The Florida turpentine trade was once a booming industry. Turpentine mills collected sap from pine trees and distilled it into two products, one being turpentine and the other known as pitch or "naval stores." Turpentine had many uses, such as a cleaning solvent and some medicinal purposes. The pitch was used primarily as a sealing tar for wooden ship planks to make their seams relatively waterproof.

Pictured here are the images of the worker's quarters of one such mill, located near West Tocoi, Florida. It contained approximately seven units at three rooms per unit. The "company store" was located at the far end of the building and provided company workers with the bare necessities of life. Workers were paid with company currency, which ensured their dependency on the company wares. This structure was reportedly built in the 1930's and the turpentine company ceased operations in 1944.

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