The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1911-03-24
PIERCE
GALA WEEK
HOmeseekers Visit This Section
in Large Numbers
WEDNESDAY, A BIG DAY
Board of Trade Efforts Attract Many
Auction Sale of City [ ots-Fort Pierce
Farms Delight Every Visitor

Fort Pierce is having a Gala Week.
Through the efforts of the Board of
Trade made at Fort Lauderdale last
week, more than one hundred of the
homeseekers who were interested in
great land drawing of Everglades lands
have accepted the invitation. and visit
ed our city.
A bureau of information was opened
in the consulting room of the st. Lucie
County Bank, which was equipped with
splendid display of oranges, grape
fruit, pineapples and potatoes, and adj
vertising matter descriptive of this sec.
ton, and here was established the
headquarters of the visitors, who be-
gan to arrive last Thursday night and
continued each day in increasing num-
bers until yesterday.
Every visitor was given an oppor-
tunity to see the orange and grapefruit
groves, pineapple fields, the vast area
of fertile prairie lands lying to the west
and northwest of Fort Pierce, and trips
of interest were provided through the
town, along the river front and to the
new addition of building lots sold under
auction by owners on Orange avenue,
commencing Wednesday afternoon.
All the business houses and many
residences have been in gala attire, and
every effort has been made to make
the visitors to our city feel that they
are welcome, and that their permanent
residence among US would be mutually
profitable and happy.
Every automobile obtainoble has been
in the service of the visitors, and there
was not one among the large crowd
who was not thoroughly satisfied with
everything that they saw, and who
expressed desire to make Fort Pierce
their future home. Almost every WISH
tor is an owner of Everglades land at
Fort Lauderdale, but so thoroughly
surprised were they to find the soil of
the Fort Pierce farms to be not only
the equal, but superior to anything
that they saw at Fort Lauderdale,
that thirty-six purchased 40-acre farms
here, and every purchaser took home
with him samples of the soil to show to
his friends, and declared that they will
locate here as soon as they can return
home and arrange their affairs. and
hold their Everglade lands as an invest
ment to be realized on with large
interest when the State drainage pro-
ject shall have been completed within
the next five years.
The visitors represented far-away
California, Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa,
Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Mis-.
souri,. Illinois, Ohio, District of CO.
lumbia and some states as far east as
Connecticut. They had all been
brought to Florida through the efforts
o. the Florida Fruits Lands Company,
and naturally were not informed that
there were other sections of Florida
that offered equal advantages to those
to he obtained in the great Everglades,
and those who drew lands upon which
they must wait several years to have
the drainage completed, were delighted
to know that this section off cred every
advantage of soil and climate to be
found elsewhere, together with many
of the advantages OF older settled com
and at once announced their
of becoming permanent resi-
dents of Fort Pierce, and showed their
faith in this section by the purchase
of farms.
No better class of homeseekers ever
invaded any section of the country.
The brains and intelligence Of the great
northwest was represented among them
in no small degree, together with high
employees of the ordnance and print
ing departments of the National govern
ment, and prosperous farmers of many
states who investigated soil conditions
from a scientific standpoint. In the
great land drawing at Fort Lauderdale
where more than 3. 900 were assembled.
there was no intoXication or disorder of
any kind, and the gr,at drawing in con.
vention was conducted with the dignity
Of the United States Serate.
Fortunate indeed has been Fort Pierce
in inducing so large number of these
people to locate here. Their coming
will be the signal for the coming of
their friends, and the future growth of
this section with this class of people
argues we'll for the permanent and rapid
growth and development of this favor
ed part of Florida.
An added attraction offered the Wis
tors and the citizens of this section
was the auction sale of residence lots
on Orange avenue, which began We'd
nesday afternoon, by the Home Invest
ment Company. The Fort Pierce band
furnished music, and automobiles were
at the disposal of all. Several hun
dred were on the grounds when the
we'll known auctioneers, Lancaster &
Mills. after explaining the methods to
be pursued, asked for bids. In two
bourc tuopt cavop Lotto hod hoap cnld