Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Indian River oranges, one of Florida's most outstanding products were developed in the 19th century by Douglas Dummett. The Dummett family immigrated from the Barbados in 1807. By 1825, Thomas Dummett had acquired sugar plantations on the east coast of Florida. His son Douglas (B. 1806) established his plantation in this part of Merritt Island and began to grow oranges. Dummett used a new grafting technique later widely adopted in Florida. He grafted buds from sweet orange trees onto his sour orange trees. This method produced frost-resistant trees and was called top-grafting because budding began several feet above ground. Unlike many coastal planters, Dummett did not abandon his property during the Second Seminole War (1835-42). He served as captain in the "Mosquito Roarers," a Floirda Militia company formed to protect property in this area from Indian raids. Dummett continued to cultivate what were regarded as East Florida's most valuable orange groves until his death in 1873. He also held elective and appointive political offices. The Dummett groves were damaged beyond recovery in the 1893 hurricane and the freeze of 1894-95. The property became part of Kennedy Space Center in 1963.