← Back to the 365 Library
Contribution #255 of 365
Simon “Sim” Bell
Homesteader, Farmer and Florida Landowner
1872–1882
The contribution
How this work helped shape America
Born in Florida during slavery, Simon “Sim” Bell established an independent agricultural homestead after emancipation. Beginning in 1872, he claimed 39.94 acres in Gadsden County, built a home and other improvements, and cultivated approximately 30 acres with corn, cotton, sugar cane, potatoes, ground peas and rice. Bell received his federal land patent in 1882, converting agricultural labor into family landownership and diversified farm production.