Loading oranges on the Ocklawaha River, Florida, USA, c1900. Black workers loading crates of oranges onto a boat. The first citrus was brought to the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1493, and the first orange trees were planted in the mid-1500s. Citrus has been farmed commercially in Florida groves since the middle of the 19th century. From Scenic Marvels of the New World edited by Prof. Geo.R. Cromwell. [C.N.Greig & Co., c1900]