Hernando Heritage Days Southern Heritage Festival and Cracker Cattle Drive

CRACKER: Extension, Beef Cattle, and the End of Florida’s Open Range Between 1930 to 1949, Extension played a significant role in turning around Florida’s cattle industry, and changed the landscape of the state forever. The Cracker Kingdom There have been cattle in Florida ever since Ponce de Leon brought them to the new world in 1521. When conflicts with the Calus...

TRADITION TUESDAY
Following the Civil War, a rugged brand of individual settled along Florida’s east coast and central corridor. These early settlers became known by their Northern neighbors, as Florida Crackers, Cracker Cowmen or Cow Hunters.

The early Crackers would hunt and round up cows over the wooded rangelands and miles and miles of open plains, in the hammocks, and by the rivers and streams, and had a unique way of herding cattle. The Crackers relied on bullwhips to flush cows out of the palmetto scrub and spur on oxen that pulled their carts and wagons. They used 10- to 12-foot-long whips made of braided leather. The snaps of these whips would break the sound barrier making a loud CRACK.

Physicists Alain Goriely and Tyler McMillen at the University of Arizona explain: “The crack of a whip comes from a loop traveling along the whip, gaining speed until it reaches the speed of sound and creates a sonic boom. Even though some parts of the whip travel at greater speeds, it is the loop itself that generates the sonic boom.”

The sound earned the Cowmen the nickname of Crackers.

The crack could be heard for miles, so they also used them to communicate with each other, like a form of Morse code, and were able to identify each other by their whip cracks.

Taken from the Florida Cracker Trail Association

Although we grieve for our beautiful state, we are confident that we will get through this together. 🤍🙏

Canceled

After much thought and discussion we are canceling this event for October 15,2022. Most of our volunteer cowboys are helping ranches in areas of flooding lakes and rivers move cattle and clean up fences from the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Our cattle trail needs chainsaw work and high water is predicted for us soon. We do not have the volunteers to get our work completed this week and next week. We look forward to working on this project for October 2023.

After much thought and discussion we are canceling this event for October 15,2022. Most of our volunteer cowboys are helping ranches in areas of flooding lakes and rivers move cattle and clean up fences from the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Our cattle trail needs chainsaw work and high water is predicted for us soon. We do not have the volunteers to get our work completed this week and next week. We look forward to working on this project for October 2023.

Emergency Info (Hurricane Ian) It appears that Hurricane Ian will impact Florida this week. In anticipation of potential issues that may arise the Florida Cattlemen’s Association has worked with State Governmental officials to set forth a number of emergency declarations, exemptions, waivers etc. pertaining to the movement of l...

🔨ATTENTION FENCE AND CHAINSAW TEAMS🪓
We are receiving requests for assistance out of both the Arcadia and Myakka FCA Hurricane HQ's. Your help is needed.
FCA Staff in Kissimmee is coordinating with leaders at both HQ's on the ground. You can be dispatched from either the Kissimmee office or either HQ. We are trying to make sure that we can help as many folks as needed and that we don't double up.
We are getting to the point where we need boots on the ground, that need will only grow as the water recedes. If you go to Arcadia or Myakka City and work out of our Hurricane HQ's be prepared to rough it just in case.