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A History of Columbia County Florida (1996) Edward F. Keuchel 225/340

A History of Columbia Cotmty, Florida

of insufficient or too much rainfall the county’s farmers had to
contend with more unique conditions. One was the hurricane of
September 29, 1896, which entered the state at Cedar Key and
created a wide swath of destruction in Levy, Lafayette, Alachua,
Columbia, Baker, and Bradford counties. Another was the great
freeze of 1894-1895 which destroyed most of North Florida’s citrus
industry. The citrus industry was able to reestablish itself farther
south in the state, although it was finished as a commercial
industry in Columbia County.40
The boll weevil likewise caused considerable disruption of the
state’s cotton industry. It was particularly destructive to Sea
Island cotton, the type Columbia County excelled in. Sea Island or
“long cotton” as it was commonly called was highly desired for
thread, lace, fine fabrics, and with the advent of the automobile,
tire cord. The price of Sea Island cotton was usually double and at
times triple that paid for short-staple or Upland cotton. The
primary disadvantages of Sea Island over the Upland variety were
smaller yields her acre, and seed selection, cultivation, and picking
all required more work. Special roller gins were required for
processing. An attempt was made during the late 1930’s to re­
establish Sea Island cotton in the county. Under a program
sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture some 350 bales
were produced in 1937, but Sea Island cotton never developed to its
former role.41
It was shortly before World War I that Columbia County was
infested with the boll weevil. In anticipation, area growers had
already started to shift into other agricultural products. Par­
ticularly important was the movement into flue-cured burley
tobacco used for cigarettes in contrast to Cuba or Sumatra leaf

4UW. T. Cash, The Story of Florida (New York, 1938), Vol. II, p. 513.
4,Clifton Paisley, “Madison County’s Sea Island Cotton Industry, 1870-1916,”
Florida Historical Quarterly LIV (January, 1976), pp. 285-305; W. A. Orton, “Sea
Island Cotton,” U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmer Bulletin 787 (Washington,
D.C., 1916), pp. 1-8; Lake City Reporter, May 12, 1939.
178

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