photo #8639210

In Florida, the term "cracker" is not an insult; Florida cowboys, as opposed to the more well-known Western cowboy, used cow whips, leading to the term "Florida Cracker", from the cracking sound their whips would make while cowboys were herding their cattle. They cracked their whips in the air to make a loud sound that would startle the cattle, not to hit them. If you read the book "A Land Remembered" you will understand this better. There were no fences to hold the cows in one place. "Cracker"is a term now used informally by some Floridians to indicate that their families have lived in the state for many generations. A Cracker house is a wooden shelter built by the early Florida and Georgia settlers, lured to Florida by cheap and plentiful land, these pioneers arrived with few provisions and needed to erect shelter quickly and cheaply. Florida's Architecture is rooted in response to the state's humid, subtropical climate. These were hard-working people who worked from sunup to sundown to feed their families. Most pioneers arrived with very little. They relied on the natural environment for the things they needed. They had to grow their own crops, raise their own cattle, and hunt and forage in the wilderness. They had to build their own homes and furniture from scratch, sew their own clothing, and often make their own household goods, including butter and flour. This house was built by a Florida Pioneer family and has withstood the test of time. I spoke with the man whose mother lived here happily throughout her later years. “She had a garden and a yard full of chickens.” The book "A Land Remembered" will be made into a TV series, hopefully coming out next year. @southerndream