Scott was born in
Alexandria, Pennsylvania, and was the fourth child of Agnes Irvine and
John Scott Sr., both of
Irish descent. He became a
merchant and
farmer in Pennsylvania. In 1850 Scott visited Florida and moved to
Quincy,
Florida in 1851. In 1852, Scott moved to
Leon County, Florida, where he established a
mercantile exchange and his
George W. Scott Plantation. Scott became the first person to exploit Florida's vast
phosphate deposits and in 1887 purchased 1,000 acres (4 km2) of land along the
Peace River in
Charlotte County, backed the
Arcadia Phosphate Company, and sold the
Comer-Hall Fertilizer Company in Savannah. In May 1888 the first shipments of phosphate were made to his G. W. Scott Manufacturing Company. Scott built a fortune in real estate and fertilizer in Atlanta. ==Notes==