PORCELAIN PLATES.NET
A Website for Porcelain License Plate Collectors & Enthusiasts
ALACHUA

Alachua County lies in central Florida and is the home to the University of
Florida.  The county was officially created in 1824 and Gainesville would soon
become its county seat.  Alachua is also the site for numerous landfills, both open
and closed, which bears upon our knowledge of the county’s license plate
history.  In the mid-1990s, an apartment building was being constructed near
downtown Gainesville when workers stumbled upon a long forgotten dump site.  
In this dump were literally hundreds of porcelain license plates.

Alachua’s first issue was a large plate issued in both Private and For Hire
variants.  At least 225 of the Private variety were made.  In 1913-14 and 1914-15,
the plates were substantially smaller and again had numbers reaching into the
low 200s for passenger plates.  The 1914-15 plates were manufactured by the
Baltimore Enamel & Novelty Company.  1914-15 was also the first known year that
Alachua issued motorcycle plates.  Some 25 of these fender-shaped curved cycle
plates were manufactured, and perhaps 10 of these are known to exist today,
thanks to the landfill dig.  Because consecutively numbered cycle plates were
found beginning at #1, some suspect that these plates were ordered but never
actually used.






















However, Alachua plates only get truly common in the last two years of
issue – 1915-16 and 1916-17.  The For Hire variety in these two years remains
impossibly rare, but the Private porcelains - and to a lesser extent the Motorcycle
plates - were found in quantity.  In fact, Florida experts estimate there to be more
than 100 known Private plates from each of these last two years.  There are no
1915-16 passenger plates known with one or two digit numbers, leading to
speculation that they may have begun at #100.  Numbers then ran up to about
600.  In 1916-17, plate numbers spanned an approximate range of 1-800.  The trick
to late-issue Alachua porcelains is not finding one – but finding one that was
actually used on a car and saved, as opposed to being dug out of a landfill.  There
were either substantially fewer vehicles registered than county officials
expected, resulting in the disposal of surplus plates, or it is conceivable that
plates had to be returned to the county once they expired and were all stored
together before being disposed of.





















BAKER

Created in 1861, Baker County is situated in North Florida along the border with
Georgia.  The turpentine and logging industries flourished in years following the
Civil War.  Farming was also important to the region, with cotton and corn being
the primary crops.  Furthermore, the nursery business became a significant
enterprise in the area and Baker County continues to be home to some of the
most important nurseries in the South-Eastern United States.  Baker is a very
tough county from which to find plates, with only about a half-dozen total known
examples.  These plates date from as early as 1911, and run through 1917.  The
highest known number on any of the plates is #32, which gives a good idea of the
rarity of these plates.






















BAY

On July 1, 1913, Bay County was created by the Legislature from portions of
Washington, Calhoun and Walton counties.  Located in North-Western Florida
along the Gulf of Mexico, Bay County was named for the nearby Saint Andrews
Bay and the general abundance of bays within the region.  The area rose to
prominence due to its lumber industry and sawmills.  Four of the five neighboring
counties produced porcelain license plates, so it is perhaps no surprise that Bay
is also known to have produced porcelains.  However, what is surprising is that
there is only one surviving license plate to document this county’s history of
porcelains – a dated 1915-16 issue.  Surely a 1916-17 plate was issued as well, but
none has ever been found.  There are only five other porcelains from all of
Florida that are the only known surviving example from their respective
jurisdictions (Holmes County, 1916-17; Monroe County, 1912-13; Okaloosa County,
1915-16; Taylor County, 1915-16, and Wakulla County, 1912-13).










BRADFORD

Lying in North-Eastern Florida, New River County was created in 1858 from
portions of Columbia and Alachua counties.  It was renamed Bradford County in
1861 in honor of Captain Richard Bradford, the first Florida officer killed in the
Civil War.  Bradford's first known plates were embossed metal plates dated 1912.  
However, the county quickly switched to porcelain two years later with a 1913-14
issue, known in both Private and For Hire variants.  Bradford is one of 12
jurisdictions in Florida to have issued both porcelain and non-porcelain plates.  
After the 1913-14 issue, passenger porcelains continued annually for both
1914-15 and 1915-16.  The 1914-15 plates, at least, were made by the Baltimore
Enamel & Novelty Company, but the others are unmarked.  In 1916-17, it is notable
that there are two distinct variations of plates known.  The differences are subtle,
but whereas all of the lower known examples are of a specific layout, the highest
known number - #230 – is different, with a much narrower date and year.  Perhaps
the county ordered too few plates initially and had to place a late order when the
first batch ran out.


























BREVARD

Brevard County was established in 1844 from a portion of Mosquito County and
was originally named St. Lucie.  In 1855 the name was changed to Brevard.  Lying
on Florida’s Atlantic seaboard, most of Brevard County's population is along the
Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean.  The area remained largely unsettled until the
middle of the 19th century, when pioneers trickled in.  And following the Civil War,
defeated Southern soldiers moved their families to the unoccupied frontier to
seek new lives and opportunity.  Commercial fishing, citrus agriculture,
steamboat and railroad transportation, and resort tourism soon fueled the
region’s economy and would continue to do well into the early 20th century when
Brevard first issued license plates.  From 1911 through 1917, Brevard is known to
have annually issued porcelain plates to passenger vehicles in the county.  No
For Hire or other non-passenger varieties have been found.  We do not know the
manufacturer for all of these plates, but the 1912-13 through 1914-15 issues are
stamped on the reverse with the seal of the Baltimore Enamel & Novelty
Company.  One especially interesting aspect of the 1917 plate is the little
semicircular notches cut below the top slots.  For years, it was assumed that
plates with these marks were damaged by the owner who mounted them to the
vehicle.  However, in 2013 a nearly mint one showed up which clearly revealed
that the notches were original to the plates.  Not only to all known Brevard 1917s
have these notches, but the one that surfaced in 2013 showed unmistakably that
the enamel covered the metal in both the slot and the notch, which means that
the notches were already present when the enamel was affixed to the plate.
























BROWARD

Broward County was established in 1915 from portions of Palm Beach and Dade
counties, almost too late to take advantage of Florida’s pre-state license plate
era, which ended in 1917.  The county is situated in South-Eastern Florida, its
Eastern border lying on the Atlantic seaboard.  While the railroad came to
Southeast Florida in 1896, and several coastal communities sprang up, much of
the present county remained swampland, unsettled and sparsely inhabited, until
the Everglades were drained in the early 1900s.  Because the county did not exist
prior to 1915, the first license plates known from Broward are dated 1916.  Plates
were issued the following year as well.  Interestingly, one lone surviving example
of a 1915-16 curved motorcycle plate also exists from Broward.  Broward thus
joins the surprisingly large number of Florida jurisdictions that issued curved
porcelain motorcycle plates – a distinction it shares with both Alachua and
Hillsborough counties, as well as the city of Tampa.
















CALHOUN

Calhoun County was established from a portion of Escambia County in 1838. It is a
landlocked county lying in the Florida Panhandle.  Cotton was an important crop
for a while, but after the Civil War, timber and the naval store industry took over.  
Scores of turpentine camps sprang up over the county, and an abundant labor
supply was transported from Georgia and South Carolina. Calhoun County
became one of the fastest growing counties in Florida from 1910 to 1920. Large
corporate sawmills moved into the county during this decade. This was, of
course, the era of the Florida pre-states, and thus there is no surprise to see that
Calhoun jumped on the porcelain bandwagon in these glory days of its
development.  The surviving Calhoun plates are interesting, in that they ask more
questions than they answer.  There are only two plates known – one from 1912-13
and the other from 1916-17.  Thus, there are three missing years that surely must
have been issued, but which have not yet been found.  Furthermore, there are no
non-passenger types known, which is untypical for Florida porcelains.  It is
conceivable that there are a half-dozen or more different varieties of Calhoun
porcelains out there waiting to be discovered.



















CITRUS

Citrus County was established in 1887 from Hernando County and named in honor
of the citrus fruit.  Located in East-Central Florida along the Gulf of Mexico, citrus
production was the chief industry in the latter part of the 19th century, bolstered
by the Florida Orange Canal and Transit Company’s decision to build a canal from
the groves to the Lake Panasoffkee railhead in Sumter County allowing fruit to be
barged through the canal.  However, this industry was hit hard by the "Big
Freeze" of 1894-1895.  Luckily, the discovery of phosphate in the region
happened nearly simultaneously, and phosphate mining became an important
industry in Citrus County, swelling the region’s population just as the automobile
was set to make its appearance on the scene.  The first known Citrus porcelains
date to 1913-14 and were issued in both passenger and For Hire varieties.  The
same held true for 1914-15.  The 1915-16 plate is a striking red and yellow
porcelain – the only such colored plate in Florida pre-state history.  In 1916-17,
two slightly different varieties of passenger plates were issued.  The two lowest-
numbered plates are on one base, while the high number is on a base with much
narrower characters and a different font style.





























CLAY

Clay County was established in 1858 from a portion of Duval County and lies in
North-Eastern Florida along the St. Johns River. In the late 1800s the St. Johns
River and Green Cove Springs were popular tourist spots, with visitors in search
of the region’s therapeutic, warm springs and mild climate.  Dozens of hotels
were built to accommodate the visiting Northerners who came by steamboat.  
Once Southern Florida was opened up via the railroad, however, Clay’s tourism
economy went into decline.  This process was already well under way when the
pre-state license plate era dawned, but that didn’t stop the county from issuing
porcelains as early as 1912, attempting to capitalize on its dwindling prosperity.  
Most Florida porcelains conform to one of a small handful of general formats and
layouts, but the first-issue Clay plates are highly distinctive.  The state
designation on these plates, furthermore, reads “FLORIDA.” - with a period for
some unknown reason!  The numbers on the two surviving examples of these
1912-13 plates are odd as well, as both are in the mid-500s.  It seems highly
unlikely that this many plates were issued, and one might speculate that they
began at #500.  The next known plate is from 1914-15 and conforms to a more
traditional Florida porcelain layout.  These plates are known in both passenger
and For Hire versions.  Clay County porcelains continued through 1917.





















COLUMBIA

Columbia is a county in Northern Florida with its northern boundary bordering on
Georgia.  The county was established in 1832 from St. Johns County and was
named in honor of Christopher Columbus.  Although there is some speculation
that a surviving 1913-14 porcelain with no jurisdiction name on it might well be
from Columbia, we cannot be sure of this.  I have shown this plate at left for
reference.  The only known Columbia porcelains date from 1915-16 and 1916-17,
with numbers reaching into the mid-200s in the latter year.











DADE

Now known as Miami-Dade, Dade County was originally established on January 18,
1836.  Located in Southeastern Florida along the Atlantic Ocean, the remoteness
of the area limited its development to a handful of farms and plantations, plus a
few small settlements, until the arrival of the railroad in 1896. The city of Miami
(which would later issue non-porcelain license plates of its own) was
incorporated in the same year.  The original Dade County settlements were all
built near the Biscayne Bay, but the great influx of new residents in the early
1900s made it necessary to build canals to drain the uninhabitable land of the
Everglades. The steady arrival of newcomers soon gave way to the Florida Land
Boom.  The county’s porcelain license plate era occurred right as this
developmental shift was taking place.  The first known porcelains were issued in
1913-14 and continued annually through 1916-17.  Existing in both passenger and
For Hire variants, there are a total of eight different Dade porcelains to collect.  

While certainly not easy to find – especially the For Hire versions – Dade plates
are among the slightly more common Florida porcelains.  Registrations in 1913-14
reached at least 800, surpassed 1,100 in 1914-15, and went well into the 2000s by
the time the pre-state era ended in 1917.  1915-16 plates appear to be the most
difficult to find of the passenger issues for some unknown reason, but there are
perhaps a dozen surviving examples of each of the other three years.  Most are
unmarked as to manufacturer, but the backs of the 1913-14 and 1914-15 plates
bear the distinctive seal of the Baltimore Enamel & Novelty Company.

Notably, the highest numbered 1916-17 issues are embossed metal.  It is
conceivable that when the porcelains ran out, the city had to order a few more
plates for late registrants.  However, since the porcelain plates had long since
been produced and delivered, and no further porcelains were ordered from the
manufacturer now that the pre-state era was over, the city must have contracted
for a small supply of embossed plates.

































DESOTO

Located in Southwest Florida, the county of DeSoto was created from Manatee
County in 1887.  In the late 1870s, the railroads had been completed through
Desoto Co and it changed the growth of the county and brought wealth for many.
In 1881, phosphate was discovered on the banks of Peace River that flows
through the county.  Mining of this mineral brought further prosperity.  Cattle
have also played an important part in the settling and economy of DeSoto County
from the beginning.  Like Bradford, DeSoto County first issued embossed metal
plates to vehicle owners.  At least one gold & red 1912-13 embossed plate is
known.  The county switched to porcelain two years later, and both passenger
and For Hire versions of De Soto porcelains exist for three years, from 1914-15
though 1916-17.  The passenger plates are known with numbers up close to #500,
while the For Hire varieties seem to all be below #100.

























DUVAL

Duval is situated in the Northeastern portion of the state.  The county was
established in 1822 from St. Johns County and was named for William Pope Duval,
first territorial governor of Florida.  Duval is home to the important port city of
Jacksonville, which issued its own license plates in addition to the county plates.  
Duval plates were issued in 1911, quite early for Florida porcelains.  The first
plates were small porcelain discs dated 1911-12, were three inches in diameter,
and came in both “Auto” and “For Hire” versions.  Although we have never seen
a 1912-13 plate from Duval, and don't know whether it may or may not have been
porcelain, we do know that beginning in 1913 the county switched to the issuance
of small flat metal plates for a period of four years until the pre-state era was
over.  Duval is thus one of only a small handful of jurisdictions in Florida that
initiated their plates runs with porcelain, but later abandoned it in favor of metal
issues.











ESCAMBIA

Escambia is the Westernmost county in the state of Florida, bordering Alabama to
the North and West, and the Gulf of Mexico to the South.  Although known as the
America's first settlement, with Europeans first landing there a half-century
before pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, the county itself was not created until 1821.  
Porcelain license plates appear to have first been issued in Escambia in 1912-13.  
At least 100 of these first passenger issues were produced, and the plates bear a
strange grammatical mark – a comma after the county name and before the
abbreviation “CO” for county.  A number of Taxicab plates are also known from
1912-13, and these plates are notable for two reasons - firstly, they are all #1 and
secondly, they have the unusual designation “Taxicab” on them.  Of all Florida
pre-state porcelains, Escambia is the only county that used the term “Taxicab” or
“Taxi.”  Of course, many of the For Hire plates issued by various counties surely
adorned taxis, but the plates themselves do not indicate this.  As for the fact that
all of the 1912-13 taxi plates are #1, taxi companies probably received as many
duplicate plates as they needed.  Thus, if the first company to register had four
cabs, one might speculate that they received four #1 plates.  Oddly enough, these
plates bear both of the seemingly redundant terms "For Hire" and "Taxi."  The
following year, a 1913-14 plate was issued, although only passenger versions
have been found thus far.  About a half-dozen of these plates are known to exist
with numbers approaching 1,000.  Annual porcelains continued to be issued from
1914-15 through 1916-17, and at least in the latter two years, “Taxi” plates are
once again known.  None of the Escambia porcelains bears a maker's mark - with
one exception: the 1914-15 plates were manufactured by the Baltimore Enamel &
Novelty Company.
Use this shortcut to
jump to the Florida
archive page of
your choice

PAGE 1
(Alachua-Escambia)

PAGE 2
(Fernandina-Lee)

PAGE 3
(Leon-Putnam)

PAGE 4
(Santa Rosa-
West Palm Beach)
1915-16
Passenger
Black/White
3" x 6"
1915-16
For Hire
Black/White
3" x 6"
1915-16
Motorcycle
Black/White
8" x 2 1/2"
1916-17
Passenger
White/Blue
3" x 6"
1916-17
For Hire
White/Blue
3" x 6"
1916-17
Motorcycle
White/Blue
8" x 2 1/2"
1912-13
Passenger
White/Blue
 
1913-14
Passenger
White/Blue
6" x 12"
1914-15
Passenger
Black/Dark
 
1915-16
Passenger
Green/White
4" x 9"
1916-17
Passenger
White/Dark
 
1915-16
Passenger
White/Blue
 
1913-14
Passenger
White/Blue
4" x 8"
1913-14
For Hire
White/Blue
4" x 8"
1914-15
Passenger
White/Green
4" x 9"
1915-16
Passenger
White/Blue
4" x 9"
1916-17
Passenger, Type 1
White/Blue
4" x 9"
1916-17
Passenger, Type 2
White/Blue
4" x 9"
1912-13
Passenger
White/Blue
5 1/2" x 10"
1916-17
Passenger
White/Green
 
1912-13
Passenger
White/Blue
5" x 13"
1914-15
Passenger
White/Blue
5 1/2" x 10"
1914-15
For Hire
White/Blue
5 1/2" x 10"
1916-17
Passenger
White/Blue
5 1/2" x 10"
1913-14
Passenger
White/Blue
4 1/4" x 9"
1913-14
For Hire
White/Blue
4 1/4" x 9"
1914-15
Passenger
White/Blue
4 1/4" x 9"
1914-15
For Hire
White/Blue
4 1/4" x 9"
1915-16
Passenger
Red/Yellow
4 1/2" x 8"
1916-17
Passenger, Type 1
White/Green
4 1/2" x 8"
1916-17
Passenger, Type 2
White/Green
4 1/2" x 8"
1915-16
Passenger
White/Green
4" x 9"
1915-16
Motorcycle
White/Green
 
1916-17
Passenger
Yellow/Black
4" x 9"
1911-12
Passenger
Blue/White
5 1/2" x 10"
1912-13
Passenger
Yellow/Black
5 1/2" x 10"
1913-14
Passenger
Black/White
5 1/2" x 10"
1914-15
Passenger
Black/Yellow
4" x 9"
1915-16
Passenger
Green/White
4" x 9"
1916-17
Passenger
White/Green
4" x 9"
1912-13
Passenger
White/Blue
5 1/2" x 10"
1912-13
For Hire / Taxi
White/Black
5 1/2" x 10"
1913-14
Passenger
White/Blue
5 1/2" x 10"
1914-15
Passenger
White/Green
4" x 9"
1915-16
Passenger
Yellow/Black
4" x 9"
1915-16
Taxi
Black/Yellow
6" x 12"
1916-17
Passenger
Dark Blue/Light Blue
4" x 9"
1916-17
Taxi
Black/White
6" x 12"
1914-15
Passenger
White/Blue
3 1/2" x 6"
1914-15
For Hire
  3 1/2" x 6"
1915-16
Passenger
Yellow/Black
3 1/2" x 6"
1915-16
For Hire
Yellow/Black
3 1/2" x 6"
1916-17
Passenger
Green/White
3 1/2" x 6"
1916-17
For Hire
Green/White
3 1/2" x 6"
1911-12
Passenger
White/Blue
3" Diameter
1911-12
For Hire
White/Red
3" Diameter
1915-16
Passenger
Red/White
4" x 9"
1916-17
Passenger
Black/White
4" x 9"
1913-14
Passenger
White/Blue
4" x 9"
1913-14
For Hire
Blue/White
4" x 9"
1914-15
Passenger
Black/Yellow
4" x 9"
1914-15
For Hire
Yellow/Black
4" x 9"
1915-16
Passenger
White/Green
4" x 9"
1915-16
For Hire
Green/White
4" x 9"
1916-17
Passenger
White/Blue
4" x 9"
1916-17
For Hire
Dark Blue/Light Blue
4" x 9"
1912-13
Passenger
White/Blue
6" x 12"
1912-13
For Hire
White/Blue
6" x 12"
1913-14
Passenger
White/Blue
4" x 8"
1914-15
Passenger
Black/Yellow
4" x 8"
1914-15
For Hire
Black/Yellow
4" x 8"
1914-15
Motorcycle
Black/Yellow
8" x 2 1/2"






Note that late issue 1917
plates were manufactured
on an embossed metal base
Florida Archive (1 of 4)
ALACHUA - ESCAMBIA
The first Bradford County
plates were embossed
metal plates dated 1912
This plate was found in
Columbia, and some
collectors believe it to be an
official Columbia issue
The earliest known Desoto
plates were embossed
metal plates dated 1913
Beginning in at least
1913-14, Duval switched to
the issuance of small flat
painted metal plates