By Brenda Eubanks Burnette
In the early 1910s, when the promise of drained land and new opportunity was drawing settlers into the interior of what would become Indian River County, one place stood at the center of the excitement: the Indian River Farms Company Demonstration Farm. Set on a 10-acre plot 2 miles west of town, it became both a proving ground and a symbol — evidence that the region’s future could be built on agriculture.
The farm was run by A.E. Conway Jr., a horticulturist with experience in Florida and Mexico, assisted by B.J. Hilliard, a specialist in semi‑tropical crops. Together, they cultivated an astonishing variety of plants, turning the once‑wet land into a living catalog of what could be grown after drainage. Locals marveled at the results. When one pioneer was asked whether the beautifully grown produce was “faked” for advertising, he laughed. Nothing was staged, he said —everything could be grown exactly as shown. The only catch was practicality. Rice, for example, thrived in the fields but was nearly impossible to harvest because “the birds would get more than the owners.”
By September 1913, Conway’s reports read like a farmer’s wish list come to life. Japanese cane stood 12 feet tall; red Cuban sugar cane reached 14 feet. Rice filled out long, heavy heads. Tobacco grew so well that Conway joked they would have enough to provide “a smoke for all of our guests.” Strawberry beds were doubled with hopes of producing berries by Christmas. Turnips, lettuce, okra, radishes, pumpkins, cucumbers and celery all took root.
A showpiece garden was planted in front of the company hotel and along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks. It included cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, beans, squash, sweet potatoes and peppers, along with orange and grapefruit trees — all designed to catch the eye of winter visitors heading south to Key West and Havana. The hotel itself, simply known as the Indian River Farms Company Hotel, served as the welcome point for prospective land buyers brought in by train. It was part of a carefully choreographed experience: arrive by rail, admire the lush demonstration gardens, tour the farm and then be driven to available tracts.
The Demonstration Farm was more than a display. It became the region’s agricultural nerve center. Conway pooled shipments so farmers could secure carload freight rates, raised plants and trees in quantities needed locally, stocked essential seed and offered advice to anyone who asked. For many early growers, the Demonstration Farm was their first teacher. Its success was tied directly to the massive drainage project underway across the region. The Indian River Farms Company had bet its future on transforming wetlands into farmland, and the Demonstration Farm was the proof that the gamble could pay off. Engineers W.H. Kimball and Ralph P. Hayes oversaw the drainage system, while contractor Fred M. Crane brought in heavy excavation equipment from Iowa. Within weeks, a 2½‑yard excavator was digging the first canals.
The scale of the work was staggering. Early estimates called for the removal of 1 million cubic yards of earth. Surveys showed the land lay 16 to 23 feet above the Indian River — high enough to drain, but only with an extensive canal network. Excavation began near Valkenburg Creek, following parts of the creek bed. A second excavator was added west of the Florida East Coast Railway, and a spillway was built to regulate water flow. Rock formations east of the tracks required blasting, slowing progress.
Land sales, however, moved faster than the digging. To speed up the work, the company brought in the floating dredge Panama, fresh from the Everglades. By September 1913, crews had removed 210,000 cubic yards of earth. By January 1914, the total exceeded 500,000 — half the original estimate, though the job was far from finished. Road construction advanced alongside the canals, opening access to newly sold farms. And on Nov. 10, 1913, before a crowd of nearly 400 people, general manager Herman Zeuch set off the dynamite charge that opened the spillway, sending water rushing toward the Indian River.
By early 1914, the company announced that 2,000 acres had been sold. The Demonstration Farm had done its job. It proved that drained land could be productive, crops could thrive, and a new agricultural community could take root. The farm’s influence would echo for generations, and Indian River citrus would soon earn a reputation far beyond Florida. Yet it was growers such as Eli C. Walker who completed the picture. While the Demonstration Farm showcased potential, Walker’s working grove showed the results, becoming the company’s most persuasive example of what reclaimed land could achieve.
But that’s another story…
Source: “Pioneer Chit Chat” by William C. Thompson, Press Journal, Nov. 16, 1961, Newspapers.com
Brenda Eubanks Burnette is the former executive director of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame and is currently president of the board of Vero Heritage, Inc., which operates The Heritage Center and Indian River Citrus Museum in Vero Beach, Florida.
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