Dade County FlArchives Biographies.....Roberts, E. C. August 16, 1872 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/flfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Nancy Rayburn http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00025.html#0006128 October 27, 2015, 9:23 pm Source: Vol. II pg.119-120 The Lewis Publishing Co. 1923 Author: History of Florida, Past and Present E. C. ROBERTS. One of the finest if not the finest citrus growers in Florida is the sixty acre plantation of grape fruit, oranges and avocados southwest of Larkins in Dade County owned by E. C. ROBERTS. Mr. Roberts is a native of Florida, had some experience in growing citrus fruit as a boy, but for over twenty years was a resident of the frozen north under the midnight sun, where he endured the hardships that earned every dollar of the comfortable fortune he brought out of the gold fields of Alaska. Mr. Roberts was born at Lake City, Columbia County, August 16, 1872, son of B. S. and ADA (PAYNE) ROBERTS. His parents were also born in Florida and are now deceased. Mr. Roberts was reared and educated in Florida, and at the age of twenty his adventuresome spirit led him to leave home and go to California. He spent three years in the mining region in the northern part of that state, and in 1897 joined the gold rush to Alaska. He went by way of Skagway, where he was introduced to some of the famous characters who made the wild history of that community, and from there he went on to Dawson City at the time of the Klondike strike. He was in the Klondike about a year, and during the Koyuk excitement, in 1898, went down the Yukon and for a number of months prospected along the tributaries of that river and for three months of that time was on the headwaters of Osina River in the wilds alone. He finally reached Nome practically penniless. The tide of fortune turned for him around Nome, and he worked and acquired several valuable properties and for a time did mining on a large scale, operating dredges for the recovery of gold from the Bering Sea. It was his special good fortune while at Nome to find his wife. Mr. Roberts still owns property in Nome. While there he met Miss PAULINE LOUISE WIDMANN, whose name will go down in history as the first white woman at Nome. She was born in Germany, was reared in St. Louis, and lived for a time at San Francisco. She was then attracted to Alaska after the discovery of gold in that country, and reached Nome in June, 1899. Mrs. Roberts is a sister of FREDERICK WIDMANN, a distinguished architect of St. Louis. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts were married in 1902 at Counsel City, about seventy-five miles above Nome. They bought an old homestead of 160 acres there, and lived near Kucamapa Hot Springs. While Mr. Roberts continued his mining operations he also did some practical farming in Alaska, since it was possible to grow vegetables and other crops during the three months of continuous sunshine. At the close of the season, in September, 1918, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts came out of Alaska, spending some time at Seattle and in California, and in November of that year they arrived in Dade County, Florida, and located on the 100 acres of land which Mr. Roberts had purchased about 1915. This land is located a mile southwest of Larkins, and some of the earlier plantings of grapefruit and other fruits have reached the bearing stage, so that Mr. Roberts is growing citrus fruit on a commercial scale. He has a large tract of grape fruit, about twenty-seven acres altogether, some sixteen acres of oranges, and fifteen acres of avocados. On a somewhat smaller scale he has also been a tomato grower. This property represents a large investment, requires a large organization to handle the trees and the fruit, and it is scarcely beyond the mark to say that it is one of the largest as well as finest citrus grove properties owned by an individual in South Florida. On plans drawn by Mrs. Roberts’ brother, FREDERICK WIDMANN, one of the finest country homes in Dade County is under construction by Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, a home costing upwards of $40,000 and containing every modern convenience and appointment. The structural material is native coral rock. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/dade/photos/bios/roberts227bs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/dade/bios/roberts227bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/flfiles/ File size: 4.6 Kb