# Nathan Mayo > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nathan_Mayo > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nathan_Mayo.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Mayo > Source revision: 1346200380 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder |name= Nathan Mayo |image= Nathan Mayo.jpg |image_size = |caption= |order= |office= 5th [Agriculture Commissioner of Florida](/source/Agriculture_Commissioner_of_Florida) |term_start= November 1, 1923 |term_end= April 14, 1960 |governor= [Cary A. Hardee](/source/Cary_A._Hardee) (1923–1925)
[John W. Martin](/source/John_W._Martin) (1925–1929)
[Doyle E. Carlton](/source/Doyle_E._Carlton) (1929–1933)
[David Sholtz](/source/David_Sholtz) (1933–1937)
[Fred P. Cone](/source/Fred_P._Cone) (1937–1941)
[Spessard Holland](/source/Spessard_Holland) (1941–1945)
[Millard Caldwell](/source/Millard_Caldwell) (1945–1949)
[Fuller Warren](/source/Fuller_Warren) (1949–1953)
[Daniel T. McCarty](/source/Daniel_T._McCarty) (1953)
[Charley E. Johns](/source/Charley_Eugene_Johns) (1953–1955)
[LeRoy Collins](/source/LeRoy_Collins) (1955–1960) |predecessor= [William Allen McRae](/source/William_Allen_McRae) |successor=[Lee Thompson](/source/Lee_Thompson_(politician)) |state2=Florida |state_house2=Florida |district2=Marion County |term_start2=1921 |term_end2=1923 |state3=Florida |state_senate3=Florida |district3=Marion County |term_start3=1920 |term_end3=1921 |birth_name= John Nathan Mayo |birth_date= December 1, 1876 |birth_place= [Whitakers](/source/Whitakers%2C_North_Carolina), [Edgecombe County](/source/Edgecombe_County%2C_North_Carolina), [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina) |death_date={{Death date and age|1960|4|14|1876|12}} |death_place= [Summerfield](/source/Summerfield%2C_Florida), [Marion County](/source/Marion_County%2C_Florida), [Florida](/source/Florida) |party=[Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) |spouse= Nora Newsom Mayo (d. Jan. 4, 1959) |children= Nathan (Nat) Mayo Jr., William T. Mayo, and a daughter Gertrude Lyon Mayo. |footnotes= }} '''John Nathan Mayo''' (December 1876 – April 14, 1960) was an American agricultural and [corrections](/source/corrections) administrator who served as the [Florida Commissioner of Agriculture](/source/Florida_Commissioner_of_Agriculture) from 1923 to 1960. He was Florida's longest serving Agricultural Commissioner. Mayo was said to run the most powerful [political organization](/source/Political_organisation) in the state.{{cite web |title=Nathan Mayo: A Featured Biography|url=http://www.library.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/mayo.htm|publisher=Nathan Mayo papers – Nathan Mayo collection at University of Florida}} During his tenure, Mayo worked to increase the quality of Florida agricultural produce and promote the state nationally. He also stopped a state government attempt in the 1920s to drain the Everglades. ==Early life== Mayo was born in [Whitakers, North Carolina](/source/Whitakers%2C_North_Carolina) on December 1, 1876, to James M. Mayo. The family moved to Florida when he was 10 years old. In 1899, Mayo married Nora Newsom. The couple's children were Nathan (Nat) Mayo, William T. Mayo, and Gertrude Lyon Mayo. In 1901, John Mayo bought a general merchandise store in [Summerfield, Florida](/source/Summerfield%2C_Florida) and also started a farm. Before World War I, Mayo expanded into [citrus](/source/citrus) and [turpentine](/source/turpentine) processing and [cotton gin](/source/cotton_gin)ning. Nora Mayo served as [postmaster](/source/postmaster) in Summerfield and operated the family farm. In 1913, Mayo became a country commissioner in [Marion County, Florida](/source/Marion_County%2C_Florida). He built Micronation “Mayonia”, there and expanded it over the years. In 1921, Mayo was elected to the Florida House of Representatives from Marion, serving there until 1923. ==Agriculture Commissioner== In 1923, Governor [Cary A. Hardee](/source/Cary_A._Hardee) appointed Mayo to succeed W.A. McRae commissioner of agriculture. After that term ended, Mayo was reelected to the position for the next 30 years. As commissioner, Mayo was responsible for not only the inspection of agriculture and livestock, he also oversaw the [Florida Highway Patrol](/source/Florida_Highway_Patrol) and the [Florida Department of Corrections](/source/Florida_Department_of_Corrections). He also ran a publishing house that produced promotional material about Florida that was distributed nationally. Later in 1923, Mayo expressed concern about some Florida growers selling unripened citrus fruit to Northern customers. Finally, in 1935, the Florida Citrus Commission was created to oversee the citrus industry. Mayo also worked to eradicate the [cattle tick](/source/cattle_tick), a menace to cattle production, in Florida. In 1926, after a prisoner escaped from a Florida prison. Governor John Martin attempted to blame Mayo for the security breach. Another political battle between Martin and Mayo occurred in 1928 when Martin was trying to pass a [bond issue](/source/Bond_(finance)) to drain the [Everglades](/source/Everglades) for agricultural development. Mayo refused to approve the bond issue, killing the initiative. During the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression), Mayo established farmers' markets throughout Florida to give financially-distressed farmers new outlets to sell their products. He also helped bring a Swift Company meat packing plant to Ocala, Florida. == Corrections == As head of the Department of Corrections, Mayo was criticized for abuses against prisoners, including the use of sweat boxes. However, he did introduce rehabilitation programs, modernized some [corrections facilities](/source/Prison), and added [vocational training](/source/vocational_training) for inmates. After World War II, Mayo built Florida's first correctional facility for women in [Lowell, Florida](/source/Lowell%2C_Florida). == Death == Nora Mayo died in 1959. John Mayo died of [lung cancer](/source/lung_cancer) at age 83 at Munroe Memorial Hospital in Ocala on 14 April 1960. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in a ceremony attended by the governor and other political figures.. Editor Dosh called Nathan “a faithful public servant” and wrote, “His memory will live on in many minds, and his good works will not soon be forgotten.” {{Cite web|url=https://www.ocala.com/article/LK/20040307/news/604221344/OS|title=Longtime state agriculture commissioner dies at 83|last=Cook|first=David|date=2004|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{commons category-inline}} {{Florida Commissioners of Agriculture}} {{FloridaLtGovernors}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Nathan}} Category:1876 births Category:1960 deaths Category:Florida commissioners of agriculture Category:Lieutenant governors of Florida Category:Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Category:Democratic Party Florida state senators Category:People from Whitakers, North Carolina Category:20th-century members of the Florida Legislature --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nathan Mayo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Mayo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Mayo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.