Florida cracker
Florida crackers were
Historical usage
The term cracker was in use during the
By the 1760s, the ruling classes, both in Britain and in the
A folk etymology suggests that the name cracker instead derives from the cracking of cattle-drovers' whips.[4]
Cracker cowmen
In Florida, those who own or work cattle traditionally have been called cowmen. In the late 1800s, they were often called cow hunters or cowhunters, a reference to seeking out cattle scattered over the wooded rangelands during roundups. At times, the terms cowman and cracker have been used interchangeably because of similarities in their folk culture. Today, the western term cowboy is often used for those who work cattle.[5]
The Florida "cowhunter" or "cracker cowboy" of the 19th and early 20th centuries was distinct from the Spanish vaquero and the Western cowboy. Florida cowboys did not use lassos to herd or capture cattle.[citation needed] Their primary tools were dogs and cow whips. Florida cattle and horses were smaller than the western breeds. The Florida Cracker cattle, also known as the "native" or "scrub" cow, averaged about 600 pounds (270 kg) and had large horns and large feet.[6][dead link]
Modern usage
Among some Floridians, the term is used as a proud or
Cracker Storytelling Festival
Since the late 20th century, the Cracker Storytelling Festival has been held annually in the fall at Homeland Heritage Park in Homeland, Florida. The year 2013 marked the 25th anniversary of the festival. The Cracker Storytelling Festival includes many storytellers from around Florida who come to share their stories with visitors. The majority of visitors who attend this event are students,[8] because storytelling is part of the Florida educational curriculum. The festival also incorporates local crafts and artwork, food vendors, a whip-cracking contest,[9] and living-history re-enactment of 19th-century homestead life.[8]
Notable Florida crackers
- Bone Mizell (1863–1921) – the best known of the original Florida cracker cowboys, made famous as the subject of a Frederic Remington painting[3]
- Ben Hill Griffin Jr. (1910–1990) – "Cracker millionaire from Frostproof, Florida"[3]
- The Miami Herald, and chronicler of contemporary Florida cracker subculture.
- Governor of Florida and self-described Florida cracker from Polk County, Florida.
See also
- Cracker (term) – about use of the term as a slur
- Cracker Country – a living-history village at the Florida State Fair
- Florida cracker (disambiguation) – lists things named after the Florida crackers (architecture, trail, cattle and horse breeds, etc.)
- Florida Western – a film and novel genre set in 19th-century Florida
- Georgia cracker – the related subculture of the US state of Georgia, just to the north of Florida
References
- ^ "The Present State of the West-Indies: Containing an Accurate Description of What Parts Are Possessed by the Several Powers in Europe". 1778. Retrieved August 30, 2013 – via World Digital Library.
- ^ Clark, James C. 200 Quick Looks at Florida History. p. 189.
- ^ a b c Bennett, Jim (October 1999). "Bone Mizell: Cracker Cowboy of the Palmetto Prairies". Wild West. Weider History Group.
- ^ Howard, Vivian (May 1, 2020). "How Do You 'Cue? (Florida section)". Somewhere South. Season 1. Episode 6. @ approx. 20 minutes in. PBS. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ "Florida Memory". Retrieved 5 November 2012.
- The Miami Herald. Archived from the originalon September 29, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-8130-3028-9.
- ^ a b Schottelkotte, Suzie (October 7, 2010). "Tellin' Stories: Take a Trip Back in Time at Homeland Cracker Storytelling Festival". The Ledger. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- ^ "Cracker Storytelling Festival". 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
Further reading
Fiction
- Many works by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings: South Moon Under (1933), Golden Apples (1935), The Yearling (1938), Cross Creek (1942), and numerous short stories are set amidst early-20th-century Florida cracker subculture
- Strawberry Girl (1945) – children's novel by Lois Lenski set in mid-20th-century cracker Florida
- Seraph on the Suwanee (1948) – novel by African-American novelist Zora Neale Hurston, and her only work that focuses primarily on white characters
- A Land Remembered (1984) – a multi-generational novel about a Floridian family from 1858 to 1968, by Patrick D. Smith
External links
- Cracker Cowboys, documentary film by Victor Milt
- Florida Crackers: The Cattlemen and Cowboys of Florida (2011), documentary film by John Michie
- Butch Harrison, Florida cracker storyteller Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine