Seminole County, Florida
The story of Sanford
Everything below is a single verifiable claim with a citation attached. Where the record is a local legend rather than a document, it says so.
- 1870Sanford buys the land
- 1877City incorporated
- 1895Freeze destroys the citrus crop
- 1910Among the largest vegetable shippers in the US
founding
How it started
- 1877
Henry Shelton Sanford bought the land west of Mellonville in 1870; the city of Sanford was incorporated in 1877 and annexed Mellonville six years later.
etymology
How it got its name
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The city carries the name of its founder, Henry Shelton Sanford.
industry
What it lived on
- 1895
After the freeze of the winter of 1894-95 destroyed an entire citrus crop, the growers who stayed turned to vegetables. By the first decade of the twentieth century Sanford was one of the largest vegetable shipping centres in the United States.
claim to fame
What it is known for
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Celery made the city's name - Sanford has been known as the Celery City after the crop that succeeded where citrus had failed.
figure
Worth knowing
- 1836
During the Seminole Wars of the 1830s the area was the site of a US Army post named Fort Mellon.
landmark
What still stands
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Historic Georgetown, one of the city's two historic districts.
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The Commercial Historic District in downtown Sanford.