1565 - Spaniards Bring Citrus to Florida
Did you know citrus is not native to Florida, but it arrived via the Spaniards around 1565.
Early citrus fruits were usually extremely sour and closer to that of a lemon.
These fruits were a necessity on long sailing journeys in order to prevent the disease of scurvy, which was due to a lack of Vitamin C.
Like the huge majority of the residents of Lake County, citrus trees also found the climate delightful.
The sandy soil was perfect for citrus, rainfall was abundant, and the hot days produced fantastic fruit.
It was said that the Native Americans while canoeing would eat the oranges and spit out the seeds, which is beleived to have helped the spreading of the fruit trees along waterways.
Later settlers began to cultivate these prosperous trees and began to create new sweeter and hardier varieties.
One such sweet orange was created by a Parson by the name of Brown who lived in Sumter County.
This became a popular variety known as the Parson Brown.
A more pest and cold resistant variety was developed in Bay Lake by the Kuharske family.
It is still known as the Kuharske Citrange and is still highly favored as a rootstock.
[Contributors: Jason Brown]