Frank's Diary

Frank Howard Chesebro came to Boca Raton with his family in 1903 to escape the cold Michigan winters. A fruit grower and nurseryman, he decided to try his hand at pineapple raising. He built a homestead near today’s Dixie Highway south of Camino Real. Accompanying Frank were his wife Nettie, son Harry, and daughters Ruth and Esther. Harry was already twenty-one, and the girls were teenagers when they arrived. Son Allen stayed behind in Michigan to run the family property.

Mr. Chesebro was the principal employer in the town’s earliest years. Two of his main crops were pineapples (“pines”) and tomatoes, along with many other fruits and veggies as farming in South Florida was truly a full-time job.

Frank Chesebro played an active role in shaping the early community which would become Boca Raton. He kept a meticulous diary of his daily activities, primarily farming, from his arrival in 1903 until his death in 1936.