Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Spring/Section24/Martin Cross

Workers in Florida pack citrus and prepare it for distribution.

Overview

Martin Cross was a white wood and fuel salesman, living in Jacksonville, Florida. Rose Shepherd interviewed him for the Federal Writers’ Project on February 2, 1939.

Biography

Early Life

Cross moved from Virginia to Florida in the early 1880’s. He was around 22 years old, and he worked with his family on an orange grove near the town Picolata. This town was located on the banks of the St. Johns River, which was of paramount importance to the citrus industry in Florida at the time. Fruit was shipped along the St. Johns River to ports in Charleston, Baltimore, and New York among others on the Atlantic Ocean. The Cross family’s orange grove was successful and allowed them to live in a comfortable, large home. They did not use insecticides or herbicides when they first began growing citrus, as the only issue they worried about was mosquitoes. Cross was healthy in his early life, as was his family, other than malarial fevers in the summer due to the abundant mosquitoes. Quinine was a drug commonly used to treat malaria, but it had severe side effects. Cross experienced hearing loss and hair loss while taking the drug over a period of two years.

Adult Life

In 1893, Cross moved to Jacksonville, FL. The city was divided into five districts at the time: Jacksonville, East Jacksonville, Fairfield, Lavilla, and Brooklyn. While living here, Cross began a career as a wood and fuel salesman. The citrus industry he and his family once succeeded in had moved further south, so he turned to profitable products of the modern age, such as fuel, oil, and electricity. He ran his business on East Duval Street, across from the historic St. Luke’s Hospital, making deliveries to clients throughout the city. The wood he sold was mainly sourced from areas along Black Creek and specifically near Middleburg, FL. Over his years in Jacksonville, Cross witnessed its growth and development. When he first arrived, the streets were sand, and the city and its people were amicable. However, he described it as increasingly “cosmopolitan” and continued to recognize fewer people as time passed.

Relevant Topics of the Time Period

Florida's Citrus Industry

The citrus industry in Florida has a very long history, and it is presently worth billions of dollars. Citrus trees grew wild throughout areas of Florida, and many were farmed and cultivated by people near the St. John’s River. Such areas had the proper “sandy soil and sub tropical [sic] climate” needed to successfully grow oranges. By the year 1893, Florida was producing more than five million boxes of fruit per year. However, The Great Freeze of 1895 caused production to drop drastically, and farmers had to move further south to find the appropriate growing conditions.

Mosquitoes, Malaria, and Medicine

An advertisement for quinine, a common antimalarial drug in the South.

Mosquito control has changed significantly over many years, beginning with the mechanical control of mosquito populations from 1900 to 1942. These control efforts were inspired by the need to reduce the nuisance and the risk of disease transmission as people and their civilizations continued to modernize at the turn of the century. Florida has a long history of mosquitoes and disease, including yellow fever, malarial fever, and dengue fever. The initial efforts to control mosquito populations and mosquito-borne illnesses arose in response to such disease outbreaks. In 1922, there was a conference in Daytona, Florida to form the Florida Anti-Mosquito Association. Joseph Porter, the state’s first health officer, served as the association’s first president.

Despite efforts to control mosquito-borne illnesses, many still suffered from various infections. A common medication used to treat these illnesses, especially malaria, was quinine. This drug was discovered in the 17th century and used prominently until the 1920s, when alternative treatment options became available. Side effects of quinine include, but are not limited to, “slight impairment of hearing, headache and nausea . . . vertigo, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, marked auditory loss, and visual symptoms.”

Growth and Development of Jacksonville and Florida

Jacksonville has long been a hub for tourism, travel, and trade since Florida first became a United States territory. The city saw tremendous growth and development in the early 1900s. Jacksonville was responsible for exporting many goods, including cotton, wood, fruits and vegetables. It was considered the “center of commercial activity” in Florida by the time it was a state in 1845. In the early 1900s, Jacksonville’s railroad expanded further south, paved roads were opened to replace the sand ones, and electric trolley cars began service. As the rest of Florida was becoming increasingly settled and developed, Jacksonville became a hub for those participating in the expansion. The growth of developed cities in Florida and expansion south led to the destruction of much of Florida’s forests and environments. The Everglades National Park was created in order to preserve nature, improve Florida’s reputation and identity, and boost its economy. The creation of the Everglades National Park, as well as other projects like the space program and the Kennedy Space Center, was meant to rebrand Florida as a modern, scientific, and cultural state in order to attract tourists, travelers, and residents.