Ruth Wedgworth (March 10, 1903 – December 9, 1995), a native of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, and long time resident of Belle Glade, FL, was a pioneer in Florida agriculture. She was inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1988, was Florida Woman of the Year in Agriculture in 1986, a founding member of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, and charter member of the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida. After her husband, Herman Wedgworth died in an accident in 1938, she took over the family businesses. Wedgworth's is a

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

and ranching business established in 1932 and headquartered in Belle Glade,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Wedgworth's Inc. is an affiliated

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

business. The company's former leader Ruth Springer Wedgworth was inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame and received the Florida Department of State's

Great Floridian Great Floridian is a title bestowed on citizens of Florida by the Florida Department of State. There were actually two formal programs. The Great Floridian 2000 program honored deceased individuals who made "significant contributions in the histor ...

title. Her husband was killed in an ice plant accident in 1938. She took over the farm and built it into a very large agribusiness. She died in 1995. Wedgworth's grows sugarcane on approximately 10,000 acres in

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's third-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and Broward County and the 24th-most populous in the United States, wi ...

and operates 10,000 acres of ranch lands in

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Vsse Yvholv in Muscogee language, Creek, also spelled Asi-yahola), named Billy Powell at birth, was an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfa ...

, Okeechobee and Indian River Counties. The fertilizer business includes a plant in

Moore Haven Moore Haven is a city in, and the county seat of, Glades County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida Heartland region. The population was 1,566 at the 2020 census, down from 1,680 at the 2010 census. Moore Haven is located on the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedgworth, Ruth Springer Agriculture companies of the United States People from Glades County, Florida Agriculture companies established in 1932 American companies established in 1932 Companies based in Florida