Citrus, poultry and livestock were once the major occupations of people who lived in this tiny community west of Brandon.
By MICHELLE JONES
Published October 31, 2003
Limona was named for the Spanish word lemon. It is one of the descriptive names used in Florida to make a statement about the state's warm climate. The tiny community is east of Interstate 75, north of State Road 60 and west of Brandon.
Judge J.G. Knapp, who came to Tampa in 1876 on the schooner Dill, was largely responsible for the development of Limona. He staked a claim on 160 acres in the lake region east of Tampa and established a citrus grove.
The Elgin Watch Co. commissioned surveyor E.E. Pratt to locate a suitable area to promote the virtues of sunny Florida to northern investors and settlers.
Knapp introduced the area to Pratt who in turn recommended the area to his client.
By 1880 several Elgin families migrated to Limona to cultivate citrus.
Charles Scott Moseley and his wife, Julia Daniels, were one of those pioneering families. They acquired a tract of land with an unfinished log house. After fire destroyed the home in 1885, the family rebuilt. Mrs. Moseley designed the house to fit into the surrounding environment. The Moseley home, The Nest, is a Hillsborough County Historic Landmark and is still standing.
A post office was established in 1878 and the FC&P railroad came through the town in the late 1880s.
The Limona Park Association was formed in 1891. By 1911, there were 200 residents in the community, and by 1925 citrus, poultry and stock breeding were the major occupations of the population. Limona like so many other small communities, was hit hard by the Depression and by the 1970s Brandon's growth swallowed up much of Limona.
