ORIGINAL EARLY-1900s FLORIDA LAND-BOOM PROMOTIONAL POSTCARD FOLDER — INDIAN RIVER PARK

Unposted 6-panel folding self-mailer issued by the Florida East Coast Fruit-Land Co. (206 West Bay Street, Jacksonville, Florida), circa 1909–1913. Measures 5.75" × 14.25" opened and folds cleanly to standard postcard size (5.75" × 3.56").

HIGHLIGHTS:
+++ Historical Content: Advertises 10-acre truck-farming and citrus plots within the 16,000-acre Indian River Park — 'Down Where the Sun Shines' tract at $30.00/acre ($2 down, $1/month).
+++ Five Period Halftone Photos: Features views of Indian River commercial fishing, cabbage palm and pine hammocks, young citrus groves, an early settler homestead, and a thriving lettuce field.
+++ Intact Return Card: Retains the original, unseparated Private Mailing Card order form requesting the company's promotional booklet, Facts About Indian River Park.

CONDITION: GOOD. Unposted with no writing or stamps; crisp halftone images and legible text with light, even age toning and minor wear along original fold lines with some openings.

No institutional holding located via OCLC.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The Early Agricultural & Railroad Boom (1890s–1915)
+++The Catalysts: Industrialists Henry Flagler (on the East Coast) and Henry Plant (on the West Coast) built railroads down the peninsula, opening previously isolated wilderness to Northern markets. At the same time, Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward began draining the Everglades to create farmland.

+++ The Pitch: Jacksonville-based land companies bought massive tracts of pine flatwoods and palm hammocks for pennies an acre, divided them into 10-acre farms, and sold them to Midwestern and Northern buyers via mail-order brochures.

+++ The Reality: Ads promised effortless wealth from citrus and winter "truck farming" (vegetables shipped north by train). Many buyers bought sight unseen, only to discover uncleared palmetto scrub, mosquitoes, or seasonal flooding—though successful settlements did take root along the Indian River.

SUBJECTS: Indian River, Indian River Park, Jacksonville FL, Florida East Coast, Brevard County, St Lucie County, Treasure Coast,Florida Land Boom, Real Estate, Citrus Grove, Orange Grove, Grapefruit, Truck Farming, Agriculture, Homestead, Fishing, Cabbage .

Item #22651

Price: $75.00