LIVING HISTORY
erty was practically as remote and primitive as it had been in
the 1800s, when the earliest English-speaking settlers arrived
in Florida territory.
“When I came back here in 1948,” Bud said, “Orange Avenue
18
wasn’t extended on out. It was still a grade, and a group
of Indians lived a couple of miles away. I had no source of
help here. I was running the ranch by myself. So, I would get
the Seminole Indians ― Sam Jones and some of his boys ― to
help me herd the cattle. They’d bring their horses here. They
were expert cowboys.”
When he married Dot, whom he described as “the bestlooking
woman at FSU,” he offered her a choice between
living in town in Fort Pierce, or moving many miles out west
to the hinterlands. Dot, who shared her husband’s pioneer
spirit, made the more adventurous choice. “I told her, ‘You’ll
ADAMS RANCH COLLECTION
Florida has been cattle country since Ponce de León abandoned his herd. Early members of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association shown left to right are: Irlo
Bronson, Cush Radebaugh, Ben Hill Griffin, J.B. Starkey, B.J. Alderman, J.O. Pearce, Bud Adams, and Louis Gilbreath.
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ROBERT ADAMS
Bud Adams and his ranch have won nearly every award a ranch can win.
ADAMS RANCH COLLECTION
Dot and Bud at a football game when they were dating.