Now that all the big home builders have raped the countryside, maybe it is time to reminisce.
Sanford was the celery capital of the country. Thousands of carloads of that vegetable left here for New York every year. Sanford was a transship ment point for farms farther south of here because of its railroad connections. Now, that is all gone. The buyers of all the new homes built in the last five years plus the multitudes of matchstick apartments stacked up on the west side of town know nothing of the town's history.
Before it is too late, let's give them some farms to identify where they live and shop.
First, Celery Avenue, obviously named for the town's most famous product. Going east just before Brisson Avenue are three large hundred year old houses on the south side. These are the Brumley homes, belonging to a family which had a barn back by the railroad which is no longer there. On the roof of the barn in big letters was painted: L. A. BRUMLEY AND SONS.
Just south on Brisson on the east side was the Muirhead Farm. an other farm on Celery's north side was the Rossetter spread. Then the only one still sort of a farm is the Meri wether place at Celery and Beardall.
The jog of Celery Avenue to the south connecting with State Road 415 goes through the Wilke Bros. farm.
Publix? That was the Ward farm, some of the best land on the east side of town.
The county sports complex? That was known as the Sanford Celery Delta farmed by Chase and Company for many years. Chases' wash house still stands on Beardall south of Celery.
Do you know you live in Cameron City? Probably not, the thirty acres you live on now was R. U. Hutchison's place. The house is still there.
The Smith Farm, now a bunch of houses between Lake Mary Boulevard and Pineway on Brisson.
The Chinaman's farm was just south of the 419 Expressway on the east side of Sanford Avenue. He grew carrots.
The Nelson farm was at Myrtle and Hester. Every now and then they have trouble with old wells and tile.
There are many others, but one of the most famous was the Behren's place at the southwest corner of Oregon and Orange Boulevard. Cabbage was the crop. They owned a large swamp to the south of their farm. In the swamp were bears and rac coons. We now know the swamp as Lake Forest. The bears and raccoons still call it home.
