Willcardo Fruit Company

The Willcardo Fruit Company owned a packing house near what is now New York and Canton Avenues, and groves at the head of Lake Maitland comprising about fifty acres of citrus trees. The plant was destroyed by a fire in 1910 but was immediately rebuilt. In 1911 the company was purchased by the Citrus Growers Association, and Mr. William Chase Temple was at one time president. An advertisement for the company describes Winter Park as an exotic locale where grand trees "vie in their beauty and splendor with the glossy, emerald, waxy foliage of the Orange and Grapefruit, while broad-leaved Bananas whisper softly in the gentle, spicy breezes of the Southland... Truly this is a "Home for the gods," in which the sweetest efforts of nature have been assisted by the ablest efforts of man." The Citrus Growers Association also frequently touted its slogan, "Touched by no hand but yours," as all fruits were handled with gloves.

This article was written by former archivist, Barbara White, MLIS.