Lue Gim Gong (; August 24, 1857 – June 3, 1925) was a

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

horticulturalist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. Known as "The Citrus Wizard", he is remembered for his contribution to the

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

-growing industry in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Life

Born in

Taishan, Guangdong Taishan (), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Toishan or Toisan, in local dialect as Hoisan, and formerly known as Xinning or Sunning (), is a county-level city in the southwest of Guangdong province, China. It is administered as part o ...

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

China to a family of farmers, Lue Gim Gong was interested in the United States and the opportunities that lay across the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. After his uncle returned from America when Lue was 15, young Lue pleaded with his parents to let him return with his uncle to America. His parents agreed, giving him a bolt of

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

to sell when he arrived. He lived in a heavily Chinese-populated area in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

until the age of 16 when he moved to

North Adams, Massachusetts North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 12,961 as of the 2020 census. Best known as the ...

, to work at a shoe factory. At the factory, Lue met Fannie Burlingame, who taught his

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

class. When she learned of his skill with plants, she asked him to live with the Burlingames is known to tend their garden. She converted him to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, and helped him become a

United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

on October 4, 1887. Lue had been advised to move to a warmer

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

due to his recent contraction of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. He visited China in 1886. Upon his return, Fannie recommended relocation to

DeLand, Florida DeLand is a city in central Florida. It is the county seat of Volusia County. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. As of the 2020 ...

, where she and her sister owned land. Lue agreed, and in 1885, he was working once again, this time in

groves. When

Ransom Eli Olds Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-power ...

, one of the pioneers of the American automotive industry purchased 37,500 acres of land for development at the end of 1916, he hired Lue Gim Gong, who was already 60 years old at the time, to plan for the farms. Mr. Olds was very pleased with Lue's work and named one of the roads on the farm Gim Gong Road in 1918. The road since witnessed the birth of a beautiful modern seashore urban city of Oldsmar, Florida, over the next 77 years. He died in DeLand on June 3, 1925.

Legacy

* Lue had learned some

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...

techniques from his mother in China, with which he was able to develop an

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

which ripened a month earlier than other varieties, and a

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

plant that grew in clusters. In Florida, he learned to cross-pollinate

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

by watching

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s. He developed a cold-tolerant

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...

that was slower to drop, and grapefruits that grew singularly, rather than in clumps, on the branch, as well as an aromatic variety. * ''Wooden Fish Songs'', by

Ruthanne Lum McCunn Ruthanne Lum McCunn () (née Drysdale; born February 21, 1946) is an American novelist and editor of Chinese and Scottish descent. Early life Ruthanne Lum McCunn was born as Roxey Drysdale on February 21, 1946, in Chinatown, San Francisco and rai ...

, is a historical novel based on Lue's life. * In 1888, Lue

cross-pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

the "Harts late"

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

and "Mediterranean Sweet" orange varieties, which produced a fruit both sweet and

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

-tolerant. Originally considered a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

, the "Lue Gim Gong" orange was later found to be a nucellar seedling of the "Valencia" variety, which is properly called the "'Lue Gim Gong Strain". Distributed by Glen St. Mary Nurseries, the variety was awarded the Silver Wilder Medal by the

American Pomological Society The American Pomological Society was founded by Marshall Pinckney Wilder in 1848, to foster the growing of fruit and the development of new varieties, and is the oldest fruit organization in North America. Publications The organization's primary ...

in 1911, the first such award for citrus fruit. * The "Lue Gim Gong" variety is still grown in Florida as of 2006, but is sold under the general name "Valencia". * Cigar City Brewing in Tampa Florida has dedicated a citrus-forward pale ale to his legacy, appropriately named Lue Gim Gong. * Lue's influence was also felt in his native land China. His name appears in 'The Scientific Database of China Plant Species'. "In the 1940s, the summer-time citrus types such as "Valencia" or "Lue Gim Gong" variety was imported into China. Based on these imported varieties, several new species were developed such as the "Guixia" orange which is widely cultivated in Guangxi Province, and "Wuyuehong" orange, in Jiangjin City of Sichuan Province". *In 2000, Lue was recognized as a “Great Floridian” by the Florida Department of State for his significant contributions to the sunshine state. * In 1994, Gim Gong Road in Oldsmar, Florida, was renamed "Commercial Boulevard" under the pressure of a developer. Mr. Jerry Beverland was a dissenting city council member at the time of this name change. He ran and won the election and became the Mayor of Oldsmar City six years later. He tried to change the name of the road back. However, after consulting with the legal counsel and realizing that it was already part of the business agreement. He then decided to rename another road Gim Gong Road instead. April 9, 2022, several local and national Chinese American community organizations, including the Chinese Cultural Center of Florida, the Tampa Bay Chinese School, Tampa Chinese Association, New York Foundation of Chinese History in the United States, the American Chinese United Association, National Council of Chinese Americans- NCCA, and Utah Chinese Golden Spike Association presented an award plaque to Mayor Jerry Beverland, and also jointly made a donation to the local Historic Society.

References

"Orange"
''Fruits of warm climates'' by Julia F. Morton. Florida Flair Books, 1987. . Retrieved on October 26, 2006.

External links

Lue Gim Gong: A Chinese American Pioneer and the Citrus Wizard of Florida

Lue Gim Gong Collection
at th
University of South Florida
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lue, Gim Gong 1857 births 1925 deaths Qing dynasty emigrants to the United States Converts to Christianity American horticulturists People from Taishan, Guangdong American people of Chinese descent People from Volusia County, Florida Oranges (fruit) Citrus farmers from Florida American orchardists

Life

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links