Frank William Heiser, born in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1892, was orphaned at age 14 and later left school. After buying a 20-acre farm in Fellsmere in 1911 and moving there in 1912, he married Stella Mounger, secretary of the Fellsmere Sales Company, in 1915. Local builders Shupe and Shafer constructed their single-story bungalow-style house, with five rooms and five gables. In 1918, the Heisers had their only child, Lois. Active in Fellsmere business associations, Heiser saw promise in the nutrient-rich muck fields west of town and in 1923 organized the Standard Agricultural Chemical Company, renamed the Ammoniated Products Company in 1924. The company built the Broadmoor Muck Plant five miles west of town to process muck into fertilizer base. In 1925, Heiser became general manager of the Trans Florida Central Railroad and president of the Fellsmere Drainage District, serving in that office until 1946. In 1926, he became the Ammoniated Products Company's general manager, and the company became the largest landowner in Indian River County before high shipping costs forced it out of business and closed the plant. In 1927, Heiser planted his first test crop of sugar cane in Fellsmere's muck land, and after its success he planted 100 acres in 1929. Seeking to build a sugar mill, he traveled between Fellsmere and New York City by train during 1930 and 1931 to secure financing and raised $1 million. He founded the Fellsmere Sugar Company in 1931, and the mill was built west of Fellsmere in 1932 with materials from the muck plant and a Louisiana sugar mill. By 1933, the Fellsmere Sugar Mill produced 2 million pounds of raw sugar and employed 225 people. From 1935 to 1937, he converted the company into the cooperative Fellsmere Sugar Producer's Association and added a sugar refinery. In 1936, the refinery, the first in Florida, could produce up to 150,000 pounds of refined sugar daily under the label Florida Crystals. After continued difficulties, Heiser and the other members sold the cooperative to Puerto Rican sugar producers in 1943. The Heisers then left Fellsmere for Jacksonville, though Frank returned periodically. Frank died in Jacksonville in 1961, and Stella died in 1976. Heiser and his company helped save Fellsmere from total economic collapse during the Great Depression.