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Chapin, George M., FLORIDA 1513-1913, Past, Present and Future, Four Hundred Years of Wars and Peace and Industrial Development, 1914, Vol. 1, 742 pp. 615-616

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

This county has an area of 1,546 square miles. Its population in 1890 was 7,961, in 1900 it was 10,928 and in 1910 it was 14,897, indicating a healthful growth through the

last two decades.

The county extends from the State of Alabama to the gulf. Its area is about one and one-half times that of the State of Rhode Island, and almost as large as Delaware. Until the

year 1902, less than five thousand of its million acres of land were under cultivation. Large tracts are owned by sawmill and turpentine operators, much of which is for sale

subject to the removal of the merchantable timber.

The soil products include every variety grown in this latitude,  and special attention lias been given to the cultivation of the fig, peach and grape. The soil is almost ideal for

market gardening and a long list of vegetables is produced here. It is one of the greatest sheep-producing sections of the state, and cattle-raising is an important industry.

Milton is the county seat. It is located near the southern border; it is also an increasingly important commercial center.