By Brenda Eubanks Burnette
I often wondered about the information on the Turnbull label that reads: “Turnbull Hammock. Settled in 1767 by Andrew Turnbull. Home of the Famous Indian River Oranges and Grapefruit. Grown and Packed by Oak Hill Citrus Growers Assn. – Oak Hill, Florida.” I was astounded to find out that a family in Vero Beach was direct descendants of indentured servants who had been brought from the Mediterranean island of Menorca by Andrew Turnbull to help settle the colony of New Smyrna, Florida!
Oak Hill Citrus Growers Association began in 1909 as the New Smyrna Hawks Park Citrus Association before building a new packinghouse in 1924 at 172 Valencia Drive in Oak Hill. During a “normal season,” the packinghouse produced approximately 300,000 boxes of both oranges and grapefruit, most of which was shipped under the Turnbull label.
Wikipedia notes that Andrew Turnbull was a Scottish physician and diplomat who served as the British consul at Smyrna, Ottoman Empire. It goes on to describe his founding of New Smyrna, Florida, in 1768, named in honor of his wife’s birthplace, Smyrna on the Aegean coast of Anatolia, Greece.
“In partnership with Sir William Duncan, he secured a grant of 40,000 acres of land on the east coast of the peninsula, with the requirement from the British government that it be settled within 10 years in the proportion of one person for every 100 acres,” reports Wikipedia. “In 1765, he sailed to St. Augustine, the capital of the province, and secured the grant from Governor James Grant. The land was located at what is now New Smyrna Beach about 62 miles south of St. Augustine.”
Two years later, Turnbull had signed up over 1,400 indentured servants, the majority from Menorca, promising them freedom and 50 acres in the new colony after three years of work. It was believed to be the single largest group of Europeans to come to the New World at one time, reportedly requiring five ships for the crossing with over 900 settlers dying after arriving at the colony.
Read the rest of the story and see a video of author Brenda Eubanks Burnette discussing her Pieces of the Past column with Editor-in-Chief Frank Giles.
Share this Post