JACOB SUMMERLIN
Name: Jacob Summerlin
Born: 20 February 1820
Died: 4 November 1893
Jacob Summerlin (February 20, 1820 - November 4, 1893) also known as the King of
the Crackers and King of the Cracker Cow Hunters was reputed to be the first
child born in Florida after the land was ceded by Spain.
He is known for his contributions to the early settlement of Florida, and
especially for founding the county seats of Orange and Polk counties, which are
Orlando and Bartow, respectively. In the years prior to the Civil War, he was a
slaveowner.
Born in Alachua County, Florida, Jacob learned to ride a horse and crack a whip
by the age of seven. His father raised a few cattle. When Jacob turned 16, his
father gave him a few calves, and he made his way south into the wide open
ranges of Central Florida. He earned much of his early fortune raising cattle in
the Peace and Kissimmee river valleys. Wild cattle brought to North America by
the Spanish conquistadors now roamed free across these vast stretches of land;
enterpreneurs could capture, breed, drive and sell these cows for twelve to
sixteen dollars each. Summerlin and his business partners (called crackers after
the long whips they used to drive the cows) developed a lucrative trade with
Havana and with the US Naval Base at Key West.
He amassed a fortune of 15,000 to 20,000 of head of cattle during this period,
and was considered one of the wealthiest Floridians before he reached age 40. In
this pre-banking era, Jacob kept his gold and silver at his cabin in trunks,
meal sacks, tin meat cans, woolen socks, cigar boxes, behind door frames, in the
rafters, or tossed in a corner. He used his wealth to purchase large tracts of
land sprawling from Fort Meade to Fort Myers. He bought a wharf at Punta Rassa
and a thousand acres (4 km�) nearby for cow pens, some of which he rented to
other cattlemen.
During the American Civil War, he was a blockade runner who smuggled beef and
medicine to Confederate troops. He and his partners reportedly moved their
shipping dock to Live Oak Point (present day Charlotte Harbor) where they could
load their ships out of sight of the Union gun ships located at Boca Grande Pass.
With Confederate money he earned, Summerlin bought the 160 acre Blount homestead,
much of which would later be given to Polk County. After Confederate money
became worthless, he began selling cattle to the Union soldiers at Fort Myers.
In 1865, after the American Civil War, Summerlin requested pardon from US
President Andrew Jackson. A Unionist by his own admission, in his pardon request
he claimed that he sold his "beeves" (beef) to Cuba at a hefty price, rather
than to the Confederacy which was paying much less per head.
He claimed that during the war his operation was halted and he was "forced" to
join the Cow Cavalry, serving in Captain Francis A. Hendry's Company A in the Ft.
Meade area. In his request, he maintained that he "never fired a shot at a U.S.
Citizen", obviously referring to Union soldiers. In 1867, he donated 120 acres (0.5
km²) of the Blount homestead land in the present-day town of Bartow: 40 acres
for an institution of learning (aptly named the Summerlin Institute, now called
Bartow High School, founded 1887), 40 acres for establishment of a county seat,
and 20 acres for each of the town's two churches (Methodist and Baptist). He
also personally donated $1100.00 for construction of Bartow's first two story
building which housed the Masonic lodge and school.
Summerlin also owned land in Orange County where he opened the Summerlin Hotel.
When Orlando's wooden courthouse burned in 1868, there was pressure to move the
county seat to the then-larger town of Sanford. Summerlin offered to lend $10,000
to the county if it would locate their new brick courthouse and county seat in
Orlando, whether or not the county repaid him. The county accepted his offer and
repaid him over a 10 year period. It was also Summerlin who donated a large
tract of land in order for a fine park to be established in Orlando. That park
is still maintained to his orders of it being kept beautiful. His sons named it
Lake Eola, after a lady they both knew. In 1875, Orlando became incorporated
under Florida law; on August 4th, Jacob Summerlin sat on the first Orlando City
Council acting as Council president.
He died on November 4, 1893, aged 73, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in
Bartow.
Name: Jacob Summerlin
Born: 20 February 1820
Died: 4 November 1893
Jacob Summerlin (February 20, 1820 - November 4, 1893) also known as the King of
the Crackers and King of the Cracker Cow Hunters was reputed to be the first
child born in Florida after the land was ceded by Spain.
He is known for his contributions to the early settlement of Florida, and
especially for founding the county seats of Orange and Polk counties, which are
Orlando and Bartow, respectively. In the years prior to the Civil War, he was a
slaveowner.
Born in Alachua County, Florida, Jacob learned to ride a horse and crack a whip
by the age of seven. His father raised a few cattle. When Jacob turned 16, his
father gave him a few calves, and he made his way south into the wide open
ranges of Central Florida. He earned much of his early fortune raising cattle in
the Peace and Kissimmee river valleys. Wild cattle brought to North America by
the Spanish conquistadors now roamed free across these vast stretches of land;
enterpreneurs could capture, breed, drive and sell these cows for twelve to
sixteen dollars each. Summerlin and his business partners (called crackers after
the long whips they used to drive the cows) developed a lucrative trade with
Havana and with the US Naval Base at Key West.
He amassed a fortune of 15,000 to 20,000 of head of cattle during this period,
and was considered one of the wealthiest Floridians before he reached age 40. In
this pre-banking era, Jacob kept his gold and silver at his cabin in trunks,
meal sacks, tin meat cans, woolen socks, cigar boxes, behind door frames, in the
rafters, or tossed in a corner. He used his wealth to purchase large tracts of
land sprawling from Fort Meade to Fort Myers. He bought a wharf at Punta Rassa
and a thousand acres (4 km�) nearby for cow pens, some of which he rented to
other cattlemen.
During the American Civil War, he was a blockade runner who smuggled beef and
medicine to Confederate troops. He and his partners reportedly moved their
shipping dock to Live Oak Point (present day Charlotte Harbor) where they could
load their ships out of sight of the Union gun ships located at Boca Grande Pass.
With Confederate money he earned, Summerlin bought the 160 acre Blount homestead,
much of which would later be given to Polk County. After Confederate money
became worthless, he began selling cattle to the Union soldiers at Fort Myers.
In 1865, after the American Civil War, Summerlin requested pardon from US
President Andrew Jackson. A Unionist by his own admission, in his pardon request
he claimed that he sold his "beeves" (beef) to Cuba at a hefty price, rather
than to the Confederacy which was paying much less per head.
He claimed that during the war his operation was halted and he was "forced" to
join the Cow Cavalry, serving in Captain Francis A. Hendry's Company A in the Ft.
Meade area. In his request, he maintained that he "never fired a shot at a U.S.
Citizen", obviously referring to Union soldiers. In 1867, he donated 120 acres (0.5
km²) of the Blount homestead land in the present-day town of Bartow: 40 acres
for an institution of learning (aptly named the Summerlin Institute, now called
Bartow High School, founded 1887), 40 acres for establishment of a county seat,
and 20 acres for each of the town's two churches (Methodist and Baptist). He
also personally donated $1100.00 for construction of Bartow's first two story
building which housed the Masonic lodge and school.
Summerlin also owned land in Orange County where he opened the Summerlin Hotel.
When Orlando's wooden courthouse burned in 1868, there was pressure to move the
county seat to the then-larger town of Sanford. Summerlin offered to lend $10,000
to the county if it would locate their new brick courthouse and county seat in
Orlando, whether or not the county repaid him. The county accepted his offer and
repaid him over a 10 year period. It was also Summerlin who donated a large
tract of land in order for a fine park to be established in Orlando. That park
is still maintained to his orders of it being kept beautiful. His sons named it
Lake Eola, after a lady they both knew. In 1875, Orlando became incorporated
under Florida law; on August 4th, Jacob Summerlin sat on the first Orlando City
Council acting as Council president.
He died on November 4, 1893, aged 73, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in
Bartow.