Carbur is a former
company town
A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...
developed by the lumber industry in
Taylor County, Florida
Taylor County is a county located in the Big Bend region in the northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,796. Its county seat is Perry. The county hosts the annual Florida Forest Festival and h ...
, which operated several
lumber camps around the settlement. Carbur is named for the two companies that collaborated to exploit the swampy area's
cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...
forests:
Carpenter-O'Brien Lumber Company and
Burton-Swartz Lumber Company.
Background
In 1917, Carpenter-O'Brien sold its Florida operations to the
Brooks-Scanlon Corporation after a damaging fire at its
Jacksonville sawmill. Brooks-Scanlon negotiated with the
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...
for lumber transport but to no avail. In 1928, it removed its sawmill and rebuilt it south of
Perry, Florida
Perry is a city in Taylor County, Florida, Taylor County, Florida, United States. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 7,017.
It is the county seat. The city was named for Madison Perry, fourth Governors of Florida, Gov ...
in the town of
Foley, Florida, named for the president of Brooks-Scanlon J.S. Foley.
[
The State of Florida photographic archives include images of logging operations and rail engines operating in the Cabur area. Skidders were used to stack logs. A 1914 letter in Florida health department publication Florida Health Notes lauded a doctors effors to improve health conditions at the lumber camp. In the 1916 State Board of Health annual report it was noted the entire area around Carbur was swampy and malaria was a problem. Screens and clearing around the settlement as well as upgraded healthcare services were recommended.]
Further reading
*Buckeye Fiberscope by Louise Childers, March 1975
*Memoirs of an Octogenarian by Samuel Gilbert Register
*Carbur; The Town That Logs Built by Russell Tedder
References
External links
Florida Historical Quarterly April 1985
(pdf file) Burton-Wartz Cypress Company of Florida by Drew Harrington pages 423 - 433
{{authority control
Company towns in Florida