Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: In 1885, Hamilton Disston, Pennsylvania industrialist and pioneer Florida promoter, established an extensive experimental sugar plantation on the drained lands around St. Cloud. The enterprise, part of Disston's promotional scheme, prospered for several years and operated its own cane mill. After the abolition of the federal bounty on domestic sugar, the business failed and much of the machinery was sold for scrap. The failure caused large scale sugar planting in Florida to be abandoned for many years.