1900s
Tomatoes & Citrus Rise
The new century is a time of growth and ingenuity. By 1902 Peters’ tomato operation is a success and he is well on his way to becoming South Florida’s “Tomato King.”
To keep up with sizeable harvests and distribution, he builds a four-mile wooden track railroad from his packing house to the town of Cutler.
The mule-drawn rail cars haul nearly 1,000 crates of tomatoes per day and tomatoes become Dade County’s first multimillion dollar business.
Florida Agriculture College, along with three others, becomes the University of Florida at Gainesville in 1906. The Agricultural Experiment Station is brought into the fold as well.
The “Orange Queen” in Winter Haven, FL with tangerine and grapefruit packers, circa 1905.
Photograph courtesy of Seald Sweet International.
The Jacksonville port of entry undergoes its second dredging and deepening project in 1906 to allow larger ships to enter the main channel of the St. Johns River.
On June 21, 1909, a group of growers join forces in Tampa to establish the Florida Citrus Exchange, which will later become Seald Sweet International.
The growers come together believing there has to be a better way to grow and market their fruit, and standardize practices.
The group travels to California to observe a similar citrus cooperative—the California Fruit Growers Exchange—better known today as Sunkist.
“In the early 1900s, you can imagine what a feat it was for them to travel that far,” muses Kim Flores, Seald Sweet’s director of marketing.
“They traveled by horseback, train, wagon—you name it,” Flores continues.
“They went to California and stayed for a couple of months; they watched the operational practices and spent time with the growers and learned how to do a better job. After studying that business model, they brought the knowledge back to Florida and established our cooperative. The growers who founded us were true pioneers in the industry,” praises Flores.
