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A History of Columbia County Florida (1996) Edward F. Keuchel 177/340

A History of Columbia County, Florida

important part of the county’s agriculture. In 1900 Columbia
County produced 77,300 bushels of sweet potatoes, 2,503 bushels of
Irish potatoes, and 42,675 bushels of other vegetables. In the same
year Sea Island cotton continued to be the chief agricultural crop.
Columbia had 18,848 acres planted in Sea Island cotton and only
300 acres planted in upland cotton. In contrast Leon County, a
major upland cotton county, had 24,797 acres in upland cotton and
only 1,948 acres in Sea Island cotton.37 38
Columbia County’s farms in terms of size and ownership was
significant. In 1900 the average size for all farms in Florida was
106.9 acres. Columbia County had 1,596 farms in 1900 and the
average size was 128.8 acres. Most farms in the county were from
20 to 175 acres. Only 15 farms were larger than 1,000 acres and
only 31 were from 500 to 1,000 acres. Columbia County was
essentially a county of small, land-owning farmers. White farmers
owned 56.6 percent of the farms in the county while black farmers
owned 43.5 percent. The farm owners of Columbia County also
tended to operate their own farms. Only 26.6 percent of the farms
were operated on a share-tenant or cash-tenant basis, while 62.5
percent were operated by their owners. In contrast, only 18.6
percent of the farms in Leon County were operated by their owners
while 73.1 percent were operated on a share or cash-tenancy
basis.39
The strong position of agriculture placed the area in the midst
of much of the political controversy during the Independent
movement of the 1880’s and the Populist movement of the 1890’s.
The political combinations which brought about the return of the
Democratic Party in 1876 were never a complete solution. Many of
the state’s political leaders seemed too much in league with the
37 United States Department of Agriculture, Florida: Its Climate, Soil, Pro­
duction and Agricultural Capabilities (Washington, D.C., 1882), pp. 18-20.
38Twelfth Census of the United States 1900, Agriculture, Part I, pp. 364, 430,
435.
™Ibid., pp. 2, 66-67.

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