Tree Capital of the South

Posted on October 21, 2015

By MARK VIOLA / Staff writer

Taylor County has long been known as the “Tree Capital of the South,” and the moniker can be found on official documents of the county’s government as well as the front page of this very newspaper.

This year’s 60th annual Florida Forest Festival, also marks the 50th anniversary of Florida Gov. Hayden Burns’ original declaration calling Taylor County “Tree Capital of the South.”

PHOTO: On Oct. 19, 1965, then Gov. Hayden Burns officially declared Taylor County the “Tree Capital of the South,” a distinction it still holds. Shown above, Burns prepares to brand his signature into a 200-year-old cypress slab which held the proclamation. After the branding, the governor is reported to have turned toward members of the Florida cabinet and asked, “Which one of you are next?” Shown above with Burns (left) are, from l to r: Commissioner of Agriculture Doyle Conner, Florida Forestry Association President Louis Wadsworth and Secretary of State Tom Adams.

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