Historic Tree Grove: Dr. John Gorrie Red Cedar

Red Cedar
Red Cedar (Juniperus silicicola) is a tall, fast-growing member of the Juniper family native to the southeast United States. Though not a true cedar, the wood is rot-resistant and the heartwood has a beautiful reddish hue, giving it its common name. Red Cedars can grow to 45 feet or more, eventually changing from a pyramidal shape to a more spreading rounded form. The small berries are attractive to birds like mockingbirds and Cedar Waxwings. Learn more about Red Cedar here.

Dr. John Gorrie
As a physician in the mid-19th century, Dr. John Gorrie employed basins of ice hung from the ceiling in sick rooms that contained fever patients to make the patients more comfortable and to help combat their fevers. At that time, ice was costly and had to be shipped from northern lakes to the deep south so Dr. Gorrie sought a way to create ice by artificial means to help fight the fevers common from tropical diseases like malaria and yellow fever.

Dr. John Gorrie was a pioneer in refrigeration, the artificial manufacture of ice, and air conditioning. Gorrie’s theory of highly compressing air, water cooling the air within metal pipes, and returning the air to its natural uncompressed state to create air cold enough to freeze water is the basis upon which modern refrigeration is based. He received the first patent for modern refrigeration techniques in 1851 Learn more about Gorrie's refrigerator here.

Diagram of John Gorrie's Ice Machine. From U.S. Patent 8080, May 6, 1851.

Dr. John Gorrie Red Cedar

The original Dr John Gorrie Red Cedar stands outside the John Gorrie Museum in Apalachicola, Florida. Our tree is a seedling of that parent tree.

Ice Plant (Delosperma spp.)

Ice Garden
By pioneering modern refrigeration, Dr. Gorrie made possible life as we know it in Florida today. Refrigerated train cars allowed Florida produce to be transported to faraway markets, and air conditioning makes life here much more pleasant. The Ice Garden showcases a species known as Ice Plant (Delosperma spp.), along with cool-colored plants in shades of blue and white including:

• Snow Squarestem (Melanthera nivea)
• Frost Weed (Verbesina virginica)
• Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata)
• Silver Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus var. sericeus)
• Diamond Frost euphorbia (Euphorbia ‘Inneuphdia’)

Dr. John Gorrie Art and Artists

Art for the informational signs was created by local artist Holly Bird.

Bench art for the Dr. John Gorrie Red Cedar was created in hand-tooled and hand-dyed leather by Ron Osceola. The original piece is held the MOSI archives.

Artist's Statement: Choosing Dr. John Gorrie has been truly been a pleasure. After all, look at the tremendous impact he has had on Florida, without his invention of the air conditioner many would not be able to live here. The Eastern Red Cedar also lends itself to the overall presentation. I have created a tribute to Dr. John Gorrie from a Native American perspective. I started with frame drums on the left; typically the frames of these drums are made from cedar. Moving toward the center obviously a picture of the man himself and since air conditioning was this man’s game I thought what better house to air condition than a Seminole Chickee, the most quintessential Florida Home.