Henry S. Sanford and Labor Problems in the Florida Orange Industry

Henry Shelton Sandord, direct descendant of Thomas Sanford who had come to Massachusetts in the 1630’s, made many contributions to the economic welfare of the United States and particularly to Florida, his “adopted state.” Sanford’s foresight and his sizable investments promoted the growth and prosperity of the orange culture in central Florida. His adoption of modern equipment and scientific methods of cultivation, including selective cross-breeding of citrus stocks and the use of irrigation, speeded the so-called “orange revolution” which occurred in the post-Civil War period. Progress and change, however, often are opposed, and so it was with Sanford’s efforts to make orange growing in central Florida pay dividends. Resistance arose over his proposed solution to the labor problem. The opposition in this case followed the pattern that applied to Sanford’s whole Florida career. At first the idea of change was abhorred, then physically combated. When these failed, a “wait and see” attitude developed, and, finally, acceptance. With acceptance came dependence upon him for additional advances