Abstract
During the first half of the 20th century, forest products and livestock were major parts of the Florida economy. Large lumber and naval stores firms were extracting huge amounts of yellow pine lumber and turpentine from Florida’s extensive forests and cattle barons were marketing cattle which they had grown on wide expanses of open range. That Florida was the leading producer of naval stores by the early 20th century is also comparatively wellknown. 1 Much less has been written about the small businessmen who played important roles in the development of diversified local economies by investing in and operating naval stores, lumbering, and ranching operations. In the naval stores industry, for example, they owned or leased the right to farm oleoresin, hired and supervised the crews of turpentiners, ran commissaries to supply the crews’ daily needs, and built and operated camps to house them. Although they operated on a much smaller scale than did the Putnam Lumber Company and other such firms, they were versatile businessmen who were willing to take risks and act upon opportunities as they arose. Typical of those entrepreneurs was Andrew Dias Poppell of Taylor County.
Recommended Citation
Burkley, Margaret N.
(1995)
"Andrew Dias Poppell, 1894-1955: A Taylor County Entrepreneur,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 74:
No.
3, Article 5.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol74/iss3/5
