Shortly before the turn of the century until the late 1930’s Seminole County’s pine lands were dotted throughout with numerous small turpentine distilleries or “stills”. These stills produced turpentine, tar, pitch and rosin grouped under the name of “naval stores”. This term refers to the use of these products as caulking for the seams in wooden ships and treatment of their ropes.
As wooden ships were phased out in the late 19th century the increased need for turpentine in solvents, paints and as Spirits of Turpentine for medicinal purposed kept naval store’s products in demand.
Beginning in the 1870’s through the late 1930’s lumbering and turpentining became an important industry in Seminole County. Large numbers of workers were required to slash the pine trees, gather the gum in cups placed below the slash and transport it to the still where the gum was heated to separate the turpentine from the tar and rosin, After a tree was no longer productive for gum, it was cut for lumber.
Areas associated with the turpentine industry along the Wekiva River basin were: Paola, Sylvan Lake, Markham, Glen Ethel / Island Lake and Longwood. To the east Geneva, Snow Hill, Gabriella and Chuluota rivaled the Wekiva River basin operations.
Names associated with the turpentine business in the Wekiva river basin area were: Markham, Overstreet Turpentine Company and the Spencer Turpentine Distillery. Musselwhite, Brown, McIntosh and Curry operated in the eastern part of the county.
To learn more about the slashing of pine trees, distilling the gum and the communities that supported this industry visit the turpentine display in the Museum of Seminole County History.