Zeuch

PIECES OF THE PAST: Beuch From Zeuch (Buy From Zy)!

Daniel CooperPieces of the Past

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette

Vero Beach was initially named “Vero” by Sarah Gifford, meaning truth in Latin. Her son, Friend Charles, succeeded his father, Henry, as postmaster for Vero and became a ticket agent when the Florida East Coast Railway established a station there in 1903. He went on to cultivate 160 acres and established the area’s first citrus grove at a time when much of the land was swamp.

Zeuch
Herman Zeuch
Source: Davenport Times, 1913

According to a local newspaper account, early settlers resided on hammocks and elevated places “where they were more or less safe from water.” This situation persisted until Iowa banker Herman Zeuch, pronounced “Zy,” bought 44,000 acres from citrus grower Eli Walker for 50 cents per acre. He drained the land with canals, subdivided it into farms and sold the plots to northerners seeking warmer winters. The reclaimed land was marketed aggressively, with advertisements in northern newspapers touting the area’s potential as a year-round farming haven, emphasizing “the warm climate, fertile soil and opportunities for prosperity.”

Zeuch
Source: Smith Collection, Archive Center, Indian River County Main Library

On the City of Vero Beach’s website is a brief history that states “In 1912, the Indian River Farms Company, composed of Iowan and Illinois businessmen, undertook an extensive land reclamation project purchasing 44,000 acres in present-day Indian River County. Their business plan included a vision for a town that would become ‘one of the finest in Florida.’ The final plat of the original ‘Town of Vero’ was adopted in 1913. Herman J. Zeuch, who later became president of the Indian River Farms Company, played an important role in the town’s design.”

Zeuch

The town was incorporated in 1919 and renamed Vero Beach in 1925 when it became the seat of the newly created Indian River County.

The Indian River Farms Co. built a hotel, the Sleepy Eye Lodge, to accommodate visiting land buyers, and helped establish schools, churches and businesses in the area. One of the lodge’s guests was Waldo Sexton, who sold agricultural equipment to local farmers. While there, he bought 120 acres from Indian River Farms Co. and then started selling plots of land for them. Within a few years, he was raising cattle, growing citrus, running a grove maintenance company and a cooperative packinghouse. He helped found the Indian River Citrus League, McKee Jungle Gardens (now McKee Botanical Garden) and the iconic Ocean Grill and Driftwood Inn.

Dubbed the “Daddy of Vero Beach,” Zeuch’s work with Indian River Farms Co. helped shape the town as a hub for agriculture, particularly Indian River citrus, which can be directly attributed to the reclamation and drainage systems he implemented.

Sources: City of Vero Beach, Indian River Magazine and Vero Vine

Brenda Eubanks Burnette is executive director of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Pieces of the Past is presented in partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center in Lakeland.

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