Historic 'Honor Fruit' House on Display at Hillsborough County Fairgrounds

The little white house on display at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds, in front of the Hillsborough County School Disrict's red exhibit building, stands as testament to a piece of Greater Brandon and Plant City history.

The placard notes that the house was built by Bill Gunn, a retired Plant City jeweler, as a playhouse for his great-granddaughter. Then, in 1990, it became a fruit stand at the corner of Lumsden Road and St. Cloud Avenue in Valrico, for fruit grown on the Gunn property. That fruit was sold "strictly on the honor system."

The house/stand was dontated to the Hillsborough County Fair, and moved to the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds, in September 2011. At the time, Bill Gunn was 88; his wife, "Miss Evelyn," was "expected to be 96 in December."

The historic notice goes on to say:

Mr. Bill's grandfather planted a citrus grove at this location in 1909 and Mr. Bill sold fruit from the original trees, some years making enough to pay his fertilizer bill and the real estate taxes. Fruit was sold for $1 per bag beginning in 1987 after Mr. Bill placed "free" bags by the side of the road and nobody wanted them.

It is noted, too, that after Bill Gunn told fair officials he would donate the building, "someone stopped and offered to buy it." The reconting continues:

Mr. Bill, true to his word, refused to sell. The [Hillsborough] County Fair is grateful to Mr. Bill and Miss Evelyn for the donation and to Larry Gillespie of Gillespie's Auto Parts and Service for the move.

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RELATED COVERAGE:

• Down To Just an Acre, about Bill Gunn and his great-grandfather's groves, written by Helen Anne Travis, a staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times, and published in the Brandon Times on Nov. 16, 2007.

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Do you remember buying fruit at the Gunn "honor fruit" stand on Valrico Road? Have you seen the little white house at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds? Let us know in the comment box below.

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