Folkway #19: Wealth

So, how did Central Florida's pioneers measure wealth?


The simple answer is they measured it just as we do today, in dollars and cents.  But, nothing is as simple as it first sounds or appears.


There was actually very little currency floating around the frontier.  Only the commodity brokers who traveled from farm to farm and ranch to ranch buying livestock and produce actually carried any sizeable amounts of cash.  And, even they usually carried Spanish pieces-of-eight rather than U.S. currency.


Most folks just bartered with their neighbors for day-to-day purchases.


Of course, cash was king when it came to acquiring land and cattle, the two real measures of a pioneer's wealth on the Central Florida frontier.


The problem was that many of these pioneers ended up being "land rich" and "cash poor."  They might be worth a hundred thousand dollars on paper, and barely have two nickels to rub together because their wealth was tied-up in their farms and ranches.


This became a particular problem when they had to pay property taxes.  Many times, when a pioneer didn't have the cash to pay his bill, the tax collector would seize a portion of his herd to cover what was owed.  (It was just this situation that sparked the bloody Barber-Mizell Feud here in 1870, but that's a tale for another day.)


Frontier society was based on wealth, ranked as follows:


1. Large-scale planters - again they might have more property than cash, but they still wielded the most economic, political, and social influence.


2. Professionals - doctors, lawyers, engineers, clergy, soldiers/sailors, and (as in the case of Pine Castle's own Will Wallace Harney) journalists.


3. Small farmers - the bulk of the population, who eked out a small profit if they could avoid natural disasters.


4. Tenant farmers - enjoyed a certain degree of stability, but typically produced just enough for subsistence.


5. Laborers - owned no real property, and led a more itinerant lifestyle as they followed the work that fed them.


If you'd like to learn more about pioneer life, the Pine Castle Pioneer Days festival continues today at Cypress Grove Park on Holden Avenue.  The event begins with an 8am sunrise service, featuring "circuit riding preacher" Brad Staton.   For more information visit www.pinecastlepioneerdays.org or call 407-427-9692.