The
Barber-Mizell Feud
With Orlando’s present notoriety as
the world’s favorite vacation destination, its history is often
overlooked. This is unfortunate,
because many would be surprised to discover “The City Beautiful” was once a
rough and tumble frontier cow town. In
fact, Orlando had a surly reputation worthy of any of its counterparts on the
western frontier.
The
U.S. Civil War did not ravage Florida to the extent it had her sister
Confederate states; nevertheless, she joined them in suffering the humiliation
of military occupation and the abject poverty that followed. Her salvation, it seemed, would be the
massive herds of cattle that ranged her expansive prairies.
With
the lifting of the Federal naval blockade, Florida’s cattlemen were free to
establish a lucrative trade relationship with beef-hungry Cuba. A herd owner who could deliver his cattle to
Cuban buyers in St. Augustine, Tampa, and other ports, could easily sell them
for “hard money.” Soon, Spanish
currency became more abundant than U.S. dollars.
The
theft of this “hard money” was rare, but cattle rustling became a major
problem—as did vigilante justice.
Vigilantism prevailed because convictions on rustling charges were
practically non-existent. It seems that
people were unwilling to convict their neighbors of a crime they frequently
committed themselves!
Lawlessness
was rampant. The streets of Orlando
were witness to brawls and random gunfire.
Respectable citizens did not leave their homes after sundown, locking
their doors against the nightly mayhem.
It was these conditions that sparked a feud between Central Florida’s
two most powerful families—the Barbers and the Mizells.
More:
8.
Aftermath
9.
Additional
sources and links
CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY CENTRAL FLORIDA HISTORY INDEX PAGE.