Florida’s Lake County Historical Society kicked off the Lake County Citrus Label Tour with dedication ceremonies at 12 locations in nine cities from Aug. 23rd through 26th.
At each of the 12 locations on the tour, large two-sided signs feature two antique citrus label reproductions. Each sign displays a 4’ X 4’ representation of two citrus packing labels and has a QR code for each label that can be scanned to give a brief history of citrus in Lake County and of the specific company associated with that label.
For 60 years, the labels were prolific as advertising for fresh fruit in wooden crates shipped to markets. The crate labels lasted until shortly after World War II, when shortages of wood and metal brought about the invention of cardboard boxes with preprinted brand names.
The Lake County tour was inspired by the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame’s Citrus Label tours in Polk, Manatee and Indian River counties.
John Jackson, a member of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, encouraged the Lake County Historical Society to join forces with the hall of fame and local historical societies across the county to create the tour.
Citrus families and organizations, local dignitaries and elected officials participated in the dedication ceremonies held on consecutive days from Aug. 23 to Aug. 26.
See where the signs are located and the dedication schedule:
- Aug. 23: Umatilla Museum at 10 a.m., Umatilla Cadwell Park at 11 a.m., Eustis Museum at 2 p.m., Eustis Ferran Park at 3 p.m.
- Aug. 24: Mount Dora Simpson Cove at 10 a.m., Tavares Museum at 1:30 p.m., Tavares Old Courthouse at 2:30 p.m.
- Aug. 25: Leesburg Town Square at 10 a.m., Howey in the Hills Griffin Park at 1 p.m.
- Aug. 26: South Lake County
10 am – Mascotte Civic Center at 10 a.m., at the Tedder/Thomas Memorial Civic
Center
11 am – Groveland Museum at 11 a.m.
2 pm – Clermont Historic Village
More information about the tour is available here.
