Photo courtesy of George Streetman
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette
When Thomas E. Hogan arrived in Vero Beach in January of 1920, he could hardly have imagined that his name would one day be tied to one of the county’s most enduring agricultural legacies. A native of Suwannee County, Hogan and his wife came south from the small town of Wellborn, settling along the hammock lands that bordered the Indian River.
In the early years, Hogan split his time between commercial fishing and tomato growing. The rich hammock soil proved ideal for vegetables, and by 1929 he had committed himself fully to tomato farming. Over the next decade, Hogan built a reputation for reliability and quality. By the late 1930s, he took the next logical step and entered the packing business.
As the business grew, so did the Hogan family’s involvement. Sons Roy and Ray joined their father in the fields and packinghouse, learning the trade from the ground up. Two additional partners, C.B. Streetman and F.D. Guner, helped expand the operation. By the late 1940s, Hogan & Sons had become one of the largest tomato producers in Indian River County. Their advertisements proudly proclaimed them the “oldest and largest tomato growers in the county.”
In 1949, the company constructed a new packinghouse just south of the main canal and west of the Florida East Coast Railway tracks. Built by Vero Beach contractor L.M. Newman, the structure covered more than 22,000 square feet. Made of wood framing and galvanized iron, the building was practical, sturdy and perfectly suited to the bustling tomato industry. By 1951, the Hogan plant was handling half of the county’s tomato crop — a remarkable feat for a business that had begun with a single grower and a patch of hammock land.
In 1946, the company planted its first citrus grove, beginning a gradual shift that would reshape the family’s future. By 1957, Hogan & Sons had 240 acres of citrus under cultivation. The 1950s brought further diversification as the family expanded into cattle ranching and became known for producing Pensacola Bahia grass, a staple for grazing operations across the region.
In 1958, the Hogans made a pivotal decision: They retrofitted their tomato packinghouse and began packing citrus. An addition followed in 1961, and by 1963 the company was packing approximately 150,000 boxes of fresh fruit each year. Most of the fruit came from their own groves. While they still grew tomatoes, those were now packed at the Farmers’ Market in Fort Pierce. Their citrus, sold under the Florigold label in association with the Florida Citrus Exchange, included large volumes of grapefruit as well as temple oranges.
Read the rest of the article and watch a video to learn what the Hogan & Sons packinghouse has become today.
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