Martin County, Florida
The story of Jensen Beach
Everything below is a single verifiable claim with a citation attached. Where the record is a local legend rather than a document, it says so.
founding
How it started
- 1881
John Laurence Jensen, a Danish immigrant, planted a pineapple plantation here in 1881 and the town grew from it.
etymology
How it got its name
-
The town carries its founder's name - Jensen, the Dane who planted the first pineapples.
industry
What it lived on
- 1920
Pineapples, then nothing. The Florida East Coast Railway reached the town by 1894 and let growers load freight direct; a severe freeze in 1895, fires in 1908 and 1910, and mounting debt finished the industry by 1920, after which growers turned to citrus.
claim to fame
What it is known for
- 1895
By 1895 Jensen was called the Pineapple Capital of the World, shipping more than a million boxes a year in the June and July season.
landmark
What still stands
-
Jensen Sea Turtle Beach, nesting ground for loggerhead, leatherback and green sea turtles, barricaded in sections through the nesting season.
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The Indian River Lagoon along the town's eastern edge.