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The Seminole County Historical Society will be having its 2nd Quarterly Meeting on Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 7pm. It will be held in the IFAS Auditorium located at 250 Count Home Road, Sanford FL 32771.Local historian Bob Putnam will be giving a talk entitled "turpentine and the Naval Stores Industry in Florida" at the 2nd Quarterly Meeting on 4/30. The talk is entitled "Turpentine and the Naval Stores Industry in Florida."
Putnam summarizes his talk as follows: "My history of the Naval Stores industry in Florida is prompted by three elements. First, my recent discovery, within the UCF campus grounds, of a "Still" site where the raw pine resin was distilled into turpentine, rosin and other products. Secondly, Eatonville's favorite author, Zora Neale Hurston featured elements of life in turpentine camps and the associated Juke Joints in her writings. Thirdly, a Putnam family connection exists, related to a landmark 1923 Florida Supreme Court case, prompted by murder in a Putnam Lumber Company turpentine camp. Findings of widespread abuse and inhumane conditions were publicized nationally and led to legislative reforms putting an end to convict leasing and corporal punishment of inmates."
Bob Putnam has lived in Winter Springs for 30 years. He worked as a professional engineer for 45 years. He’s retired and serves as the chair of The Oviedo Preservation Project (TOPP), a member of the Oviedo Historical Society, the director of the annual TOPP cemetery tour and 5K, The Rising, a period demonstrator/instructor as a Colonial-era broom maker, and a dramatic performer/lecturer for U.S. history. He’s an active volunteer in church and in Central Florida theater, and he loves outdoor sports.
Light refreshments will be served. The talk is free, and open to the public! For more information, please call 407-665-2489.
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UF IFAS Extension Seminole County, 250 W County Home Rd, Sanford, FL 32773-6189, United States
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