09/16/2026
From Grove to Railroad: The Chase & Company Packing House
Before Winter Park’s oranges reached tables across America, they made an important stop. Beside the railroad tracks, packing houses bustled with machinery, hammering crates, and workers preparing freshly picked citrus for its journey beyond Florida.
As the citrus industry expanded in the late 1800s, packing houses connected local groves to national markets. Fruit arrived from across the area to be sorted, packed, and loaded onto freight cars. By 1915, Winter Park’s packing houses shipped nearly 1,000 railroad cars of citrus each year.
One of the city’s earliest packing operations was Chase & Company, founded in 1884 by brothers Sydney and Joshua Chase. The local enterprise grew into one of Central Florida’s leading citrus businesses, operating groves, packing houses, and shipping facilities throughout the region. In 1886, the company acquired the 1,300-acre Isleworth Grove in Windermere, where the Chase family remained involved in citrus for nearly a century.
Inside the packing house, each orange passed through many hands. After arriving in wooden grove boxes, the fruit was inspected and sorted by size and quality. The best oranges were washed, waxed, wrapped in colorful printed tissue, and packed into wooden crates bearing the grower’s brand.
Women commonly sorted, wrapped, and packed fruit, while men often operated machinery, built crates, and loaded railcars. African American workers were essential throughout the process—from harvesting oranges and constructing crates to packing fruit for shipment. Even fruit unsuitable for sale could find another purpose as livestock feed and, later, juice.
Once the crates were sealed and loaded, the railroad carried Winter Park citrus to consumers across the country. The packing houses—and the people who kept them running—helped build a product and reputation that extended far beyond Florida.
The story of Chase & Company is just one chapter in Winter Park’s rich citrus history. Discover more in Golden Roots: The Citrus Legacy of Winter Park, now open at the Winter Park History Museum.
