Before
being enveloped in the latter half of the 20th Century by its neighbors (New
Port Richey and Holiday), Elfers, Florida participated in the citrus industry
in West Florida.
“Elf,”
“Gulf,” “Tavern,” “Whoopee,” and “Elfers Winner” fruit labels came from Elfers
citrus groves owned by two main companies, the Elfers Citrus Growers
Association and Sans Souci Growers. The farmers and growers of the Elfers area
made up a tight-knit community in the early 20th Century, which outsiders
viewed as little more than a small crossroads-town at the west end of Florida
Highway 54.
Early
on, Elfers was characterized by the richness of the soil in the area, a mixture
of Norfolk Sand and muckland. The soil was so good for citrus, one paper
claimed, that Elfers was a “poor man’s country for citrus fruit growing,” and
that “The people of this section of Florida do not know how to grow citrus
fruit; it grows simply because it can’t keep from growing.”
In
1966, however, the Elfers Citrus Growers Association packing house was
destroyed in a fire that reportedly caused over $250,000 in damage; less than a
third of it was insured. Following the destruction of the packing house, the
citrus industry declined in Elfers. Today, while citrus plants still grow in the area, almost all of the town has been developed into residential communities.
The
name ‘Elfers’ originated from the former name of the area, which was a Native
American hunting ground called Alafia. Sam Hope surveyed the land in the 1840s,
allowing the land to be sold to white settlers. Soon after, the Baillie family
settled the area. The land was subsequently referred to by several names
(Baillie’s Bluff, Alfiers, The Neck, and Sapling Woods, among others) until the
residents of the area organized.
The
foundation of an official municipality was assisted by the establishment of the
Elfers Post Office in 1909, the connection of a railroad in 1913, and the Association of Elfers Citrus Growers in 1920.
Elfers
as it is known today contains several historic sites within its limits: Perrine
Ranch Road Bridge, which crosses the Anclote River; the Elfers Historical
Marker, which recognizes the town as a whole; the Baker house, the oldest
“cracker house” in western Pasco County (restored in 1993); and the First State
Bank of Elfers Building.
In
1925, the City of Elfers was officially incorporated, but only lasted for eight
years. In 1926, during the Florida land boom, the State Bank failed, and in
1932, during the Great Depression, taxes were bad enough for growers that they
filed to abolish the City of Elfers, a motion which passed the Florida Senate
and took effect in July of 1933.
Today,
while Elfers still exists as a census-designated place and not an incorporated
municipality, addresses north of Moog Road—which runs east-to-west through the
lower two-thirds of the town—have New Port Richey addresses, and those south of
Moog Road have Holiday addresses.
According
to public maps, the most easily-identifiable borders of contemporary Elfers are
Interstate 19 as the western edge and the Anclote River and surrounding forest
on the south and east edges. The north border aligns with neighborhood borders
and may have to do with school district zoning, as public schools lay on or
near those limits.
The
boundaries of Elfers can also be imagined through county district maps.
Comparing public maps to the regional, government-zoned regions, Elfers can be
seen taking up most of Precincts 15 and 57, as well as roughly half of Precinct
58. Elfers is dominated by school District 3, but its northeasternmost
neighborhoods are part of District 4.
Written By: Peter Edgar
Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame
In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center
