Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Days of Citrus Past - Elfers, Florida

Before being enveloped in the latter half of the 20th Century by its neighbors (New Port Richey and Holiday), Elfers, Florida participated in the citrus industry in West Florida.

“Elf,” “Gulf,” “Tavern,” “Whoopee,” and “Elfers Winner” fruit labels came from Elfers citrus groves owned by two main companies, the Elfers Citrus Growers Association and Sans Souci Growers. The farmers and growers of the Elfers area made up a tight-knit community in the early 20th Century, which outsiders viewed as little more than a small crossroads-town at the west end of Florida Highway 54.

Early on, Elfers was characterized by the richness of the soil in the area, a mixture of Norfolk Sand and muckland. The soil was so good for citrus, one paper claimed, that Elfers was a “poor man’s country for citrus fruit growing,” and that “The people of this section of Florida do not know how to grow citrus fruit; it grows simply because it can’t keep from growing.”



In 1966, however, the Elfers Citrus Growers Association packing house was destroyed in a fire that reportedly caused over $250,000 in damage; less than a third of it was insured. Following the destruction of the packing house, the citrus industry declined in Elfers. Today, while citrus plants still grow in the area, almost all of the town has been developed into residential communities.

The name ‘Elfers’ originated from the former name of the area, which was a Native American hunting ground called Alafia. Sam Hope surveyed the land in the 1840s, allowing the land to be sold to white settlers. Soon after, the Baillie family settled the area. The land was subsequently referred to by several names (Baillie’s Bluff, Alfiers, The Neck, and Sapling Woods, among others) until the residents of the area organized.

The foundation of an official municipality was assisted by the establishment of the Elfers Post Office in 1909, the connection of a railroad in 1913, and the Association of Elfers Citrus Growers in 1920.



Elfers as it is known today contains several historic sites within its limits: Perrine Ranch Road Bridge, which crosses the Anclote River; the Elfers Historical Marker, which recognizes the town as a whole; the Baker house, the oldest “cracker house” in western Pasco County (restored in 1993); and the First State Bank of Elfers Building. 

In 1925, the City of Elfers was officially incorporated, but only lasted for eight years. In 1926, during the Florida land boom, the State Bank failed, and in 1932, during the Great Depression, taxes were bad enough for growers that they filed to abolish the City of Elfers, a motion which passed the Florida Senate and took effect in July of 1933.

Today, while Elfers still exists as a census-designated place and not an incorporated municipality, addresses north of Moog Road—which runs east-to-west through the lower two-thirds of the town—have New Port Richey addresses, and those south of Moog Road have Holiday addresses.

According to public maps, the most easily-identifiable borders of contemporary Elfers are Interstate 19 as the western edge and the Anclote River and surrounding forest on the south and east edges. The north border aligns with neighborhood borders and may have to do with school district zoning, as public schools lay on or near those limits.

The boundaries of Elfers can also be imagined through county district maps. Comparing public maps to the regional, government-zoned regions, Elfers can be seen taking up most of Precincts 15 and 57, as well as roughly half of Precinct 58. Elfers is dominated by school District 3, but its northeasternmost neighborhoods are part of District 4.

Written By: Peter Edgar
Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center

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