Florida City State Farmers Market

state farmers market and packing houses · Florida City

Opened

1940

Community

Florida City · municipality

Status as of 11 September 2026

operating

Historical state

pre Andrew

Connections

6 edges, 6 distinct neighbours · betweenness 0.019 (rank 25 of 371) · moves and capital only 0.000 (rank 97)

Confidence

High · sources: [J51], [J18], [A20], [A21] (register)

The state farmers market opens on 31 January 1940 as a WPA project on twenty acres between the Florida East Coast tracks and Krome Avenue donated by James Sottile of South Dade Farms. In April 1946 about 6,000 cartons of vine ripened tomatoes are flown north daily, and a 60 by 225 foot packing house is built in 1947 for Frank Basso. Hurricane Andrew causes immense damage in 1992 and manager Joe Cephus Mitchell leads the recovery.

Connections

Lineage

• came out ofSouth Dade Farms (Sottile Farms)Market built on land given by the company1939 to 1940
• spawnedFrank Basso packing housePacking house built at the market for lease to Basso1947

Plans, funding, partners

• funded byJames SottileDonates twenty acres for the state market1939

Anchors, connections, hosting

• anchorsFlorida CityState market and packing houses1940 to present
• served byFlorida East Coast Railway extension to HomesteadMarket laid out on the FEC tracks1940
• hosted atSam S. Accursio and Sons FarmsPacking and sales through the state market district1948 to present

Influence

• shaped byCentro Campesino Farmworker CenterFounded to serve the farmworkers of the South Dade fields and packing houses1972 to present

Located

• located inFlorida CityBetween the FEC tracks and Krome Avenue1940 to present