decade after the railroads were built, including land in Hawthorne described as "in the heart of a famous vegetable region ... large public school, churches, stores, hotels, three cotton gins, wagon repair shop." At this time, Hawthorne was known for its hunting and fishing and "Northern sportsmen frequented the area to enjoy" it. Sportsmen could stay at William Shepard Moore's hotel; he served breakfast early and had hunting dogs, guides, and horses available. During the 1880s many orange groves were planted in the Hawthorne area, but after the 1894 Great Freeze ruined citrus trees, growers switched to vegetables; the area became known for Sea Island cotton (Pima cotton) around the turn of the 20th century although it had been grown there since at least the early 1880s. The boll weevil halted the cotton trade, however, and Hawthorne diversified into brickmaking, other agriculture, turpentine production, and railroad work. Because two rail lines crossed in the city, it became a transfer point; there was no passenger station, however, and travelers had to walk (or ride) to the connecting line's depot. The Florida state railroad commission declared that the depots were inadequate to accommodate the "traveling public", and required the rail companies to build a segregated union passenger station in Hawthorne by November 1912. Hawthorne was a bustling community in 1913 with a cotton gin, a bank, four general stores, a drug store, three hotels, and two furniture stores. The city experienced a boom during the 1920s; by late in the decade, Hawthorne had a bank, high school, ice and electric plants, a Western Union, a Railway Express Agency, and a telephone exchange. Although the city suffered during the Great Depression, daily rail service continued; Highway 20 was paved, and a bridge was built over the railroad tracks. The area remained an agricultural center. The original city hall burned during the mid-to-late 1930s and was replaced by a "white stucco building with Mediterranean influence", which was Hawthorne's city hall until 2018. That year, the city hall moved down the street to an old bank building on the corner of County Road 2082, and the old city-hall building began use as a community center. During the 1940s, agriculture declined because the land had not been replenished. The pulpwood industry began when National Container (a box company later purchased by Owens-Illinois) bought in the area. A state forest was created south of Hawthorne with of