EVERGLADES CITY and CHOKOLOSKEE
FLORIDA'S LAST FRONTIER
EVERGLADES CITY and CHOKOLOSKEE, at the entrance to the
Western Everglades, were two frontier outposts
frontier outposts until 1923 when Barron Collier made Everglades
City the seat of Collier County
and supply depot for the construction of the Tamiami
Trail. Prior to the boom, this isolated region was Florida's last outpost for fur trappers,
plumage hunters, Cuban fishermen, and people with a disdain for modern
civilization.
WHERE TO START: Everglades City can only be reached by BOAT or DRIVING SOUTH ON
FL29, past the 1926 Everglades
High School, pride of a
town that has lost population since 1930. A. You'll notice houses on stilts and
air boat rides along the river.
TURN RIGHT ON BROADWAY, past the Spanish-style railroad depot with its
barrel tile roof and past the frame Community
Church. You won't miss
the OLD COLLIER COUNTY COURTHOUSE, a 1926 four-columned temple
that seems totally atypical for a frontier village.
At Shorter
Avenue is the (1) COMPANY
LAUNDRY BUILDING
(1928) and the (2) BANK OF EVERGLADES
(1926).
Everglades Bank – Now
Hotel Everglades Museum
Everglades Rod & Gun Club
Rod & Gun Rustic Florida
At 200
Riverside Drive by Broadway is the wonderful ROD
AND GUN LODGE (1890), built by Collier to entertain friends, but
expanded to serve tourists. Go inside and imagine Ernest Hemingway and Ted
Williams have a drink at the bar after a serious day of bone-fishing in the Ten
Thousand Islands. This is a unique place to stay or eat or rent a boat.
CONTINUE SOUTH ON FL29 to reach CHOKOLOSKEE ISLAND, but stop at the
80-foot E. J. HAMILTON OBSERVATION TOWER for a view of the 10,000 Islands or
visit the EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK HEADQUARTERS, which has boat tours in the
Everglades' Western limits.
This area of Florida still has the
feel of pioneer days, but please remember that between May and October, the tropical areas are the domain of
mosquitoes and bugs. CHOKOLOSKEE
ISLAND is a
150-acre mound in a shallow inland sea. Follow the signs to the amazing (3) SMALLWOOD
STORE (1917), a one-story board and batten trading post on pilings. Ted
Smallwood once ought the entire island in 1896 and his structure was grocery,
post office, and symbol of the end of the Florida West Coast.
Ted Smallwood
Smallwood Store
The rest of the island consists of fishing
camps, mobile homes, and the remnants of Calusa
mounds.