In May 1871, thirty-three Swedish immigrants, twenty-six men and seven women, arrived under the sponsorship of Henry S. Sanford to develop his citrus groves, St. Gertrude and Belair. Sanford's initial cost was $75.00 per person, including transportation and payment to a recruiting agent, and he agreed to provide each immigrant free rations and living quarters for one year, after which each would receive a parcel of land. In November 1871, twenty additional Swedes joined them, forming Upsala, the earliest and largest Swedish community in Florida. The site became the community's center, with the Scandinavian Society Lutheran Church, its cemetery, and a meeting house that also served as a school until 1904. Many descendants of these early immigrants still live in the Sanford area.