Southeast Corner of Belair Grove Looking Northwest

Southeast Corner of Belair Grove Looking Northwest

Belair Grove

Lake Mary (Fla.)

Chase and Company (Sanford, Fla.)

Citrus fruit industry--Florida

Agriculture--Florida

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 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. In 1894 and 1895, Central Florida was hit by several freezes and most of the citrus crop was destroyed. In many cases, frozen oranges fell off the trees because the weakened branches could not support the heavier fruit. Chase & Company did not grow citrus crops again until 1904 when Joshua came back from an extended stay in California.

Ensminger Bros.

Original black and white photograph by Ensminger Bros., October 28, 1897: Chase Collection (MS 14), box 211, folder 3.3CB, item CC87, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Ensminger Bros.

1897-10-28

Digital reproduction of original black and white photograph by Ensminger Bros., October 28, 1897.

Chase Collection (MS 14), box 211, folder 3.3B, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

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

Folder referenced in Chase Collection finding guide, http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.

image/jpeg

143 KB

1 black and white photograph

Still Image

Lake Mary, Florida

28.779371, -81.301996

1897-10-28/1897-10-28

Donation

History Teacher

Economics Teacher

Geography Teacher

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.

The displayed collection item 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.

Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida

Digital Collections (UFDC), University of Florida

Marra, Katherine

University of Florida, Special and Area Studies Collections

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.

Hopkins, James T. Fifty Years of Citrus, the Florida Citrus Exchange: 1909-1959. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press: 1960.

"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.

"Belair Groves, Sanford, Pioneer in Sub-Tropical Horticultural Introductions"

"Development of Marketing Citrus Fruits in Florida"

"Sydney Chase Sr. (1860-1941)"

1 black and white photograph