A Visit To The Babcock Ranch

Today we traveled about 15 miles, mostly up state route 31 toward Arcadia, and visited the Babcock Ranch. This is a 91,000 acre ranch that was originally purchased by the Babcock family around 1914. They had made a lot of money in the lumber business in Pennsylvania, and used some of it to make this land purchase. It is one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in Florida. We boarded the bus that is shown in the picture and took a 90 minute eco-tour of a small part of the ranch.

We saw many native animals and plants. Our guide gave us a lot of information about the area's history, what is being done with it now, and plans for the future. The original purchase was at prices from about 10 to 25 cents per acre. I think it is more expensive today. There are people who live and work on the ranch. Two of the biggest activities are raising cattle and also cultivating sod farms to provide grass for developments all over the state. Typically, there are about 7000 cattle on the ranch at any one time. They only breed and raise them in their early development, then they ship them to other areas (places that have lots of corn and grain) to continue their journey toward "you know what purpose".

The owners have recently made a deal with the state of Florida to take over 74,000 acres that will be kept as a nature preserve. The remaining land, approximately 17,000 acres, will be used to develop an eco- friendly community with houses in lots of different price ranges. It is really quite a project that they have envisioned. Any of you who want to know more should check out their website.

We had a really good time and saw a side of Florida that greeted the early visitors from the northern states. Not a Starbuck's or Skyline Chili in sight.