Historical look back at Florida's Victorian pineapple market
Approximately 300 standard pineapple crates filled with 80 pounds of fruit each was the average crop production for most farmers, with those having greater acreage producing more crates. Working the fields required labourers and many were transported from the Bahamian Islands, where pineapples had been grown on a large scale basis since the 1840s. Daily earnings to plant 4,000 pineapple slips or hoe an acre of young pines was about $2.
By the 1890s Henry Flagler was extending the Florida East Coast Railroad down the Atlantic coast of Florida making shipment of the pineapples much simpler and cost efficient. The production along the Indian River from Eden south to Jupiter increased in the early 1890s making this region the world’s largest exporter of pineapples, where as many as a million crates were reportedly shipped during the summer months. The village of Jensen was called the “Pineapple Capital of the World” and the demand across Victorian America and even Europe for the delectable tasty fruit increased due to the symbolism that the pineapple represented a certain kind of generous hospitality.
By 1907 production of pineapples was surpassing previous records; a crate sold for $1.65 each. Those working in the industry, from the growers to the labourers, wrappers and shippers, were all making money.
In 1908 with federal tariffs on imported Cuban pineapples lifted, a new service was provided by the Flagler railway system. F.E.C. steamers, with a route between Miami and Havana, carried Cuban pines to the Keys where the cargo was then transferred to refrigerated Cuban Fruit Express train cars. The Express could travel to Chicago in about 72 hours. The freight charge per crate was 47 cents. Day labour in Cuba at that time was approximately 25 cents per day and no money was spent on any type of fertilizer.
With more and more pineapples, much of which was Cuban in origin, a glut was created in the market and prices fell. Local farmers were actually losing about 5½ cents on each crate shipped!
By 1911-12, many of the former pineapple fields were being sold off to investors and real estate speculators. There was a major building boom in Stuart about 1913, as people moved to the region from northern states. Subdivisions and neighbourhoods were created where there were once vast pineapple fields.
The region's acclaimed and very successful pineapple industry flourished for a brief time in history, but due to many factors would wane, eventually to become essentially nonexistent. There may be a few who grow the tasty fruit for personal consumption, but the once vast fields are gone forever.
For more information:
Alice L. Luckhardt
Stuart Heritage Museum
Email: gandavignettes@gmail.com