You’ll find Lawtey tucked into Bradford County’s piney flatwoods, a skeletal remnant of what was once a thriving citrus empire founded by thirty Chicagoans who fled south in 1877 seeking warmth and prosperity. Captain Thomas Burrin’s donated acres transformed into an exclusive settlement complete with cotton gins and orange groves until the devastating 1894-1895 freeze shattered everything—turning fruit to ice and land values from $1,000 to $10 per acre. Today, just 704 souls remain among the echoes of gang violence, failed strawberry crops, and notorious speed traps that tell a darker story.
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11.1 What Happened to the Descendants of the Original Chicago Settlers?…