USA > Florida > Florida, 1513-1913, past and future; four hundred years of wars and peace and industrial development > Part 31
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The county is diversified by many beautiful little lakes and streams, by magnificent oaks and magnolias, and these with other attractions have made Orange county, particularly in the vicinity of Orlando, the winter residence place of hundreds of northern people. Magnificent homes have been erected, surrounded by all the charms that nature has to offer. The city of Orlando is the capital of the county, and in 1910 had a population of about 4,000. It is a city of beautiful homes, fine buildings, excellent municipal improvements
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and seemingly unlimited enterprise. The county has excellent rail transportation and probably a greater railroad mileage than any other county in the state, with the possible exception of Hillsborough. Scattered along these railroad lines are numerous little cities and towns all giving evidence of prosperity and enterprise. Without making invidious discussions against other localities in the state, it is but fair to state that the man who wishes to make his home in Florida through all the year or for the winter months, should at least visit Orange county before making his final selection.
SEMINOLE COUNTY
As already indicated in the article concerning Orange county, the new county of Seminole has within the past few months been given a separate identity. The principal town in this county is San- ford which has the reputation of being the richest city of its size in the south. This wealth has come from the development of agricultural products of which celery and lettuce have been the largest income producers, although there is a long list of other vegetables which are grown here with large profit. The Sanford celery section is under- laid by an inexhaustible supply of artesian water which is reached one hundred feet below the surface and rises through cased wells sev- eral feet above the surface of the ground. This solves the question of irrigation, which it is claimed has been an essential element in Sanford's progress toward wealth.
The new county although hardly six months old, has undertaken to extend to its borders a splendid system of hard roads which were begun several years ago. Although in area Seminole county may not be listed among the large county divisions, it seems probable that it is one of the richest proportionate to its size.
VOLUSIA COUNTY
Volusia county has an area of 1,256 square miles. Its popula- tion in 1890 was 8,467, in 1900 it was 10,000 and in 1910 it was 16,510.
The St. Johns river extends the entire length of its western boundary, and the Halifax and Hillsborough rivers border it on the east. These are separated from the ocean by a narrow strip of land, and form an important link in the Inland Waterway that stretches from Norfolk to Key West. Volusia county is historic in the fact
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that at New Smyrna was located, in 1767, the famous colony brought from Minorca and the islands of the Mediteranean by Dr. Andrew Turnbull. This was the earliest land development proposition under- taken in Florida. Thousands of acres were drained by a system of canals which exist to-day. Miles of good road were built which after one hundred and fifty years of use are in good condition. The remains of old Spanish missions, of the foundations of Dr. Turnbull's castle, of the old sugar mills and indigo stills are found scattered through the woods. To the student of history there is here a rich field not only in these remains of the eighteenth century, but in the numerous relics left by the Indian tribes which roamed this section before Ponce de Leon landed on Florida's soil. De Land is the county seat and its popu- lation in 1910 approximated 3,000. It is a charming town, the home of many influential and refined people who have been brought here by the John B. Stetson University, one of the largest colleges in the south and with a reputation second to none.
The area of Volusia county is more uniformly settled than that of any other county of its size in Florida. It is traversed along its eastern border by the Florida East Coast Railway, and the Atlantic Coast Line extends the length of the county near the western side. Among the beautiful cities along the coast is Ormond, where is located one of the famous hotels of the Flagler system, and the finest golf links in the south. Directly south are Seabreeze, Daytona and Daytona Beach, clustered on both sides of the Halifax river, which are famous for their natural beauty, for the magnificent beach on which the fastest automobile records have been made, and for the magnificent hotels and winter homes that bring each season thirty thousand visitors. Port Orange, Coronado, New Smyrna, Hawks Park, Osteen, Enterprise, Orange City, Lake Helen, Beresford, De Land, Highland Park, Glenwood, Spring Garden, De Leon Springs, Pearson, Seville, Hammond, Emporia and Jaffrey are a few of the more prominent and beautiful towns scattered through this county.
PUTNAM COUNTY
Putnam county has an area of 752 square miles. Its population in 1890 was 11,186, in 1900 it was 11,641 and in 1910 it was 13,100. This county and its capital, the city of Palatka, have been made the subject of a special article elsewhere in this book. Putnam county has a peculiar topography, for no other county in Florida includes such varieties and such strongly marked natural divisions.
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The St. Johns river divides the southern portion of the county and borders the rest of it on the east for thirty miles. The south- eastern part is divided so as to form a peninsula twenty-five miles wide, between the St. Johns river and Crescent lake. In this penin- sula are high rolling hills, beautiful valleys, picturesque lakes, dense forests, ridges and low marshes.
Much the larger portion of the county lies west of the St. Johns river and is subdivided by many creeks and lakes. Through this runs the famous Ocklawaha river, whose channel penetrates a dense cypress swamp. In the western part of the county is an elevated ridge from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet above the ocean level. Lake George is the largest body of water in Putnam county, although not entirely included within its boundaries. Crescent lake is also another beautiful body of water bordered by rich lands whereon have been placed many of the beautiful homes of the northern visitors. Another feature of Putnam county is the wonderful springs which pour forth immense volumes of water, abruptly forming navigable streams. These waters have in solution large percentages of sulphur, sulphate of magnesia, alum and other salts. They are reputed to be excellent curatives for skin diseases and rheumatism.
Putnam county has occupied a large place in the history of Florida, and it was particularly prominent as being the battlefield of many conflicts during the Indian wars.
Palatka is the market and shipping town for a large territory of rich agricultural lands. It possesses the first road and foot bridge across the St. Johns river, as one travels up its course from the ocean. This gives communication with a large and rich agricultural territory and has greatly increased the commercial importance of the city. The Florida East Coast railway also crosses the St. Johns river at Palatka, the bridge here being one of the two belonging to this system that span the river. The other is at Jacksonville. By this system and by water transportation shipping connections with Jack- sonville are maintained and the products of the county are handled direct to outside markets.
Palatka is also the center of large cypress timber manufacturers and of a number of factories which convert the raw material into finished product.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY
St. Johns county has an area of 966 square miles. Its popula- tion in 1890 was 8,712, in 1900 it was 9,165 and in 1910 it was 13,200. Vol. 1-40
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This county borders the Atlantic ocean for nearly seventy-five miles and although this water front is low and swampy, the lands of the central and western part of the county are rich pine hammocks with large agricultural value. This opportunity has been improved on a large scale in several sections of the county. The little city at Has- tings, some twenty miles south of St. Augustine, has become almost famous for its production of Irish potatoes. When the freeze of 1895 destroyed the orange groves in the northern part of Florida, St. Johns county was practically eliminated from the list of counties that had something to sell. Through the enterprise of a few indi- viduals, the land surrounding the present site of Hastings was developed by the planting of this crop with such success that it has become one of the important agricultural centers of the state. The potato crop is harvested during the late spring months and buyers from most of the northern markets compete in the purchase of pota- toes as they come from the fields.
The fertility of this land is shown by its production of three crops each year, each one of which is profitable and rarely fails of large returns. Following the removal of potatoes, corn is planted on the same ground without replowing; this crop is gathered ninety days later when crab grass is substituted and this produces a yield of from three to four tons per acre of a high quality of hay.
Fruit growers in this section have developed large and profitable growths of citrus fruits. Pecans are a reliable crop and all the vege- tables raised in the north grow luxuriantly here. The cattle industry is carried on on a moderate scale but with good results. The pros- perity of the Hastings section is at least suggested by the substantial homes of the farmers. These buildings of brick or concrete, fitted with every modern luxury, including electric lights and porcelain bath tubs, give to the country a general appearance of being a suburb of a large city rather than a country settlement far removed from such a center of population.
It is probable that St. Augustine, the capital of the county, is far better known than the county which surrounds it. It is the oldest city in the United States, which has had a continuous existence from its foundation-in 1565. It has been the scene of war and strife through four centuries. Its quaint air of age contrasts strangely with the mag- nificent structures, hotels and public buildings which have been erected by modern enterprise and wealth. Old Fort Marion is the oldest relic of Spanish occupancy of the country, and Fort Matanzas, near the spot where occurred the massacre of the Huguenots by Menendez
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in 1565, is crumbling with age. St. Augustine is famous among tourists and travelers and it is probably the only city in the United States whose hotels could accommodate with comfort at least twice the resident population of the city. But it is no wholly as a resort for tourists that St. Augustine has its importance. It is becoming the center of a large development of agricultural lands which in the next decade is likely to increase its commercial interests many fold.
The county is traversed through a considerable portion of its area by the Florida East Coast Railway which crosses the width of the county three times.
Among the important centers of population and of agricultural development, besides those already mentioned, are DuPont, Bunnell, Espanola, Yelvington, Elkton, Hurds, Magnolia Grove, Orangedale, Pinehurst and Durbin.
CLAY COUNTY
Clay county has an area of 617 square miles. It had a population of 5,154 in 1890, of 5,635 in 1900 and of 6,116 in 1910.
It is watered by numerous streams and by many springs, and the St. Johns river on its eastern boundary. The agricultural possibilities of this county have not been extensively developed. Its large areas of pine forest and timber lands have delayed its agricultural progress. However, it raises valuable products of sea island cotton, corn, sweet potatoes and sugar cane. The county seat is Green Cove Springs, which is beautifully located on the banks of the St. Johns river. It had a population, in 1910, of nearly 1,400 people and for many years it has been the winter home of a large number of northern visitors. It has valuable manufacturing interests of brick and lumber.
A wonderful mineral spring, from which the little city takes its name, gushes from the earth pouring hundreds of gallons a minute into a little stream which reaches the St. Johns river near by. The medicinal qualities of this water are said to be very valuable, particu- larly from the fact that traces of radium have been found at least in sufficient quantities, so it is claimed, to give the water valuable cura- tive properties.
Among the several important little cities in this county are Orange Park, Middleburg, Russell, Walkill, West Tocoi, Belmore, Spring Lake and McRae. Middleburg is one of the most important lumber producing centers in the eastern part of Florida and the lumber industry of Florida may fairly be said to have originated here.
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DUVAL COUNTY
Duval county has an area of 786 square miles. It had a population in 1890 of 26,800 and in 1900 of 39,733 and in 1910 of 75,163. With the sub-division of Hillsborough county since the last Government Census, Duval county has the largest population of any in the state.
The larger part of Duval county is pine woods and marsh, and along the ocean border of the county are vast flat areas of swamp grass and low lands. The agricultural resources of Duval county although important have been but little developed. Less than ten per- cent of its arable lands are under cultivation and at the present time but little effort has been made to develop these resources, although the city of Jacksonville, the county seat, offers the largest and best local consuming market and the best shipping facilities in the state.
Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida and is growing with remarkable rapidity. It has been described in a special article elsewhere in this book at sufficient length.
The fishing industry which centers along the St. Johns river and particularly at its mouth, was formerly largely remunerative. The value of this industry has been seriously decreased by the reckless use of its water resources and by the utter disregard of state laws to protect them. The industry still has large local value however.
The manufactures of Duval county, outside of Jacksonville, are largely in lumbering and turpentining. As this is an important distributing point for a large section of the state, a number of important manufactures are represented here. This is the third most important center for the manufacture of commercial fertilizers in the United States. Fertilizer materials are found here in larger abun- dance and in greater variety than at any other point in the world, and its importance in this direction is appreciated more fully by the manufacturers of Germany and of France than it is at home.
Duval county is a leader in the construction of good roads in Florida and it has expended since 1900, more than two and a half million dollars for these necessities.
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