Jacob Summerlin, Jr. facts for kids
Jacob Summerlin (born February 20, 1820 – died November 4, 1893) was an important person in early Florida history. He was sometimes called the "King of the Crackers" because of his success with cattle. People say he was the first child born in Florida after Spain gave the land to the United States.
Jacob Summerlin is known for helping to settle Florida. He played a big part in starting the main towns, called county seats, for Orange and Polk counties. These towns are now known as Orlando and Bartow. Today, Summerlin Military Academy, a school next to Bartow High School, is named after him.
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Jacob Summerlin: The "King of the Crackers"
Jacob Summerlin made a lot of money early in his life by raising cattle. He worked along the Peace River and Kissimmee River in Florida. Wild cattle, brought to North America by Spanish explorers, roamed freely in these areas. People like Summerlin could catch these cows, raise them, and then sell them. They would sell each cow for about twelve to sixteen dollars.
Summerlin and his business partners had a very successful trade business. They sold cattle to Havana, Cuba, and to the U.S. Naval Base in Key West. Because of this good business, Summerlin first did not want Florida to leave the United States. However, when the American Civil War started, he and his partners secretly sold beef and medicine to the Confederate soldiers. They did this even though the Union army was trying to stop supplies from reaching them.
After the war, the money he earned from the Confederacy became worthless. So, he started selling cattle to the Union soldiers at Fort Myers. During this time, he gathered a huge number of cattle, between 15,000 and 20,000 cows. He was considered one of the richest people in Florida before he turned 40.
In those days, there were no banks like today. Jacob kept his gold and silver money hidden in his cabin. He stored it in trunks, sacks, tin cans, socks, and cigar boxes. He even hid money behind door frames or in the ceiling. He used his wealth to buy large areas of land. These lands stretched from Fort Meade all the way to Fort Myers. He also bought a dock at Punta Rassa and a thousand acres of land nearby. He used this land for cow pens, and he even rented some of them to other cattle ranchers.
Helping Build Florida Cities
Jacob Summerlin was very generous and helped build important parts of Florida. He made big donations in both Bartow and Orlando.
Donations in Bartow
In 1867, Jacob Summerlin gave away 120 acres of land in what is now Bartow. He gave 40 acres for a school, which was named the Summerlin Institute. This school is now known as Bartow High School, founded in 1887. He also gave 40 acres for the county seat to be built there. A county seat is the main town where the county government offices are located. He also donated 20 acres for each of the town's two churches, the Methodist and Baptist churches.
On top of the land, Summerlin personally gave $1,100.00 to help build Bartow's first two-story building. This building held both the Masonic lodge and the school.
Donations in Orlando
Summerlin also owned land in Orange County, where he opened the Summerlin Hotel. In 1868, Orlando's wooden courthouse burned down. Some people wanted to move the county seat to Sanford, which was a bigger town at the time. General Henry Sanford tried hard to get the county seat moved to Sanford. He even offered free land for a new courthouse during a public meeting in 1875.
Jacob Summerlin was in the audience that day. Legend says that after General Sanford finished speaking, Summerlin stood up and made his own offer. He said that the county seat was already in Orlando because most settlers wanted it there. He then offered to build a $10,000 courthouse himself. He said if the county could pay him back, that was fine, but if not, that was okay too.
The county accepted his offer, and they paid him back over ten years. Later that year, Orlando officially became a city with 85 people. On August 4, Jacob Summerlin was part of the first Orlando City Council and served as its president.
Summerlin also gave a large piece of land for a beautiful park in Orlando. In 1883, he offered the land around a lake to the city council. He had one condition: the city had to make it beautiful and turn it into a park. He also required them to plant trees and build a "driveway" around the lake. To make sure the city followed his rules, Summerlin added special clauses to the contract. These clauses allowed his family to get the property back if the city did not keep its promises. That park is still kept beautiful today, just as he wanted. His son, Judge Robert L. Summerlin, who was mayor of Orlando, named the lake Lake Eola. He named it after a woman he was going to marry, who sadly passed away.
Jacob Summerlin died on November 4, 1893, at the age of 73. He was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Bartow.
