The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1911-03-31
PIERCE
IS ADVANCING
Rapid Strides Being Made in Or
ange and Grapefruit Culture
THE FORT PIERCE FARMS
The Opening of This Valuable Tract and
Railroad improvements Will Make Fort
Pierce One of the First Cities

Several logical reasons are advanced
by those who predict that in the near
future Fort Pierce will make such rapid
strides as to be classed among the lead
ing towns along the East Coast of Flor
ida. 1t has been, and no doubt it al
ways will be, great shipping point for
thousands of barrels of fish caught by
local fishermen in the adjacent waters.
1t has been, and no doubt always will
be, the central point for the pineapple
industry. 1t is now large shipping
point for oranges and grapefruit. This
season 40, 900 boxes will be shipped from
the groves in the vicinity, and very soon
there will be thousands of packages of
vegetables shipped from the prairie land
of the Fort Pierce farms.
While this years fruit crop consists
of but 40. 900 boxes of oranges and grape
fruit, it is estimated that within year
or so 1901 more trees will be in bear
ing. Most of these groves lie along st.
Lucie river Five and Ten-Mile creeks
and the principal shippers are K. B
Raulerson, of the East Coast Cattle
Company; Allapatahatchee Fruit and
Vegetable Company, of which 3. Sid
ney Williams is manager and Wallace
R. Moses is secretary and treasurer; A.
NJ. Sample, E. Hartman, r. r. Glad
win, Dixie Almond, d. T. McCarty, G.
s., and W. j. Tucker, Thad Straub. W.
W.. Charles, L. l. and Elizabeth Carl
ton, j. A. Alderman, G. A. Powers, }.
E. Andrews, E O. Morgan, A. Y. W.
Hogg, Charles Bean and others.
But the most encouraging outlook for
Fort Pierce, however. is the work that
is being done by the Florida East Coast
Realty Company, owners Of what is
known as the Fort Pierce Farms, en-
bracing a tract of 36, 900 acres. Re-
Gently one hundred forty-acre farms
were put on the market at $50 an acre,
and up to March lst eighty four of
them had been sold. This tract of land,
a large part of which is prairie with a
clay and mari subsoil, extends from
Fort Pierce six miles north. running
parallel with the Indian River and front
ing on the Florida East Coast railway
to point above Viking station; This
tract lies north and south six miles and
east and west nine miles. On the east
it adioins the famous pineapple ridge
around st. Lucie The prairie portion
of the tract is seventeen feet above the
Indian River, high enough for the com
plete drainage system, which is guaran-
teed by the company and for which con-
tracts have been let; yet this prairie ls
level and in excellent condition for II
farming just as soon as the drainage
contract has been completed. -,
The land which is now being sold by
the company is the prairie, which has
TOP soil of eighteen inches to two feet
of muck. with clay subsOil. 1t is ex..
cellent for truck and field crops as well
as citrus growth. In the dry season
this land is ready for cultivation, but
as the drainage contract requires that
the work shall be completed within
seven months, and as this is a guaran.
tee clause in all the company sales, 1t
would seem to be safe for anyone to go
an the land now. This promotion Is
differed by men who have had years OF
experience in fruit culture in the vlcin-
ity of Fort Pierce: w. s. Hosklns. or
Weston, w. Va, and St. Lucie, Florida,
is president of the company; r. N.
Kobegard, of st. Lucie, large pine
apple and citrus fruit grower, Is vice.
president: y. A. Whelan. of Weston,
w. Va. is treasurer, and Frank Arm
strong, of Washington, D. c., secretary.
There is still another reason why Fort
Pierce should grow big. It has been a
division terminus of the Florida East
Coast railway for many years. Recent
" the management of the road has
bought tract of land opposite the new
court house, on which a fine two'story,
station is to be erected. 1t is also stated
that new machine shops for repair work
and a new round house are to be built.
With all of these improvements in town
and land development on the outskirts,
Fort Pierce certainly has an envlable
future. The Florida Homeseeker.