when they see it. As they have every kind of land for sale, they have no occasion to misrepresent the desirability of any particular tract, and their honorable reputation is good evidence that they have no such disposition. They have full faith in the future of South Florida, and especially of Polk County, and they have good and sub- 64 HOMELAND. stantial reasons for the faith that is in them. They reply promptly to all inquiries with regard to lands and opportunities for investment. John C. Wright has an extensive general merchandise store on the corner of Main Street and Broadway, to the southwest of the court- house. He also deals largely in paints, oils, etc., doing an extensive business in all lines. F. D. Beville, one of the early merchants of the town, as it was commencing its later growth, is his chief clerk. J. J. McKiNNEY has a pleasant and well-stocked livery and sale stable, a block northeast of the court-house, that is kept in excel- lent shape. He has fine horses and carriages, and the terms are mod- erate. The buildings and outfit are all new, and those who desire a pleasant drive about this delightful country, with or without a driver, will here be promptly suited by the accommodating proprietor. Having noted the leading firms in active business, a brief sum- mary may aid in giving an idea of the activities that are busy in at- tending to the varied wants, and promoting the devolopment of this section. These comprise five general merchandise stores, one clothing, one hai'dware and one furniture store, three hotels, three drugstores, two livery stables, several real estate agencies, a news room, telegraph office, money-order postoffice, express office, and railroad depot, a skat- ing rink, a weakly newspaper, two billiard rooms, two barber shops, two millinery and dress-making rooms, one photograph gallery, one shoemaker's shop, one blacksmith shop, a bakery, a butcher's shop, a fish market, several restaurants, soda and ice-cream rooms, several boarding houses, a well-stocke»;l harness shop, a watch repairer, a num- ber of reputable and skillful physicians, from various parts of the Union, several educated attorneys, several contx'actors and builders, two churches with regular preaching, a fire insurance agent, a brass band, a Masonic lodge, and a variety of societies, agencies, etc., a court-house and jail, a laundry building, well-stocked with the most ap- proved machinery, ., that awaits a capable and energetic manager. A planing mill, with wood-working machinery, is located in town, and there are several saw mills in the country adjacent. In fact, quite a number of industries are located here, but there is room and oppor- tunity for the profitable establishment of many others. Those desir- ing to better their condition should note these facts. RETAIL PRICES OF GOODS. Many who come here are surprised to find the prices so much more reasonable than they expected, especially in dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes, canned goods, etc. Crockery and glass ware are higher than in most of the Northern and Middle States, in consequence of the high transportation charges on that class of goods, yet they are not higher than in most parts of the AVest and South. As regards provisions : flour is from $6.50 to $8 per barrel, meal and grits $5 per barrel, or 3i cents per pound; bacon, 9 to 10 cents per pound ; lard, 122 cents; hams, 14 to 15 cents; sugar, 6 to 10 cents; rice, 8 to 10 cents; oatmeal, 8 to 12i cents; crackers, 10 cents; butter, 35 cents; coffee (best Rio), 14 to 20 cents; tea, 50 cents to $1; nails, 4 to 5 cents ; beans, 8 cents ; syrup, 40 to 50 cents per gallon ; kero- sene, 30 to 35 cents ; eggs, 20 to 25 cents per dozen ; sweet potatoes, 40 cents per bushel ; Irish 50 cents peck ; corn, $1 per bushel. HOMELAND. 65 DeLeon mineral springs. This place of note, that is much visited by the people of Bartow and vicinity, is located about four miles to the southeast of Bartow. Its waters are in great repute as a curative for all diseases of the blood, and of indigestion, dyspeptics finding the use of its waters very beneficial. An analysis proves them to contain the most bene- ficial ingredients of the most celebrated European medicinal springs. The waters pour forth in immense volumes from unknown depths. The taste is very pleasant. Dr. R. H. Huddleston, the owner, has built a bathing-house here, and many indulge in the luxury of a bath, the spring covering some two acres. A railroad from Bartow to the Springs is in contemplation. Here is also one of the most delightful natural parks, covered with a vigorous growth of trees, to be found in the State. The opportunities for a hotel here are excellent, and some enterprising company can here secure a fortune, as a little ex- penditure will make it one of the most delightful resorts in America. Any one having capital which they desire to profitably invest would do well to address Tigner & Tatum, Bartow, Florida, who have full charge of all that pertains to the improvement aud disposition of this fine property. . . FORT MEADE. Twelve miles to the south of Bartow is an important centre of business, in a remarkably fertile aud delightful locality, that since 1852, at least, has borne the name of Fort Meade. A fort was built here during the Indian war, to keep the uneasy Seminoles in check, and the population has slowly but steadily increased during the past few years. It is doubtless the most fertile and productive section of Florida, but it awaits the near advent of a railroad to give it the necessary transportation facilities and save the twelve miles freightage by team to the terminus of the South Florida Railroad at Bartow. Several roads are chartered that will, without doubt, soon be built through this, one of the most attractive parts of Florida, and then its development cannot fail to make astonishing strides, giving fortunes to those who have been sufficiently far-sighted to invest here. The busy village is located just west of Peace River, across which the corporation lines extend to the east. Sturdy and vigorous live, water and other oaks give a delightful shade, and thrifty groves of orange trees are very prominent. Lemons, limes, guavas, bananas, etc., flourish and yield very desirable returns. Within the corporation, and within a mile of the post-office, some four hundred acres are set in orange groves, while the trees in nursery can be counted by mil- lions. Approaching Fort Meade from Bartow, the regular route of travel, by any one of the several roads, you are sure to be much pleased by the attractive beauty of land and landscape. The frequent homes of settlers with luxuriant orange groves ; the numerous cultivated fields, chiefly of corn, pease, sweet potatoes and sugar-cane; the running streams through the beautiful valleys, the hills and the broad swelling plains, all clothed with a luxuriant vegetation, a dense carpet of grass, magnificent pines, sturdy live oaks, water oaks, with their wide 66 HOMELAND. branching and dense shade, under which the children can pass many a pleasant hour shielded from the rays of a semi-tropical sun ; thrifty post, willow or turkey oaks, haw bushes that have become trees, wild plum, cherry and persimmon ; though the chief growth is pine, with scattering oaks, except along the water courses ; all give rise to emo- tions of pleasure. The streams all flow into Peace River to the east. Along their banks are dense growths of sweet and black-gum trees, maples, cy- press, hickory, live oaks, linden, red bay, cabbage, blue, saw and needle palm, magnolia, whitewood, ash, iron wood, wild sour orange, and other varieties too numerous to mention. Here, too, are wild grapes and running vines that climb the highest trees, too great in number and variety to be enumerated. Surely here is the field for a botanist — for a true lover of nature. Here such can devote their time to study and delightful and refreshing observation. We must not pause by the way, however, but note as we pass along, that here, as in other parts of Florida, the land is formed in strips, or sections, of varying quality. That near Peace River, or on either side of the creeks that flow into it, is usually of the best quali- ty. The quality of the soil is evidenced by the character of the varied growths. Having arrived at the edge of Fort Meade, the attention is ar- rested by the number, the vigor and the beauty, of the orange groves grown without the aid of commercial fertilizers. The vigorous water oaks along the streets and in the yards, also demand and receive our admiration. The lovely carpet of Bermuda, or other grasses, with which the streets and fields are covered, is suggestive of fine, fat cattle and plenty of milk. Bees, too, would evidently do well here, hence it should be "a land of milk and honey." A knoll to the northeast of the village, whereon is a house, be- neath the shade of majestic oaks, and adjoining an orange grove, is pointed out as the site of the old fort The Methodist Church is to the north of the business centre, and the fine new two-story school building is south of west. Across Peace River, to the east, is a long bridge. The town plat is surveyed into lots of four acres, separated by wide streets that cross each other at right-angles. The business houses are located on Main Street, the post office and drug store on the corner of this street and Orange Avenue, being the centre. To the east is the Adams House and to the west is French's Hotel. Observation shows that there are four general merchandise stores, two drug stores, two hotels, two pool-rooms, a post office and a tele- graph office, a millinery store, a barber shop, a livery stable, a black- smith shop and tools awaiting an enterprising man to put it in opera- tion, a public library, a number of real-estate offices, several physi- cians, and last, but not least, a live newspaper, the Fort Meade Pioneer. To the north is the Methodist Church, to the west the large two-story school house. The residences are scattered about in country style, the most of the houses and the 20,000 orange trees (about 6,000 in bearing) being within a radius of one mile of the post-office. The population is about three hundred. The voting precinct, of which this is the centre, polled 214 votes at the last election. HOMELAND. 67 From the earliest settlement, Fort Meade has been a trading centre of considerable importance, it being the supply point for a large extent of country, especially to the east and south. Here the traders met the drovers from the outlying ranges ; here many a sale and exchange has been made; here for many years has been the camping ground. Fort Meade was incorporated March 16th of the present year, 1885. It is located in the southeast corner of Township 31 south. Range 27 east. Being four miles square, it covers an area of six- teen square miles of the most fertile, productive and attractive lands in the State. The business part of the corporation is in Sections 26 and 27, Main Street being just north of the dividing line. John Jackson, Deputy Government Surveyor, ran the exterior township lines in 1854, and it was sectioned by W. G. Mosley in the following year. From the Field Notes I quote the following very unusual and very flattering : " GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. "This township is finely adapted for agricultural pursuits, ihe land being mostly of first and second rate quality pine, with dark brown rocky soil and undulating surface. The Tallakhchopka River, or Pease Creek, runs through it from north to south, with a narrow stream and flat banks, and wide, thick swamps subject to overflow from freshets. " The same deadening extends through it north and south and from two to three miles in width. The western tiers of sections are flat pine and ponds, third rate land. Settlements thick and numerous throughout the whole township." The early settlers invariably selected the most fertile and pro- ductive lands, for they were compelled to secure their subsistence from the soil ; hence, as large crops could be raised here without com- mercial fertilizers, the scenery also being very pleasing and attrac- tive, and the climate delightful, it is no wonder that the residents, and also the increasing numbers of visitors, should deem it the finest sec- tion of Florida. Its low latitude gives it great advantages in the raising of citrus and other semi-tropical fruits, frosts and freezes being vei'y rare. The thrifty orange groves show the excellent adapta- tion of both soil and climate. Here vegetables grow with wonderful luxuriance all the year, well rewarding the cultivator's attention. The town has two telegraph lines and a daily mail, and will doubtless have a railroad within a year, surveys having already been made. A stopping place is necessary for the prospector while he is determining where to locate. In this respect Fort Meade is fortunate, having two pleasant hotels. The Adams House, just east of the post-office in the centre of a four acre orange grove, and near the beautiful live oaks and delightful scenery that adorn the river's banks, is a very pleasant and convenient stopping place. Mr, A, H. Adams, with his agreeable family, from Seymour, Ind,, is the obliging and attentive landlord. 68 HOMELAND. V. L. TiLLis finds himself equal to the task of running the post- office, a drug store and two telegraph lines, though he has to get around lively at times. In fact, he is always busy. Mrs. Edna Haymax has a very neat and quite attractive milli- nery store, and is emphatically a woman of business, as well as polite, agreeable and entertaining. She naturally has hosts of friends and, we understand, gives excellent satisfaction. Hendry & Carter, dealers in general merchandise, are located on the corner opposite the post-office and are doing an immense busi- ness. They are active young men, and their store and warehouse is literally packed with goods of every variety and description in gen- eral use, as well as a great variety of miscellaneous articles, their endeavor being to supply every demand. J. N. Hooker & Co. are located to the west, and appear to be doing their full share of the trade. They have a large and well- assorted stock of general merchandise, suited to the needs of the country. This store w^as opened previous to the one at Bartow, and Colonel Hooker makes it frequent visits, though it is under the man- agement of able and trusty clerks. The Livery Stable of Wilson & McKinney next attracts our attention, being a great convenience, as well as necessity. The build- ing is commodious and well-arranged for the large number of horses and carriages that are kept on hand, for sale, or for the benefit of the travelling public. The French House, just beyond the livery stable, is situated about half way between the post-office and the fine, new school-house. J. L. Bettis, the genial landlord, was recently from Jacksonville, and has a wide acquaintance and an extended knowledge of the .country. The rooms are pleasant and the table attractive, while the quality of the cooking, etc., is of exceptional excellence. C. C. Wilson, the practicing attorney, has a very pleasant resi- dence half a mile west of the post-office, where a new centre is being established. Though comparatively young, he is a representative man, being the Delegate-at-large for Polk and Manatee Counties to the Constitutional Convention. He has several promising groves, a great variety of choice and rare fruits, is a practical experimenter, and is largely interested in the lands of this section. The SuNNYSiDE Nurseries of Mitchell & Hester, to the extreme west, with their choice varieties of oranges, lemons, limes, plums, per- simmons, figs, grapes, peaches, mulberries, roses, cedars, arbor vitses, etc., besides a few each of plants too numerous to mention, must be seen to be fully appreciated. Capt. F. A. Whitehead, one of Fort Meade's leading and most active and influential citizens, has a delightful residence amid tower- ing oaks and a fruitful orange grove, in the heart of the village. He also has a variety of pleasing growths, such as Japanese plums and persimmons, Peen-To peaches, lemons, limes, pine-apples, strawberries, tjananas, mangos, sapadillos, grapes of numerous kinds, flowers in great variety, and other things too numerous to mention. He also has a large number of acres of the choicest citrus fruits in grove. A native of New York City, he has made good use of his thirteen years in Florida. Resigning his position in the navy at the close of the HOMELAND. 69 war, he made a thorough acquaintance of California, and has been in the fruit and stock business ever since, yet having a farm in Dela- ware. He prefers Florida to any State, has large tracts of land here and is doing a very extensive real-estate business. E. E. Skipper is an extensive dealer in lands, knows the country thoroughly, and can suit every taste or condition, as he has every variety and price, both unimproved and improved. His faith in the country is shown by the fact that he has some 3,000 trees in grove, of which about 400 are bearing, some being from twelve to fifteen years old. R. C. Langford has a very pleasant and productive place in a pine and oak clearing about a mile southwest of the postofiice, with which he is connected by a private telegraph wire. Here he has a superabundance of fruits, vegetables and other farm and garden pro- ducts that would astonish those Avho think nothing can be produced in Florida. He raises them in his grove year after year. He has choice tracts of land all over the country, and makes a business of buying and selling lands. J. E. Robeson, a practical surveyor and dealer in lands, has been thoroughly identified with the interests of Fort Meade since 1872, the past eight years being chiefly devoted to surveying and selecting lands. He graded large quantities of the Disston and also of the Sir Edward Reed lands, and is now devoting his time and knowledge to the benefit of the public who are so fortunate as to secure his services. Dr. M. O. Arnold, recently from southeastern Iowa, charmed by the attractive beauty of the country, located at Fort Meade. Find- ing the country very healthful and desiring a broader field, having had five years practice in his profession, he has become interested in aiding others to secure homes in this delicious land, and many are being benefitted by his efforts. He was formerly treasurer of the South Florida Land Company, of which Dr. C. C. Mitchell, the pres- ent State Commissioner of Lands and Immigration, was president. He is now agent for the Florida Land and Improvement Company ; The Kissimmee Land Company; The Atlantic and Gulf Coast Canal and Okeechobee Land Company, and The Florida Land and Mortgage Company (limited). He gives special attention to tracts for coloniza- tion, and to town plats for settlement, both large and small. He has a tract of 12,000 acres, suitable for towns or colonies, for a nominal figure; also, several miles of gulf frontage, in a tropical climate, with some very fertile lands, as well as large tracts with fine natural grasses, especially suitable for stock ranges. Besides these heavy and desirable outlying lands, he has extensive interests at Fort Meade and vicinity. Dr. C. F. Marsh, recently from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, has a high reputation as a skillful practitioner. Dr. J. Weems, formerly of Missouri, is also a pleasant and capa- ble physician, ranking high in the profession. Black & Edwards, real estate agents and civil engineers — J. F. Black, of Illinois, and J. A. Edwards, of Alabama — have a good line of grove property, town lots and wild lands. They buy and sell on commission, give careful attention to surveys and titles, and give all possible assistance to those who desire to better health or fortune 70 HOMELAND. by locating on the fertile lands in the delicious climate of Polk County. James Wynn, a competent builder and contractor, is about to es- tablish the saw-mill, which he has purchased, convenient to the town, and will furnish lumber and erect buildings at favorable prices. Philip Dzialynski has, for a number of years, been promi- nently identified with such interests as tended to the development of the town, and largely interested in its affairs, during the several stages of its growth. G. W. Hendry, who became a resident of Fort Meade in 1852, being then a stout boy, has written and published an interesting descriptive pamphlet of Polk County. When he came, this section was occupied by a company of troops at the fort, but there were no settlers, unless his elder brother, F. A. Hendry and family, with his father-in-law, Louis Lanier and family, who had the first herds of cat- tle driven east of Peace River, and were engaged in supplying the soldiers with beef, be so considered. Mr. Hendry is and has been actively engaged in locating land, having a thorough acquaintance with all South Florida, and unquestionable authority. * THE DEADENING. A great natural curiosity, called the " The Deadening " exists at and about Fort Meade, covering a tract of country some ten miles or more from north to south, and some five or sis miles from east to west, being divided by Peace River. When the first settlers came, in the fifties, they found the whole tract entirely divested of living trees, except along the water courses and on the higher knolls. Lying prone on the ground or standing erect, like neglected and forsaken sentinels, were the solid remains of what had years before been a vigorous growth of pine. The cause of this destruction of the trees is utterly unknown. Vari- ous theories have been adduced, but none are fully satisfactory. G. W. Hendry claims hail to have been the agent of destruction, but this theory is untenable from the fact that no hail-storm was ever known to cover such an extent of territory, and besides hail-storms are unknown here. It will also be noted that the trees on the highest knolls along the water courses, and in the lower lands were untouched. Others claim high water to have been the cause. The most probable explanation is that several wet seasons prevented the usual forest fires, permitting the dead grass and leaves of the trees] to accumulate in great abundance. Then came a very dry season, fire raged throughout the forest, and its intense heat killed the trees. Whatever the cause, the country as- sumed the appearance of the Western prairies. Since the first settle- ment, vigorous growths of oak and pine are springing up over the whole area of these, the choicest of lands, and were it not for the ra])idly increasing settlements and groves it would soon be forest again. LAKELAND. One of the radiant gems of South Florida's many new yet rap- idly developing towns is Lakeland, the growth of a little more than a HOMELAND. 71 year. It has a fresh, thrifty, prospei'ous and substantial appearance, while in every direction are made manifest the evidences of resolute vigor and determination. The face of the country is beautifully rolling, carpeted with thrifty grasses and covered with vigorous growths of oak, pine, etc. At frequent intervals the surface is indented with bright jewels in the shape of lovely clear-water lakes of varied form and size, wherein are mirrored the beauties of nature ; the form and foliage of a thrifty and delightful vegetation, the fleeting clouds, the twinkling stars, the soft radiance of Luna, night's resplendent queen, or the bright effulgence of Old Sol, the glorious king of day. Lakeland is situated near the central part of Peninsular Florida, and of the lovely and attractive County of Polk, as well as in the higliest, most healthful and delightful portion. The railroad survey gives it an elevation of 210 to 217 feet above the sea level. Here is found a great and pleasing variety of scenery, some of the deep, clear- water lakes with their clean, hard, grass-covered banks, being from forty to sixty feet below the higher points of the plateau. They are not grassy ponds, but pure, deep-water lakes, Avhose banks afford the most delightful and healthful of sites for residences, for lovely homes, and they are being appropriated quite rapidly. There are nine of these attractive sheets of water within a radius of a mile of the town, almost entirely free from mud and marsh, and abounding in fish, giving delightful opportunities for recreation, as they are situated in every direction from the centre. They also give delightful views, and the air passing over them is imbued with an inspiriting freshness. The surface soil is varied, none being below the average, while a peculiar feature of the soil on some of the elevations is that it is almost as rich as hammock, and preferable for many reasons. Fruits and vegetables thrive and yield magnificent returns. At a depth of two to eight feet, and outcropping at some places, is a sub-soil of yel- low clay. The water is excellent. The beautiful forests, are fast disappearing and in their place are scores of handsome and substantial buildings, thrifty groves and cultivated fields. Everywhere is heard the ceaseless hum of busy industry, transforming the face of nature. The South Florida Rail- road passes through the incipient city from east to Avest and the Florida Southern coming from the north here forms a junction with it. The expectation is that it will soon be extended to Charlotte Harbor on the south. Section 18, Township 28 south. Range 24 east, is the centre of the corporation, which also embraces portions of Sections 7 and 19 in the same Township and Range, all of Section 13 and parts of 12 and 24 in Township 28, Range 23, thus embracing two whole sections and parts of four others, and that, too, in one of the most delightful, agreeable and satisfactory parts of Florida, as regards deliciousness of climate, healthfulness of location, excellence of water, freedom from insect and other pests, general fertility and productive- ness of soil, exemption from destructive frosts and freezes, genial breezes and salubrity of atmosphere, excellence of society, active, enthusiastic and vigorous energy of the rapidly-increasing popula- tion, handsome and substantial character of business edifices and private residences, ease and facility of communication with other parts. 72 HOMELAND. by railroads, telegraph, etc., and numerous other attractions that will suggest themselves to the visitor. Lakeland is regularly laid out, with broad streets crossing each other at right-angles. In the centre is a park of three acres, that is to be adorned with trees, shrubbery, etc. To the north of this is the elegant depot of the South Florida Railroad. Around this double square, the town, which was incorporated January 1st, 1885, is rapidly assuming an undeniable substantiability, about two hundred buildings having already been constructed, while more are under contract, yet in February, 1884, there was only one rough frame building and two log shanties for the railroad hands. Now there are several fine hotels, numerous general merchandise stores, hardware, feed and drug stores, restaurants, boarding houses, pool-rooms, express, telegraph and post- offices, saw and planing mills, shoemaker's shop, livery stable, milli- nery, gent's and ladies' furnishing goods, real estate and other offices, in fact the usual variety of avocations of some six hundred inhabi- tants. Also, well conducted schools, churches, etc., and a wide-awake newspaper, the Lakeland News, L. M. Ballard, Editor and Proprietor. He is also the proprietor of the North-Side Hotel. Prominent among the real estate agents, with handsome and convenient offices centrally located, are Green & Munn, Torrence & Bristow, Scott & Roquemore, who will furnish all desired information regarding lands in this vicinity and other parts, of South Florida. Newman & Co. have a pleasant store and a fine stock of gent's and ladies' furnishing goods, boots and shoes, notions, etc. O. J. Frier has an extensive and well selected stock of general merchandise, at satisfactory prices. W. B. BoNAKER, dealer in general merchandise, endeavors to meet every demand in that direction, at prices to suit. S. L. & H. J. Drane, druggists and apothecaries, are well pre- pared to fill any demands in their line. Society is decidely intellectual and progressive here, as is shown by the excellent schools, the several religious" and other societies, the Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians all having organized and ener- getic societies, while the schools are well sustained, and very prosper- ous under the management of capable teachers. Town lots sell for from $50 to $1,000, according to size and loca- tion, Avhile outlying lands are from $2.50 to $100 per acre, according to distance from the centre, quality, and desirability of location. The vigorous growth and advantages of Lakeland and Polk County have been well shown by the enterprising real-estate agents, Torrence & Bristow, who last year j^ublished an excellent pamphlet that had a wide circulation, and gave much desired information. ACTON. This progressive and thriving headquarters of enterprising En- glishmen owes its existence to the energy of Piers Elliot Warburton, Esq., who formerly held the honorable rank of Lieutenant in the En- glish navy. Mr. R. W. Hanbury, an Englishman of large estates and income, is the largest property owner. This is to be an English HOMELAND. 73 headquarters. Here is located the Florida Mortgage and Investment Company, limited, Mr. Warburton, being the manager, that has unlimited amounts to loan on security, at reasonable rates of interest. Acton is located on the South Florida Railroad, half way between 'Kissimmee and Tampa, and one mile east of Lakeland. The town site is quite level, extending between Lakes Bonnie and Parker, two very attractive sheets of water. The streets run from east to west and are crossed by avenues from north to south. Here are very complete saw and planing mills, a hotel and several boarding houses, general merchandise stores, a $2,500 school-house, a post-office and depot, a real estate agency, Mr. Warburton's loan office, and quite a number of pleasant and attractive dwellings, and contracts made for a number of other elegant and substantial structures, the terms offered being very favorable. C. H. Alleyne & Co. (limited) have a very fine new office op- posite the depot, do a veuy extensive real estate business, and furnish and desired information respecting Acton and other parts of South Florida. HAINES CITY. The vigor of the growth of Polk County is well shown by the numbers of busy towns that are springing into existence, in the most favorable and delightful of locations and now that this section is well provided with railroads, which are being rapidly extended, its devel- opment is onejto greatly exceed anything heretofore seen in Florida. Haines City is no chance growth, but the result of the deliberate premeditation of several of the most active and far-seeing men, whose influence is felt throughout the State in its development. It is located on the South Florida Railroad, about half way between Sanford and Tamjsa, the town plat occupying the east half of Section 29, Town- ship 27, Range 27, it being in the beautiful Lake Region of Polk County. The elevation of the railroad bed here is 210 feet, which is claimed to be the highest on the line from Sanford to Tampa. The country is rolling and interspersed with beautiful lakes and airy, delight- ful elevations, from forty to sixty feet above their pure crystal waters, affording very favorable sites for sanitariums, residences, etc. The prevalent growth is pine, interspersed with large quantities of live, water, willow, post and other oaks, while along the lake shores are frequent hickories. India rubber and paw-paw trees are also found growing wild, proving conclusively that severe frosts or freezes have had no place here. The ground is covered with a dense growth of grass, the timber is very thrifty, and the soil in many places is of a hocolate color, underlaid with the yellow subsoil so necessary to the best development of the orange and other citrus fruits. It is under- laid with clay. In fact, all kinds of vegetation thrive here. The town was laid out last January, by Frank J. Hinson, a man of thorough experience, who is now the resident agent and manager. Harrison Jones, who has had eighteen years experience in four of the counties of Florida, also has extensive interests here, where he has made his home, greatly prefering it to all other localities. Haines City is building up very rapidly, the advantages of the location becoming readily apparent to any one who will take the 74 HOMELAND. trouble to investigate. Lands can be secured at very reasonable prices, and are being taken quite rapidly. Though so short a time has elapsed since the survey, there is already a post-office, a hotel, a saw and planing mill, general mer- chandise stores, boarding houses and elegant cottages. Building and clearing is the order of the day, Quite a number of families have already located in this desirable and healthful location, and a public fichool is to be opened in the autumn. The opportunities for boating, fishing, hunting, gardening, or making a fortune, are most excellent, while the lake views are delightful. In addition to the incorporated towns mentioned, there are many localities throughout Polk County where a beginning has been made, as well as numerous others yet unheard of, that will no doubt soon assume importance. Each section has its own special advantages that can be best determined by personal observation. The people of Polk O^unty are content, feeling assured that of" all localities they possess the most superior advantages. POLK COUNTY'S FERTILE RIDGE. A RIDE THROUGH THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY ALONG PEACE CREEK. [Special Correspondence Florida Times- Union.] Fort Meade, June 20, 18'^5. Thinking that a few words regarding this section of rapidly-developing South Florida might be acceptable to the thousands of your readers in various parts of the Union, I contribute my mite for their benefit. Your valuable journal is not only a recognized authority in regard to matters in all parts of the State, but it is also a very important factor in aid of the remarkable progress that is being made. It is, in fact, a necessity to all who desire correct knowledge regarding the capabilities, advantages and progress of the varied sections of this great State, destined, ere long, to be one of the most wealthy and prosperous States in the galaxy of the Union. This is to be a land of lovely and attractive homes, as well as the chief resort of the invalid and tourist. Leaving the busy cars of the South Florida Railroad, and bidding adieu to Captain Badeau, the genial and accommodating conductor of the branch, road, at Bartow, I take a look about the pleasant and fast-growing town. Its streets are wide and cross each other at right-angles. Numerous new buildings, completed or in progress, are seen in every direction. The fine court-house, the most attractive and commodious in South Florida, arrests our attention. It is situated on a commanding rise of ground, the centre of the business portion of the progressive town. The square acre that surrounds it is inclosed with a row of live-oak posts, painted red, through which cable chains are run. Sixteen feet within is a neat picket fence, painted white. The court-house roof, with its four gables, has just been covered w ith cypress shingles and painted a dark red. But the most attractive feature of the town, not excepting the indica- tions of solid progress, evidenced by the numerous new buildings, is to be found in the beautiful oaks, that greet the view in every direction, and aftbrd such delicious shade. They even enhance the feeling of sure solidity that is derived from the firm tread of the ground, which is quite in contrast with many other sections. But it is dinner time, and at half past one, P. M., the demands of the inner man override, if not suppress, the desire to indulge in contempla- tions of the beautiful. An abundant and toothsome meal, wherein home- grown vegetables play an important part, neatly-served and well-cooked, is secured at the Bartow House, and I devote the balance of the day to observation and reflection on the many advantages that this section aflbrds to enterprising men from all sections of the Union, and especially to men of moderate means with families. Here I find an extensive tract of fertile pine and oak lands, and learn that the settlers have been self-supporting from the very first. The South Florida Railroad now has its terminus here, to the southeast, and a survey of the Florida Southern runs through the corporation, just to the west of the centre of this attractive capital of Polk County. During the evening it was my good fortune to make the acquaintance of Dr. C. C. Mitchell, a distinguished resident of Fort Meade, who has been very appropriately appointed as Commissioner of Land and Immi- gration, by our able and clear-headed Governor, General Perry. The 76 HOMELAND. result of our interchange of ideas was an earnest and courteous Invitation to visit that noted section of balmy Florida, of which I had heard mucli but had seen nothing. Cancelling some other engagements, I cheerfully- accepted the proposition, and early the next morning we were whirling rapidly to the southward. The genial doctor is a good judge of horse flesh, and drives an excellent team. The country through which we sped was a surprise, it was so differ- ent from many other sections that I had visited. The roads were hard and firm, and as easily traveled as those at the North. There was an absence of deep sand and of annoying dust. New buildings, some of them of an ele- gant character, were seen on either hand ; also, many a beautiful orange grove, whose thrifty growth and exceptionally dark green leaves, be- tokened a fertile and productive soil. Promising fields of vigorous corn are quite numerous, indicating that the people are inclined to raise their own supplies, and not put all their trust in the orange crop, not at least until a railroad should be extended from Bartow or Lakeland, to give them better facilities for transportation and ready access to Northern markets. The general aspect of the country was very pleasing and attractive, making a very satisfactory impression on the mind of the visitor. It may be described as a broad plateau of fertile and productive lands, extending some three miles west of Peace River, from Bartow to Fort Meade, and a few miles beyond to the north and to the south. The surface is generally undulating in broad swells, with here and there a handsome knoll that would furnish an exceptionally pleasant and salubrious building site. Numbers of them are so occupied, and pleasant homes with luxuriant groves of orange trees, laden with abundant promise of the golden fruit, as well as varied farm crops, the most notable of which are thrifty corn, pease and sugar-cane, occupy occasional clearings. The forest growth, away from the river bank, is chiefly pin^, inter- spersed here and there with wide-branching live oaks that, with the firm tread of the ground, gives an impression of substantial and enduring sta- bility. There are also many water oaks, whose thrifty and vigorous growths give a delicious shade that is highly appreciated, especially by visitors from the North and West. Post or willow oaks are also Vjuite numerous, and attain a greater size than in many other parts of Florida. Here, too, the haw becomes a handsome tree, instead of a bush by the wayside. The wild persimmon is also abundant. As thegeniali and thoroughly-informed doctor and myself speed over the country, by the west road, known as Broadwaj% as we leave Bartow, we make occasional detours to the right or to the left, either bodily or mentally, by the doctoi-'s intelligent and far-reaching descriptions, intermingled with scraps of history or personal adventure. The population is very much scattered, every settler evidently endeav- oring to secure all the elbow room possible, that there might be no danger of conflicting interests and consequent animosity. Though since the first settlement of this section, in the fifties, some thirty or more years since, the people have raised considerable quantities of corn, pease, sweet potatoes, rice and sugar-cane for domestic use, as well as some cotton for shipment their chief wealth has been in their fine herds of cattle and countless swine, which are here of much more pleasing form and quality than in the tier of counties to the north. Here, the shafts of wit leveled at the " razor-backs," the "pine-rooters," the destructive and remorseless vagrants of other sec- tions that have all the worst characteristics of the creatures by courtesy called " hogs," have no place. They appear to be of good form.' sleek and fat, and evidently do not have to root very hard or persistently for a living. The hog here, undoubtedly, has found his paradise, the abundance of mast from the numerous oaks and the esculent roots, found in the lower lands and along the courses of the numerous running streams that wend their way to Peace River, supplying them with an abundance of nutritious food. The water courses are quite numerous, flowing from the flat woods of the west, and serving as natviral drains to the section between them and Peace River. These creeks break the plateau along the river into ridges and give a great and pleasing variety to land and landscape, which give an attractive homeland character to people from the North, making them feel much more at home than is possible in unbroken tracts of strictl.y pine country. In valleys along the banks of these creeks, and beyond, are magnificent and enduring live oaks, choice sweet-gums, majestic cypress, cabbage palm, beautiful water oaks, attractive maples, wild sour orange, black- HOMELAND. 77 gums, turkey oaks, tall and sturdy hickories, sweet bays, magnolias, white- wood, haw, persimmon, abundance of beautiful pines, wild cherry, and quite a number of other forest growths. There are also numerous vigorous and thrifty climbing vines and creepers, a great variety of shrubs, wild plants, weeds, etc.; in fact the natural productions of all the zones, except the frigid, seem to have centered here. The countrj^ is very pleasing, but quite unlike either the pine or hammock sections of other parts of Florida, and people from all portions of the country can here find particular attractions. The slopes of the valleys gave me especial pleasure. Reaching Dr. Mitchell's pleasant residence, on the west of the village, we found his men busy in the branches of a wide-spreading oak that overhung the yard, brushing a swarm of bees off a large limb, and cooling down their ag- gressiveness of disposition with a plentiful supply of fresh water. But an excellent dinner was ready for serving, and I will defer remarks upon his fine groves of orange trees and his many acres of nursery, wherein are growing not only orange and lemon trees, ready for transplanting, but also thousands of roses and a great variety of small fruits, shrubs, grasses, etc. In fact, I understand that the intention is to grow every species that may prove to be desirable or useful, and I shall watch the progress of the ex- periments with great interest, as it may be the means* of adding many thousands of dollars to the value of the annual productions of this delight- ful land. "Sherman." HISTORY OF ORANGE CULTURE IN FLORIDA. BY REV. T. W. MOORE, D. D. Some time before the discovery of America, the sour orauge — the brig- erade — was introduced into Italy, and a short time thereafter it was carried to Spain. The Spaniards brought this variety to Florida. The sweet orange was then unknown in Europe. Doubtless the Spanish Catholic mis- sionaries lirst distributed the seed of the brigerade — frequently called the Seville — orange in the vicinities of the Spanish forts and missions. As the truit multiplied, the seeds were scattered by the Indians along the banks of the rivers, near their camping grounds, usually points projecting into the rivers. Thence they were scattered throughout the State of Florida. The largest of those wild orange groves, twenty and tifty years ago, were found along the eastern and southern shores of rivers and lakes, and in the hammock and swamp lands of Florida. In addition to the protection from damage by the frosts to the young plants atiorded by the water, the hammock and swamp lands gave protection against fires, which annually swept over the pine woods, destroying the slow-growing trees. Some of these wild groves were, fifty years ago, cut down and the land cleared for planting corn, cotton and cane. This was repeated as late as twenty-five years ago, before the monetary value of the orang9 was appreciated in this country. One hundred years after America was discovered, the sweet orange was introduced into Europe. Later it was brought to Florida, and a few trees were planted in St. Augustine, and afterwards in the settlements along the St. Johns and Indian Rivers. The pollen of the sweet orange fertilizing the flowers of the sour, produced the hybrid "bitter-sweet." At the close of the civil war small plantations of sweet oranges were found throughout the State ; consisting usually of a few trees growing around dwellings. There were a few groves of larger size, ranging from four hundred trees to nine hundred, in the vicinity of St. Augustine and along the St. Johns River. The largest in the State was planted by Dr. Speer, at Fort Reed, near Mellonville, and the Dummitt grove on Indian River. About the time Dr. Speer planted his grove quite an interest in orange growing sprang up in Florida and many groves were planted along the banks of the St. Johns. But in an evil hour fresh plants of the orange from China were introduced and planted at Mandarin. They were infected with the scale insect. The trees in the vicinity of Mandarin were the first to be destroyed by the insect. At that time the hundred and one natural enemies of the Scale insect had not come to the rescue of the orange grower as now ; besides, the orange grower of that time did not know of modern appliances and remedies. The scale spread from grove to grove, and in a short time sweet and sour orange trees yielded to the invading host of the foreign enemy. The frost of 1835 having cut down the trees, from the effect of which the old trees were beginning to recover when the scale commenced its ravages, combined to produce the impression among the old settlers that the orange prospect was forever blasted. At the close of the war, many of the old trees, both sweet and wild, had recovered from the ett'eets of both insects and frost, and were bearing lib- eral crops of such fruit as travelers from all parts of the world had never before eaten. The fruit sold at good prices. Some of those who had lately come into the State thought there was a living in an orange grove. Land was bought and planted in wild sour stumps. Seed beds were planted for nursery stock and acres were set with young plants. We were told that by the time our trees were ready to bear we would be in another country where there would be no need of planting. We answered, then we would HOMELAND. 79^ plant for our children. We were told that by the time the trees were in full bearing oranges would not be worth picking in Florida. Though some of us were threatened with the lunatic asylum, we still persisted in planting and cultivating the orange. The evil prophecy failed. Other persona caught the orange fever, until finally the old prophets were converted and are to-day our most enthusiastic orange growers. To-day hundreds of thousands of trees are growing, and tens of thousands more of plants are ready to be set in groves. WILL THE BUSINESS BE OVERDONE? The question now comes up, will not the business be overdone ? We answer no. With the small area within the United States capable of pro- ducing oranges this will be impossible. Canada and the United States are rapidly increasing in population and these alone could consume the entire product from the orange-growing sections of the United States. But the Florida orange is the finest grown and will ultimately command the mar- kets, of Europe as well as America. Occasionally already a glut in the market has occurred, but this has been in each instance the result of (mainly) a double fault of the producers. They have attempted to narrow the marketing season to three or four months, when it should be extended over from eight to twelve months. Oranges will remain on the trees in good condition six months after they have turned yellow. Properly handled and cured they will keep several months after they have been clipped. The Florida season for marketing, like the European, should embrace the entire year. The second mistake to which allusion is made was the result of the destructive hurry peculiar to Americans. The fruit was gathered green, carelessly handled, packed with- out being properly cased, much of it infested with fungi and then gathered, packed and shipped, through all sorts of weather. Such fruit rapidly spoiled. Careless handling of transportation companies added to the dis- aster, and hence the merchants had to sell what sound fruit might reach them at low prices or throw it away. Orange culture will pay beyond any other agricultural pursuit, even should the price fall to 75 cents per box. When reduced to that price fifty million boxes would not over-supply the present population of the United States and Canada. There are thirty States producing apples and peaches, and yet both these crops, which have to be marketed within a few weeks or months, are grown with profit. With such facts before us, we have no fear as to the over-production of the orange. A FASCINATING VOCATION. To those engaged in the business, orange growing is truly fascinating. The beauty of the tree, the beauty and fragrance of the flower, challenge all rivalry among ornamental trees and beautiful flowers. The aesthetic culti- vator becomes a true lover of his sweet and beautiful pet, which he looks upon as a relic and reminder of paradise. But when this beauty is accom- panied with useful, golden and gold-bearing fruit, aff"ording a living, and promising all other material luxuries, then the lover appreciates his orange grove only less than he appreciates his wife, who has brought to him not only the accomplishments of a sweet and cultivated woman, but with her- self an ample fortune. And though he may have waited as long as Jacob did for his Rachel, he does not regret the toil and waiting since the reward is ample. I do not know but that the toil and waiting demanded by the orange do3s not increase the ardor of the planter, and increase his pleasure when once the tree has been brought to full beauty and bearing, for we love best those that need to be courted earnestly in order to be won. When thus won Ave feel that the bride is the more fully our own. HOW TO GROW THE ORANGE. Does the reader wish to know how to win this fair bride, clad in nature's richest green, adorned with golden globes, crowned with fragrant orange blossoms — her own fair crown, so often plucked for other bridal wreaths ? Did space permit in this full sheet of the Times- Union, further writing would not be necessary, for are not all these things written in the books of the chronicles of many writers on "Orange Culture" from Maine to Texas? These have all written you about the seed-bed, the nursery, the; planting, suitable locations, the gathering and the shipping. 80 HOMELAND. THE QUANTITY OF ORANGES SHIPPED the past season was about six hundred thousand boxes ; the present year the crop may reach a million boxes. The crop of 1868 only reached a few thousand packages, and had so slow a sale that it had to be extended to as late as May to find buyers. The price prevailing at that time was $7.50 per thousand. The price has gone up with the production. During next May, if they can be found outside of New York, the Florida orange will sell for not less than $4.50 to $5 per box. THE FLORIDA TRADE MARK. The excellence of the Florida oi-ange is now so generally known that many other oranges are sold under that name. The writer knows no way to avoid this imposition except to stamp each orange gx'own in Florida with the inimitable Florida trade mark. No other country has yet pro- duced the russet. The brown tinge mars the beautiful golden color, but it makes the orange bearing this stamp all.the sweeter, and, like Csesar's wife, above suspicion. Nature has thus given us an impost protection against foreign competition, which the Government cannot take off. What goddess or nymph was it that covered herself with soil to save herself from vio- lence? Sh« was the sweeter and safer because of her soiled exterior. So with the orange. The dingy russet is best. — Exposition Number Florida Times-Union. \t ■ e ^ 9 7 V . •:: niaiipuTiLniiiiijiiiTimiiTiijiiBiiiimijTiijiijTimirTimaTnmj UMUIUilSa illUlinmlMinjiiiHi^^ BEST POLK COUNTY ORANGE TREE, Bearing from 10,000 to 15,000 Oranges per year — an income of from one to two hundred dollars. iammm ]\i\S!mMaM