In 1991, A. Duda & Sons, a corporation privately held by the Duda family, donated 56 acres of land within the New Town community of Viera to the people of Brevard County as the site for the new Brevard Zoo. The land was part of a 38,000-acre tract the family had purchased for a cattle ranch in 1943. The Dudas had been in agriculture since the turn of the century, when Andrew Duda Sr. and his family first came to America seeking religious freedom and escape from government oppression. Along with other Slovak immigrants, they established the Lutheran community of Slavia in central Florida, and to make a living they turned to the farming skills they brought from their homeland. Over the years, hard work and respect for the land earned the Dudas worldwide recognition as farmers and producers of quality products. Five generations and 68 years after their first successful celery harvest, Duda farms across the United States and in two foreign countries, and is the largest grower of celery and radishes in the world. The family-owned company also grows and ships a variety of other fresh vegetables, citrus, cane sugar, cattle, and sod. Their New Town development and other real estate endeavors began in 1985, with ground broken for Viera in 1989; Viera means “faith” in the Slovak language. The Duda family and the management and Board of Directors of A. Duda & Sons, Inc. expressed the wish that all who enter the Brevard Zoo and the Duda Pavilion would come away with renewed appreciation for the beautiful land and the plants and animals that live there.