Everett C. Brown Collection, 1919-1921
105 items.
This assortment of 105 letters comprises approximately 500 pages. Everett C. Brown, an engineer and surveyor, wrote the letters while working for the United Fruit Company, primarily in Cuba. Correspondence is directed mainly to his wife with some of her responses included in the collection. Letters sent from company ships at sea as well as from work sites in Panama and Costa Rica round out the narratives on his work and surroundings. Sugar cane production and harvest is a major focus. The letters are grouped by country of origin. A miscellaneous file includes items of individual interest sorted in varying details.
COSTA RICA
Three letters sent to his wife in May, 1920, describe Brown’s professional endeavors in Costa Rica. Company operations in the Talemanca Valley and at Camp Beston are detailed.
CUBA
Everett C. Brown’s letters to his wife Ethel Brown in 1919 and 1920 were sent to the U.S. from Oriente province in eastern Cuba. United Fruit Company’s extensive operations are detailed. Guaro, Hatillo and Embarcadero are the principal communities in which Brown worked. Surveying of new sites for development and methods of agricultural production are his primary focus, but he also describes local living conditions.
MISCELLANEOUS
Included are letters from Everett Brown written in New York City, on board ships in the Caribbean, and from locations not identifiable from the letters. All of these letters date from 1920 and 1921.
PANAMA
United Fruit Company holdings comprised 150,000 acres of cocoa trees in addition to bananas and coconuts in Guabito in 1920. Everett Brown’s letters give a glimpse into ongoing company projects as well as the environment of the region. He describes lush tropical rainforests encountered while surveying sites for new development as well as other exploits.