In the early 1900s, one of Polk County’s main goals was to make fruit look as ap-peel-ing as possible. Our little agricultural county was beginning its blossom into a total epicenter of citrus — an industry now worth billions. Although we know our oranges speak for themselves, the boxes that carried them needed a little extra pizzazz.

You can find this citrus label on display at the Lake Wales History Museum. | Photo via Lakeland Public Library

Lithographers and publishers worked with artists to create labels that told the story of both citrus and the Florida way of life. These whimsical labels adorned wooden crates shipped by growers, catching the eye of buyers and curious out-of-towners.

The label designs held meaning for buyers, with certain images, brand names, and colors indicating everything from fruit quality to origin. They often showcased themes like plant life, adventure, historical sites, and animals.

After a 60-year run, the citrus crate labels started torun out of pulp, so to speak. Shortages of wood and metal at the end of World War II brought about the invention of cardboard boxes with pre-printed brand names.

Find the “Polk ‘O’ Dot” Citrus Label at The Polk County History Center in Bartow. | Photo by @visitcentralfl

Although these labels are mostly a thing of the past, you can take a self-guided driving tour of vintage labels on 23 buildings and sites in Polk County — we even mapped them out for you. There are three sites with labels in Lakeland:

Tigertown Complex (there are four to find here)
Florida Southern College, outside the McKay Archives
Florida Air Museum, at the intersection of James C. Ray Drive and Tom Mack Drive