In the lightly populated Fern Park area, where slatted sheds supported a flourishing asparagus plumosis fern industry for florists, a power struggle arose between prominent growers Gordon Barnett, a local former state legislator, and Hubbard Casselberry, a Chicago native who came to the area in the 1920s. In 1940, Barnett proposed a town charter for Fern Park with property tax levying powers, while Casselberry proposed a tax-free town that barred any tax or bonded indebtedness without approval from 90% of registered voters, and he also offered to pay for civic improvements and town costs. With an official court-validated map of the proposed Town of Casselberry, supporters in the area chose Casselberry's plan, and on October 10, 1940, incorporated the Town of Casselberry, replacing the Fern Park designation for this new tax-free area. Casselberry became the first mayor, and for many years the town's tax-free status was displayed on its water tower. By 1940, the fern-based economy gradually shifted to manufacturing, and during that time Casselberry supplied the U.S. military with bandoliers and bomb chutes. Cigarette and utility taxes and some income from the state road fund provided modest town revenue. In 1957, the town opened its own contract post office. Population growth led voters to approve a new charter on May 16, 1965, creating the City of Casselberry with a new city council to govern from that day forward. The tax-free city levied its first ad valorem property tax in 1976.