USDA Lab – Eustis, FL - 1892

 

In 1888 a letter arrived in Washington D.C. from Mrs. Tom Platt, a Eustis resident, asking for help with growing citrus.  Mr. Frank Savage, grower, also realized there were a number of problems with the production of citrus and offered to provide 7 acres of land for research work.  Two young scientists, Walter T. Swingle and Hubert John Webber, were sent from Washington to Eustis in 1892 to see what could be done to help citrus growers.

 

With the help of Mr. Savage, they established the first citrus research facility in the world.  Fortunately for the citrus industry these scientists were dedicated visionaries.  USDA notes “together (Swingle, Weber AND Savage) entered an unknown horticultural wilderness at Eustis, Florida in 1892 to help establish the foundation of modern citrus research.” 

 

Much work was done by Swingle, Webber and Savage that benefits growers today.  They were early plant breeders that developed some of our varieties such as the Orlando and Minneola tangelo.  After the 1894/95 freeze destroyed the citrus industry, Drs. Swingle and Webber were called back to Washington in 1897.  The research work continued with Mr. Frank Savage and his son Morris doing all the field work.  Letters with instructions were sent from Dr. Swingle and cross pollicization performed by the Savages who would then harvest the fruit and send the seeds to Washington to be grown and evaluated.  Those that offered promise were shipped back to Eustis as seedlings and planted in the field.

 

Mr. Frank Savage died in 1931 some 50 years after moving to Eustis.  Morris went to work with the USDA and eventually returned to Eustis working at the new laboratory established in Orlando.  Thus, due to the hard work and concern for the citrus industry the Savages, along with Drs. Swingle and Webber, started a citrus research and breeding program that has made tremendous contributions to the industry.  From the one room at Mr. Frank Savage’s home which was used as a lab, an extensive plant improvement research program has been developed with the USDA still maintaining a facility, the A. H. Whitmore Foundation Farm south of Okahumpka. 

 

Note, this quote explains why the USDA responded to Mrs. Thomas Platt request for help!  Note the status of Mr. Thomas Platt!

 

“others began investing in the area (Leesburg/Eustis) and developing their own orange groves such as Colonel William H. Sims, former lieutenant governor of Mississippi, and Ellen Lucy Barstow Platt, wife of U.S. Senator and “political boss” of the Republican Party, Thomas Collier Platt.” Abandoned Florida.com