Belair Grove Collection

Dublin Core

Title

Belair Grove Collection

Alternative Title

Belair Collection

Subject

Lake Mary (Fla.)
Sanford (Fla.)
Citrus fruit industry--Florida
Agriculture--Florida
Chase and Company (Sanford, Fla.)
Citrus--Florida

Description

In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 12,547.15 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair Grove, located just three miles southwest of the city and named after Sanford. By 1889, Sanford extended his land purchase to 145 acres and contained mainly orange and lemon trees. In Belair alone, Sanford introduced over 140 varieties of citrus plants. All were tested to determine if Florida citrus growers could introduce new varieties into the growing citrus market. Sanford also grew exotic plants acquired from Central and South America, many of which survived the 1886 freeze. Sanford mainly used Belair as his own experiment station, but ultimately the findings and reports would be used by other citrus growers throughout Florida. Eventually, following Sanford's death in 1891, his wife, Gertrude Sanford, sold Belair to Sydney and Joshua Chase.

Contributor

Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida

Is Part Of

Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Citrus Collection, Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

Language

eng

Type

Collection

Coverage

Belair Grove, Lake Mary, Florida
Sanford, Florida

Provenance

Entire Chase Collection is comprised of four separate accessions from various donors, including Cecilia Johnson, the granddaughter of Joshua Coffin Chase and the children of Randall Chase.

Rights Holder

The displayed collection is housed at Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida to display this item for educational purposes only.

Contributing Project

Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida
Digital Collections (UFDC), University of Florida

Curator

Cepero, Laura
Marra, Katherine

Digital Collection

RICHES MI

Source Repository

University of Florida, Special and Area Studies Collections

External Reference

"Sydney Chase Sr. (1860-1941)." Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Copyright 2012. http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=600.
Westgate, Philip J., and R. Bruce Ledin. "Belair Groves, Sanford, Pioneer in Sub-Tropical Horticultural Introductions." Florida State Horticultural Society 66 (1953): 184-187.
Some Account of Belair, Also of the City of Sanford Florida, With a Brief Sketch of Their Founder. Sanford, Florida: 1889.
Sanford: Central Florida's Waterfront Gateway. Sanford, Florida: City of Sanford, 2005.

Collection Items

Gertrude Sanford Picking Oranges at Belair Grove
Henry Shelton Sanford's daughter, Gertrude Sanford, at Belair Grove in 1891. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair located just three…

Sanford Family at Belair Grove
Henry S. Sanford with and his wife, Gertrude Dupuy Sanford, and daughter, Gertrude Sanford, at Belfair Grove in 1891. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment…

Southeast Corner of Belair Grove Looking North
Young trees at Belair Grove in 1897. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 12,547.15 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair Grove, located just three miles southwest of the city…

Southeast Corner of Belair Grove Looking Northwest
Belair Grove in 1897. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 12,547.15 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair Grove, located just three miles southwest of the city named after…

Original Orange Seedling at Belair Grove
Original orange seedling planted by Henry Sanford at Belair Grove. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair located just three miles…

Randall Chase at Belair Grove
Randall Chase, son of Sydney Chase, examining a camellia bush at Belair Grove. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair located just three…

Man at Belair Grove After Freeze
Belair Grove after the Great Freeze of 1885-1886. Henry Sanford made his last trip to Belair Grove during the winter of 1890-1891. Most of Sanford's visit was spent in Charles Armory's vacation home because of his poor health. This photograph and…

Belair Grove After Freeze
Belair Grove after the Freeze of 1894-1895.In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 12,547.15 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair Grove, located just three miles southwest of the…

Henry Sanford's Wife at Belair Grove
Gertrude Dupuy Sanford, the wife of Henry Shelton Sanford, at Belair Grove in 1891. The royal palm in the photograph survived the Freeze of 1886, but died in the Freeze of 1894-1895.

Henry Sanford made his last trip to Belair Grove during the…

Henry Sanford's Daughter at Belair Grove
Gertrude Sanford, the daughter of Henry Shelton Sanford, at Belair Grove in 1891. Henry Sanford made his last trip to Belair Grove during the winter of 1890-1891. Most of Sanford's visit was spent in Charles Armory's vacation home because of his poor…

Belair Lodge
The Belair home of Henry Sanford and family sometime before 1925. In 1870, Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land known as the Sanford Grant. The acreage included an experiment station called Belair located just three miles southwest…

Orange Grove After the Freeze of 1888
Orange grove in Sanford, Florida. By the time that this photograph had been taken in 1897, citrus groves in Central Florida had mostly recover from the devastating Freeze of 1888.

In 1871, General Henry S. Sanford (1823-1891) began clearing land…
View all 12 items

Collection Tree