July 1 – October 1, 2023

Before oranges, Treasure Coast was ‘Pineapple Capital of the World’

Historically along the Indian River, pineapples have been grown since before the 1850’s!

When local pioneer John Jensen came to the area in the later half of the 19th century, it took only 10 years for Jensen Beach to be called the “Pineapple Capital of the World”.

According to “History of Martin County” compiled by Janet Hutchinson:

“The success of Richards’s crop — ‘which grew like wildfire’ on the sandy ridge along the Indian River — led later settlers to plant their fields with ‘pines.’ For the next 30 years, the cultivation of pineapples was the principal activity for the young settlement, attracting an increasing number of farmers who, in turn, were followed by field hands, tradesmen, craftsmen and professionals. Had it not been for Hoke and Richards and their pineapples, Stuart might have been only empty land waiting for ‘development’ in the great 1925 boom period.”

Once Richards established a house among the “pineapples,” he was joined by his wife Rebecca and their younger children. The family subsequently became strong promoters of the area, helping to organize the Indian River and Lake Worth Pineapple Growers Association, for which Thomas Richards served as its first president.

In the early 1880s, Danish born John Lawrence Jensen visited the area from Wheeling, Va. He was so impressed that upon returning to Wheeling, he applied to the federal government for Homestead Settler Rights to much of the land what was later to make up the community of Jensen.

There were few settlers in the area at the time. He received his grant in 1888, and with the help of Indian and Bahamian workers, Jensen began clearing land and planting pineapples with slips he had purchased from Thomas Richards.

Within a few years, pineapple plantations ranging in size from five to 600 acres extended along the sand ridge from Sebastian to Hobe Sound, and Jensen became known as the “Pineapple Capital.”

Frosts and freezes, the worst occurring in 1895, occasionally set the industry back, but it revived. During the peak years of the industry, the area was said to produce a million crates of pineapples annually.

Learn more about the growth and prosperity as well as the demise of the industry. 

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