Historic Hallstrom Farmstead
Posted by: Markerman62
N 27° 34.262 W 080° 22.478
17R E 561730 N 3049840
Located at 1723 Southwest Old Dixie Highway, Vero Beach
Waymark Code: WM10C0P
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 04/10/2019
Views: 3
In the early 1900s, Swedish immigrant and horticulturist Axel Hallstrom sought the warm climate of Florida for his wife's health and moved to this area to from tropical trees and fruits. He first planted pineapples on his new farmstead, in the area known as the olden Ridge, but gradually converted the plantation into a citrus grove. By 1918, Hallstrom had completed his brick home. In the 1930s, he became director of the St. Lucie County Bank and kept it open during the Great Depression. Due to his dedication and support of Swedish-American relations during the 1930s and through World War II, the King of Sweden awarded Hallstrom the Royal Order of Vasa in 1958. Hallstrom's only child, Ruth, continued her father's legacy of involvement in the community. She traveled by boat from Oslo, Florida, up the Indian River to teach in a one-room school house in Orchid. Upon her death in 1999, Ruth bequeathed the house to the Indian River Historical Society, and in 2002, the Hallstrom House was listed on the National Register of Historical Places. In 2015, pineapple slips from some of Hallstrom's original plants came home to the Golden Ridge, and were replanted on the Hallstrom Farmstead.
Marker Number: F-1022
Date: 2018
County: Indian River
Marker Type: Roadside
Sponsored or placed by: The Indian River County Historical Society, Tourist Development County of Indian River, and the Florida Department of State
Website: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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