Nehrling Gardens

The Henry Nehrling Society

Developments in Gotha (1885-1910) At this time the population of Gotha stood at 150 persons. The community prospered for nearly ten years until the disastrous freezes of 1894 and 1895 destroyed the groves many of those who had come to Gotha had planted. Families became discouraged and left Gotha. The Hempels lost their grove, sold the saw mill and moved back to Buffalo in 1903 where Mr. Hempel died in 1917. Nonetheless, some families stayed with their groves -- among them the Regeners, the Ahrens, the Starkes, the Meineckes, the Wilckens, the Hauensteins and the Nehrlings.
Nehrling home in Gotha		Nehrling established himself as a full-time resident, moving his family from Milwaukee in 1902. Having started a collection in his greenhouse in Milwaukee, Nehrling transported plants with him to Florida. He searched the hammocks in any walking distance from Gotha for native plant material, and hauled magnolia, American olive, wax myrtle, American laurel, sweet bay and other treasures on his shoulders back to his "Palm Cottage Garden." He added to his collection of plants and seeds from all over the world -- Madagascar, Ceylon, Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras, Venezuela, South Africa. At a time before plant quarantine regulations, Nehrling obtained specimens through direct correspondence with plant lovers all over the world.[1] He became particularly well known for over 200 varieties of bamboo with which he experimented on the grounds and for the bromeliads, caladia, and amaryllis which he also cultivated on the grounds.
Nehrling took over the function of Mr. Hempel in advertising in German language newspapers for more settlers. In a Germania edition dated February 1, 1903, Nehrling praises Gotha as "Florida's only German colony" [die einzige deutsche Kolonie Floridas]. This remark is notable given the context of the time. Rudyard Kipling was well known at that time and received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907 for his works on English colonial efforts in India such as "Gunga Din," "Mandalay," and The Jungle Book. Joseph Conrad wrote about adventures in the Belgian Congo in Heart of Darkness. (1902). At this time when tales of adventure from colonial holdings throughout the globe fascinated the reading public, Nehrling's article on Gotha appears in this German language newspaper next to an article by the German colonialist Carl Peters about safaris in southern Africa. In another sense of the word Gotha was also the last remaining German settlement in Florida. St. Joseph's colony, a colony of German Catholics who had been encouraged to move to Central Florida by Henry Sanford, had proven unsuccessful. Nehrling recommends Gotha to those from the north who are tired of the changeable climate, who want to rest in pleasant surroundings to fortify themselves for the struggles of the business world. He even recommends Hempel's home as a good opportunity for an enterprising reader who would transform the expansive house into a hotel, a form of business still lacking in Gotha.