By Jane Feehan
High hopes for farming helped fuel Fort Lauderdale’s early
growth.
The first big wave of investors came to the rural town in 1911 for a lottery sale of lands belonging to one large property owner, Richard Bolles. For some, interest in the sale was driven by hopes of reselling acreage for profit. Others saw potential for farming, but expectations diminished a few years later when attempts to drain the Everglades failed.
Land developers led the charge to Fort Lauderdale a decade later. They correctly assumed many would be interested in moving to the area and buying property to live on for a variety of reasons. Miami continued to attract new residents after Henry Flagler extended his railway to Miami from Palm Beach in 1896; similar growth was possible in Fort Lauderdale.
But farming remained top of mind. A report from the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce underscored continued agricultural interest. During the month of October 1924, the chamber received more than 2,000 queries from all over the U.S and around the world about farming in Fort Lauderdale’s sunshine.
The city hadn’t
funded an advertising campaign anywhere other than in The Times-Union
newspaper in Jacksonville but the queries kept coming. Other towns—Melbourne, Fort
Myers, Fort Pierce, Sarasota and Davie—actively solicited farming entrepreneurs
and investors and set aside money to pay for ads throughout the nation. The
focus on farming in Fort Lauderdale waned as newcomers saw the potential of its beaches and riverfront, but
farming dominated neighboring towns like Dania, Hallandale, Deerfield Beach and many other parts of the state.
By 1925, the Fort Lauderdale Daily News claimed the state’s
sunshine was a factor in health and also “a source of power.” State farming
statistics demonstrated that power: Florida had 35,000,000 acres of land and
6,000,000 acres of farms. The cultivation of 2,500,000 acres in the state
produced 84,000 rail cars of fruits and vegetables; 15,000,000 bushels of cereals,
beans and peas; 125,000 tons of hay; 4,500,000 pounds of tobacco and 2,000,000
pounds of pecans. Farmers could count 250 crops that would grow well in the state.
A look at the last two decades provides a comparison in crops. In 2022-2023 the USDA Agricultural Statistics Services reported 44,400 farms across a total of 9,700,000 acres produced 51 percent of the nation’s Valencia oranges, 20 percent of U.S. bell peppers and 18 percent of “fresh market tomatoes.” Florida ranks 16th among all states in the number of farms, and 29th in farmlands. It’s first in the nation for Valencia oranges, sugarcane, watermelons and sweet corn.
Notably, citrus value has declined from $636,747,000 in 2017-2018 to
$193,949,000 in 2022-23. Recent reports indicate another nosedive in citrus dollars
is expected for 2024. (Search index for “Where Have Florida’s Oranges Gone?”)
Though this beachside town drifted away from agriculture, the notion of farming helped grow Fort Lauderdale’s name recognition. Our "power" today derives from oceanside and waterway real estate, as does much of South Florida. If there were no New River would we have the downtown skyline and congestion?
Sources:
Fort Lauderdale Daily News,
March 19, 1925
Fort
Lauderdale Daily News, July 23, 1925
Fort Lauderdale Daily News, Aug. 4, 1925
USDA National Agricultural Statistic Services
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| Fort Lauderdale 2024 |
