George Lindley Taber, Sr.
(1854-1912)

Died aged c. 58

George Lindley Taber, Sr., was born in 1854. In 1881 he came to Florida from Chicago, purchased a tract of land outside of Glen St. Mary and began to plant an orchard. He formed a short-lived partnership with Thomas Beath in 1882 and began the Glen Saint Mary Nursery Company, starting with 1,600 acres of abandoned cotton fields. Taber became a charter member of the Florida State Horticulture Society and served as its president. After the freeze of the late 1890s, he determined to develop cold-tolerant plants and learn new ways to protect plants from the cold. The nursery expanded to a second South Florida location and supplied plants throughout the southeastern United States, and to Central and South America, China, India, Spain and Russia. The Rio Grande Valley of Texas began growing citrus with Glen St. Mary stock. The satsuma orange, the temple orange, the kumquat, the weaver dogwood and the magnolia St. Mary all had their origin at the Glen Saint Mary Nursery, as did the George L. Taber azalea. The Glen St. Mary Nursery continues as one of the largest employers in the community. George Lindley Taber died in 1912.

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