Hauling Oranges in Alachua, Florida—Colorized Postcard
Have you ever sent a postcard to a friend when you went on vacation? By looking at the postcard, your friend could learn something about the place you were visiting. By studying historical postcards such as this one, you can learn about what life in Florida was like many years ago. This postcard shows workers picking oranges.
Primary Source
Source: Courtesy of University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, Department of Special Collections.
Background
Though Florida grows many varieties of oranges today, oranges did not always grow in Florida. The first oranges came from Malaysia. Travelers gradually transported oranges from Malaysia to other parts of the world, including the Middle East, Africa, and ancient Greece. In Greece, oranges were called “golden apples.” Christopher Columbus brought oranges to the island of Hispaniola in 1493. However, it was Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León who brought the first citrus seeds to Florida when he arrived in St. Augustine in the 1490s. People began growing oranges in Florida, and today the citrus industry is an important part of Florida's economy. Just as in the postcard, most workers still pick oranges by hand today. Workers must wait until the oranges have ripened before picking the fruit, because oranges will not ripen once they are removed from the branches. In the postcard, workers use mule-drawn carts to transport the oranges. These types of carts were commonly used in Alachua during this period of time in Florida's history.
