Plant City Florida Historical Information

Plant City has a long and rich history, having been built on the site of a Native American village.

Originally the community was called Ichepucksassa (also known as Idasukshed) for the name of the village where it rose. The name was so difficult to pronounce that the postmaster of the town changed it to Cork, which had been his home town, in about 1864. The name changed again a few years after, to Plant City.

While many people think that the town was named for the plant life, such as the strawberries and citrus groves that it is famed for, in reality it was not.

Plant City Florida was named for a quite prominent railroad developer who helped to build the area, Henry Plant. In the beginning, Plant city was a large center of cotton, but after the Civil War era, the primary crop of the area became strawberries, for which the town became famed and it has gained recognition also for its annual Strawberry Festival that garners visitors from many countries.

Henry Plants railway helped to get all of the local fruits to market while they were still viable and as such, the town was named in his honor.