Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Florida

FLORIDA, a State in the South Atlantic division of the North American Union, bounded by Alabama, Georgia, the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Straits of Florida; area, 58,680 square miles; admitted as a State in 1845; number of counties, 54. Pop. (1890) 391,422; (1900) 528,542; (1910) 751,139; (1920) 968,470; capital, Tallahassee.

Topography.—The surface of the State is very low and flat, gradually rising from a few feet above sea-level along the coast to a central ridge with an altitude of about 300 feet. The flat lands extending along the coasts consist of open grass-grown savannahs, cypress swamps, pine forests, and “cabbage hammocks,” so called from the extensive growth of the cabbage palms. The W. part of the State, excepting on the coast, is quite hilly. The S. part of the peninsula is built up of successive coral dikes; the upper part being occupied by Lake Okechobee, whose shallow waters gradually merge into the Everglades, an extensive swamp covering the entire lower part of the State. The Everglades are penetrated in all directions by a net- work of small, shallow streams, and at short intervals over the entire area are found wooded islands covered with semi-tropical vegetation. These islands are supposed to have been formerly surrounded by the ocean and to have borne the same relation to the mainland as do the reefs and keys of to-day. The Everglades are separated from the Gulf by extensive cypress swamps, the forests extending down the W. coast, narrowing out around the cape, and extending up along the Atlantic coast. Many of the Florida swamps are so densely overgrown with vegetation that they have been explored but little and are considered impassable. Among these are the Great Cypress in the S. part, and the Fen Holloway and Wakulla swamps farther N. The Okefenoke swamp in the extreme N. extends over into the State of Georgia. Almost the entire Atlantic coast is protected from the ocean by sand bars and coral reefs. Florida is noted for the number, size, and clearness of her springs, the most famous being the Silver Spring near Ocala in Marion county, with an estimated output of 300,000,000 gallons daily. Other notable springs are the Wakulla, near Tallahassee, the Wekiva in Orange county, and the Blue in Marion county. There are numerous sulphuretted springs along the coast; one near St. Augustine, 2 miles out at sea, boils so violently that the waves break against it as though it were a sunken reef. There are numberless lakes, many being aggregations of smaller springs. The largest are Okechobee, Munroe, George, Kissimmee, Crescent, Dexter, Apopka, Harris, and Eustis. These lakes are usually quite shallow and are in many cases connected with the sea by subterranean passages, often causing strange fluctuations, rising and falling at irregular periods.

Geology.—The substratum of the greater part of the State is of Upper Eocene or Vicksburg limestone, while the coasts and the S. parts are mostly Postpliocene, or coralline limestone. Considerable phosphate exists in various forms, land and river pebble, hard and soft rock, and vertebrate remains, the hard rock extending in a belt running S. E. from Tallahassee to the S. E. part of Pasco county.

Mineral Production.—The only important mineral product is phosphate rock. About 1,500,000 tons, valued at about $4,000,000, are produced annually. Other mineral products are fuller's earth, lime, and mineral waters.

Soil.—The soil is mostly sandy, but supports vegetation in great luxuriance. The surface soil, depending on the character of the underlying rock, is rich in phosphates, and these, together with decomposed vegetable matter, produce a very rich soil. In the N. and middle portions of the State, the oak, hickory, and pine grow extensively, while the long-leaved pine, pitch-pine, and cypress cover the S. portions.

Agriculture.—Florida exhibits the vegetable productions of both temperate and semi-tropical nature. In the N. the products include peaches, pears, and cotton, while the middle and S. counties produce the finest oranges, pineapples, mangoes, cocoa palms, guavas and almost all tropical fruits. The acreage, value and production of the principal crops in 1919 were as follows: corn, 840,000 acres, production 12,600,000 bushels, value $17,640,000; hay, 113,000 acres, production 141,000 tons, value $3,243,000; peanuts, 216,000 acres, production 3,402,000 bushels, value $7,178,000; tobacco, 4,200 acres, production 3,990,000 pounds, value $2,175,000; potatoes, 24,000 acres, production 1,824,000 bushels, value $3,830,000; sweet potatoes, 41,000 acres, production 4,100,000 bushels, value $5,740,000; cotton, 117,000 acres, production 17,000 bales, value $3,570,000.

Manufactures.—There were, in 1914, 2,518 manufacturing establishments, employing 55,608 wage earners. The capital invested was $88,319,000 and the wages paid $24,822,000. The value of the materials used was $33,816,000 and the value of the finished product was $81,112,000. The principal manufactures are naval stores, cotton-seed oil, cigars, lead pencils, refined sugar, flour, salt by evaporation, palmetto hats, braids, and wooden boxes. Lumbering is a leading industry; fishing, sponge and coral gathering afford occupations for many. Jacksonville has many canning establishments, and Key West and Tampa are noted for their fine cigars.

Banking.—On Oct. 31, 1919, there were 54 National banks in operation, having $6,460,000 in capital. $5,502,000 in outstanding circulation, and $25,084,000 in United States bonds. There were also 184 State banks with $5,585,000 capital and $2,147,000 surplus. In the year ending Sept. 30, 1919, the exchanges at the United States clearing-house at Jacksonville aggregated $411,247,000, an increase over the previous year of $202,120,000.

Education.—School attendance is not compulsory. Separate schools are provided for white and colored children. There are about 200,000 enrolled pupils in the elementary schools and about 6,000 teachers. There are 100 public high schools with about 7,000 pupils. The total annual expenditure for educational purposes is about $4,000,000, The institutions for higher education include the University of Florida at Gainesville, the State College for Women at Tallahassee, Rollins College at Winter Park, John B. Stetson University at De Land.

Churches.—The strongest denominations in the State are the African Methodist Episcopal; the Methodist Episcopal, South; Regular Baptist, South; Regular Baptist, Colored; Roman Catholic; Methodist Episcopal; Protestant Episcopal; Presbyterian; Disciples; and Congregational.

Finance.—The receipts during the fiscal year 1919 amounted to $6,334,025, and the disbursements to $6,369,753, There was a balance on hand January 1, 1919, of $1,861,628, and on January 1, 1920, there was a balance of $1,825,899. The public debt amounted to $601,567.

Transportation.—There are about 6,000 miles of steam railway and about 200 miles of electric railway. The Atlantic Coast Railway and the Louisville and Nashville Railway run through the State. The Florida East Coast Railway with an extension to Key West was opened in 1912. A large trade is carried on through Pensacola and other ports. Harbor improvements have been carried out at Jacksonville.

Charities and Corrections.—The charitable and correctional institutions include the State Institute for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind at St. Augustine, Hospital for the Insane at Chattahoochee; Industrial School for Boys, at Marianna; Prison Farm, at Raiford; Industrial School for Girls, at Ocala.

State Government.—The governor is elected for a term of four years. Legislative sessions are held biennially, beginning on the first Tuesday in April, and are limited to 60 days each. The legislature has 32 members in the Senate and 75 in the House. There are 4 representatives in Congress.

History.—Florida was discovered by Juan Ponce de Leon, March 27, 1513, on Easter Sunday, after which the peninsula was named. He and his successors explored a large part of Florida in search of gold and “the fountain of perpetual youth.” He was killed in a fight with the natives in 1521. A Spanish force of 400 men under Panfilo de Narvaez landed in 1528, and all but four perished. In 1539 a force of 600 under Fernando De Soto landed at Tampa Bay and moving to the N. and W., overcoming the natives by treachery and violence, passed beyond the present limits of Florida. A settlement of French Huguenots was attempted in 1564, but two years later was exterminated by the Spanish. From this time the Spanish were in absolute control, and settlements were made at Pensacola and elsewhere along the coast. In 1687 the first large consignment of negro slaves was brought to Florida. From 1702 to 1748 there were continued hostilities between the Spanish, French, and British along the coast, during which St. Augustine was twice besieged by the British. A truce lasted from 1748 to 1752, when war was again renewed, resulting in the exchange of Cuba for Florida, the British immediately taking possession. Shortly after the American Revolutionary War Florida was re-ceded to Spain. West Florida was sold to France in 1795. During the War of 1812 the British occupied Pensacola with the consent of Spain. In 1814 it was captured by the United States forces under Andrew Jackson. Then followed a long series of wars with the natives, the whole of Florida being ceded to the United States by Spain in 1819. In 1822 Florida was organized as a Territory of the United States. From 1835 to 1842 the Seminole Indians were in active hostility and on their final surrender they were removed to a special reservation. Florida was admitted to the Union as a State in 1845. At the outbreak of the Civil War the principal government posts were seized by the State forces. Fort Pickens, however, was held by a Union garrison, and after being re-enforced was used as the base of operations in the vicinity. Jacksonville was several times occupied by the contending forces, and many minor engagements took place along the coast. Florida was given full civil government July 4, 1868.

Copyright, L. L. Poates Eng. Co., 1921

© Underwood & Underwood

A VIEW ON THE TOMOKA RIVER, FLORIDA, SHOWING TYPICAL VEGETATION
AND AN ALLIGATOR IN THE FOREGROUND