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Wilson and Toomer Fertilizer Company Records, 1925-1968, 1974, 1977, 1989, 2002

 

Summary

Extent:
1.25 Linear Feet
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

The Wilson and Toomer Fertilizer Company Records contains materials related to the company presumably collected by donor Vaughn Woods. This collection contains 6 series: Correspondence, Financial, Holly Hill Groves & Fruit Company, Personnel, Projects, Publications by Wilson and Toomer. The Correspondence series contains letters from Vaughn Woods in regards to publications received by the company as well as a company produced memorandum in regards to a cold wave in 1948. This series was organized chronologically. The Financial series contains pricing schedules for fertilizer for Wilson and Toomer as well as financial statements. This series was organized chronologically. The Holly Hill Grove & Fruit Company series contains materials from this subsidiary of the Wilson and Toomer Fertilizer Company. Included are materials such as a crate label used by the company, histories of the company, as well as information about the foreclosure of the company in 1936. This series was organized alphabetically based on subject. The Personnel series includes a personnel list from the 1980s that included members from the past and present as well as photographs of some personnel. This series was organized alphabetically based on subject. The Projects series contains notes, reports, procedures, and photographs of experiments conducted by the company from primarily in the 1930s and 1950s. Two main projects were in fertilizer testing and soil testing. The primary researcher was soil chemist W.L. Tait with some later experiments performed by soil chemist Vaughn Woods. This series was organized alphabetically based on subject. The Publications by Wilson and Toomer series contains booklets and brochures produced by the company from the 1920s to 1950s. The bulk of the publications were written by Col. Bayard F. Floyd, a horticulturalist and Vice President of the company. This series was organized alphabetically based on subject.

Biographical / historical:

The Wilson and Toomer Fertilizer Company was founded in Jacksonville, Florida in 1893 by Lorenzo A. Wilson and Wiley G. Toomer. In 1905, the company built one of the country's largest fertilizer plants on Talleyrand Avenue in Jacksonville. The company would later build their corporate offices there as well. The company grew into multiple locations across the state including Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers, Bradenton, Davenport, and multiple sales offices. As part of this expansion, the company also developed multiple subsidiaries through the years including Cherokee Operating Co., Ideal Grove Service, Grapefruit Distributors Inc., Florida Agricultural Supply Co., Cartledge Fertilizer Company, and Holly Hill Grove and Fruit Company. The Wilson and Toomer Fertilizer Company remained open until the late 1950s, and the fertilizer plant on Talleyrand Avenue closed in 1978.

Acquisition information:
Based on Professor Thomas Mack's unpublished manuscript "Documented History of the Florida Citrus Archives," the bulk of these materials are presumed to have been donated by Janey Powell, daughter of Vaughn Woods, alongside the Vaughn Woods Papers collection; however, it is unknown exactly when the materials in this collection were donated to the Citrus Archives. The Thomas B. Mack Citrus Archives were transferred to the Roux Library in 2005 then to the McKay Archives Center in 2009.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Terms of access:

Permission to publish material from the Wilson and Toomer Fertilizer Company Records must be obtained from Sarah D. and L. Kirk McKay, Jr. Archives Center or the appropriate copyright holder. Please inquire if you have questions at 863-680-4453.

Location of this collection:
Florida Southern College
111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr.
Lakeland
FL
33801
USA