Chokoloskee, Florida
Encyclopedia
Chokoloskee is a census-designated place
(CDP) in Collier County
, Florida
, United States
. The population was 404 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Naples
–Marco Island
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²), all of it land.
Chokoloskee is located on Chokoloskee Island, which is opposite the mouth of the Turner River near the southeastern end of Chokoloskee Bay. Chokoloskee Bay is about ten miles (16 km) long and 2 miles (3 km) wide, and runs southeast to northwest along the mainland
of Collier County. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico
by the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands
. Chokoloskee Island is connected to Everglades City on the mainland by a causeway.
The land around Chokoloskee Bay, both on the mainland and the islands, is very low-lying. Chokoloskee Island is an exception, as it reaches a high-point of 20 feet (6 m) above sea level. This height is due to the shell mounds built on the island during more than 2,000 years of occupation by Native Americans
of the Ten Thousand Islands district of the Glades culture
.
of 2000, there were 404 people, 183 households, and 139 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 1,445.0 people per square mile (557.1/km²). There were 589 housing units at an average density of 2,106.7/sq mi (812.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.51% White, 0.25% from other races
, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.23% of the population.
There were 183 households out of which 16.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.6% were married couples
living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.53.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 16.3% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $33,750, and the median income for a family was $36,389. Males had a median income of $26,333 versus $19,250 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $16,847. About 2.4% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
an explorers reached the area. By the time Spain
transferred Florida
to Great Britain
in 1763, the area was uninhabited. During the first three-quarters of the 19th century, Chokoloskee Island may have been occasionally visited by Seminole
s, white
hunters, "Spanish Indian" fishermen from Cuba
and various "refugees from justice."
Chokoloskee was briefly occupied by the United States Army
during the Third Seminole War
. In November 1856 110 men of the Florida Mounted Volunteers reached Chokoloskee Island. From there, an expedition of 75 men went up the Turner River, where they burned a Seminole settlement and a couple of planted fields. After a skirmish with the Seminoles in which a Captain John Parkhill was killed, the expedition returned to Chokoloskee Island to find that their base had been moved to Cape Romano
, because of a lack of fresh water on the island.
. Other residents came and went fairly frequently. Due to the efforts of Charles Greenleigh (C. G.) McKinney, a post office was established in Chokoloskee in 1891, although it was known as "Comfort" for the first few months.
In 1897 Ted Smallwood moved to Chokoloskee Island. There were still just five other families on the island, including the Santini brothers. In 1899, the Santinis left and sold their claims to Smallwood, who became the major landholder on the island. Chokoloskee had acquired a post office in 1891, at first called Comfort, but changed to Chokoloskee within a year. At first, mail for Chokoloskee came by boat from Key West, then as the railroads
extended down the Florida peninsula, the mail came from Punta Gorda
, and later from Fort Myers
. After the highway reached Everglades City, it came by boat from there until the causeway to Chokoloskee Island was completed in 1956. Because of the uncertainty of the mail boat schedule, a conch
shell would be blown to alert the islanders that the mail had arrived.
Chokoloskee Island was quite isolated. At first it was in Monroe County
, with the county seat in Key West, 90 miles (144.8 km) away. In 1887, Lee County
was created out of part of Monroe County, including Chokoloskee, but the county seat was in Fort Myers, almost 90 miles (144.8 km) in the opposite direction from Key West. Finally, in 1923, Collier County was created out of Lee County, with the county seat at Everglades City, just a few miles across Chokoloskee Bay from Chokoloskee Island. However, access to the outside world was still by boat to Key West or Fort Myers until the Tamiami Trail
was completed and connected to Everglades City in the late 1920s.
C. G. McKinney had moved to Chokoloskee in 1886. He had opened a small store soon afterwards and had been instrumental in getting the post office for Chokoloskee,. In 1912 McKinney wrote a complaint about how Chokoloskee was being ignored. He was insulted that two recent letters to him had been addressed to "Everglade" (Everglades City). He wrote, "Now I wish folks could learn that there is another part of this neck of the woods beside Everglade. Everglade is a small place beside Chokoloskee. We have two business houses ... we have ten families living here."
via Everglades [City]. In 1897 he married and settled down on Chokoloskee Island. He hunted alligator
s, cut buttonwood (for charcoal
), fished and raised tomatoes. In 1906 he became postmaster
for Chokoloskee and opened a general store
which housed the post office
. He remained postmaster until he retired in 1941. His daughter succeeded him as postmaster.
Ted Smallwood died in 1951, but his daughters kept the store open until 1982. Ted Smallwood's store
was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1974. His granddaughter has opened the store as a museum.
, in northern Florida to which his parents had migrated sometime after 1870, and had then gone out to the Indian territory (later known as the Oklahoma Territory
) where he allegedly killed Belle Starr
, herself allegedly an outlaw. He then returned to Florida, and killed a man in Arcadia
, apparently in self-defense. After that Ed Watson moved to the Ten Thousand Islands area of Monroe County, Florida, where he bought a claim on the Chatham Bend River and began raising vegetables.
On a trip to Key West, Watson got into an argument with Adolphus Santini and tried to cut his throat. Santini survived, but the incident cost Watson $900. After that Watson bought a claim on Lost Man's River, also in Monroe County. A man named Tucker soon squatted on the claim and would not leave. Eventually Tucker and his nephew were found murdered, and suspicion fell on Watson. After that Watson went back to Fort White, Columbia County. While there he again became involved with bad company, and came under suspicion in the deaths of two men.
Watson returned to the Chatham Bend area and began making syrup
(from sugar cane). Soon Watson had several people living at his place, including a man named Dutchy Melvin, who is said to have "killed a policeman and burned a factory or two". While Watson and Melvin were in Chokoloskee, a man named Cox and someone identified only as "the Nigger" allegedly killed an old woman named Hannah Smith and a man named Walker at the Watson place. When Watson and Melvin returned, Cox and "the Nigger" allegedly killed Melvin as well. Hannah Smith's body was later found in the Chatham Bend River by some settlers and given a burial.
About this time, on October 17, 1910, a major hurricane
struck the area. Ed Watson went to Fort Myers during the hurricane, and tried to bring the sheriff back afterwards to arrest Cox, but the Lee County sheriff would not go past Marco
. Watson then bought some shells at Ted Smallwood's store and said he was going back to his place to kill Cox. When Watson returned to Chokoloskee a few days later a crowd met him at the landing and, after a brief standoff, killed him. The sheriff did come down to Chokoloskee after that, and took a number of Chokoloskee residents back to Fort Myers for a court session, but nothing came of it.
Peter Matthiessen
fictionalized the story in his Watson trilogy (Killing Mister Watson, Lost Man's River, Bone by Bone), and retold the "Watson Legend" in Shadow Country
. Matthiessen inspired the Decemberists
to retell the story as "E. Watson" in their EP Long Live the King.
.
Religious services were also sporadic. A priest would come up from Key West on occasion to provide for the Catholics
on the island. Protestant
preacher
s also visited the island, and a small mission church
was built. One week in 1915 there were two preachers on the island, with competing revival meeting
s every night.
Except for a "Doctor" S.L. Greene who lived there for a few months, Chokoloskee Island never had a resident doctor. C. G. McKinney provided most of the medical care on the island for 50 years. He was registered with the State Board of Health as a midwife
, treated injuries and illnesses, and extracted teeth. His dental care was supplemented by the occasional visit of an itinerant dentist.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in Collier County
Collier County, Florida
Collier County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 251,377. The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county is 315,839...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 404 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Naples
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
–Marco Island
Marco Island, Florida
Marco Island is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States, located on an island by the same name in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Southwest Florida. It is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area...
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Chokoloskee is located at 25°48′46"N 81°21′39"W (25.812886, -81.360812).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²), all of it land.
Chokoloskee is located on Chokoloskee Island, which is opposite the mouth of the Turner River near the southeastern end of Chokoloskee Bay. Chokoloskee Bay is about ten miles (16 km) long and 2 miles (3 km) wide, and runs southeast to northwest along the mainland
Mainland
Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...
of Collier County. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
by the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands
Ten Thousand Islands (Florida)
The Ten Thousand Islands are a chain of islands and mangrove islets off the coast of southwest Florida, between Cape Romano and the mouth of Lostman's River. Some of the islands are high spots on a drowned shoreline. Others were produced by mangroves growing on oyster bars...
. Chokoloskee Island is connected to Everglades City on the mainland by a causeway.
The land around Chokoloskee Bay, both on the mainland and the islands, is very low-lying. Chokoloskee Island is an exception, as it reaches a high-point of 20 feet (6 m) above sea level. This height is due to the shell mounds built on the island during more than 2,000 years of occupation by Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
of the Ten Thousand Islands district of the Glades culture
Glades culture
The Glades culture is an archaeological culture in southernmost Florida that lasted from about 500 BCE until shortly after European contact. Its area included the Everglades, the Florida Keys, the Atlantic coast of Florida north through present-day Martin County and the Gulf coast north to Marco...
.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 404 people, 183 households, and 139 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,445.0 people per square mile (557.1/km²). There were 589 housing units at an average density of 2,106.7/sq mi (812.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.51% White, 0.25% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.23% of the population.
There were 183 households out of which 16.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.53.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 16.3% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $33,750, and the median income for a family was $36,389. Males had a median income of $26,333 versus $19,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $16,847. About 2.4% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Before European settlement
Chokoloskee Island was inhabited by Indians for more than 1,500 years before EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an explorers reached the area. By the time Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
transferred Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
to Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1763, the area was uninhabited. During the first three-quarters of the 19th century, Chokoloskee Island may have been occasionally visited by Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
s, white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
hunters, "Spanish Indian" fishermen from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and various "refugees from justice."
Chokoloskee was briefly occupied by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during the Third Seminole War
Seminole Wars
The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...
. In November 1856 110 men of the Florida Mounted Volunteers reached Chokoloskee Island. From there, an expedition of 75 men went up the Turner River, where they burned a Seminole settlement and a couple of planted fields. After a skirmish with the Seminoles in which a Captain John Parkhill was killed, the expedition returned to Chokoloskee Island to find that their base had been moved to Cape Romano
Cape Romano
Cape Romano is a cape at the southern end of Caxambas Island, just south of Marco Island and northwest of the Ten Thousand Islands in Collier County, Florida.Calusa Indians founded the settlement and called it Manataca...
, because of a lack of fresh water on the island.
Early settlement
The modern settlement of Chokoloskee Island started in 1874. The second family on the island was that of Adolphus Santini, who was soon joined by his brother and his parents. By around 1880 the Santini family held claim to most of the island. In 1882 there were five families living on the island, including those of the two Santini brothers. These early residents farmed, fished and caught turtles, selling any surpluses in Key WestKey West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
. Other residents came and went fairly frequently. Due to the efforts of Charles Greenleigh (C. G.) McKinney, a post office was established in Chokoloskee in 1891, although it was known as "Comfort" for the first few months.
In 1897 Ted Smallwood moved to Chokoloskee Island. There were still just five other families on the island, including the Santini brothers. In 1899, the Santinis left and sold their claims to Smallwood, who became the major landholder on the island. Chokoloskee had acquired a post office in 1891, at first called Comfort, but changed to Chokoloskee within a year. At first, mail for Chokoloskee came by boat from Key West, then as the railroads
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
extended down the Florida peninsula, the mail came from Punta Gorda
Punta Gorda, Florida
Punta Gorda is a city in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates of 2007, the city had a population of 16,762. It is the county seat of Charlotte County and the only incorporated municipality in the county...
, and later from Fort Myers
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
. After the highway reached Everglades City, it came by boat from there until the causeway to Chokoloskee Island was completed in 1956. Because of the uncertainty of the mail boat schedule, a conch
Conch
A conch is a common name which is applied to a number of different species of medium-sized to large sea snails or their shells, generally those which are large and have a high spire and a siphonal canal....
shell would be blown to alert the islanders that the mail had arrived.
Chokoloskee Island was quite isolated. At first it was in Monroe County
Monroe County, Florida
Monroe County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 79,589. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county was 74,737....
, with the county seat in Key West, 90 miles (144.8 km) away. In 1887, Lee County
Lee County, Florida
Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Located in southwest Florida, the principal cities in the county are Fort Myers and Cape Coral...
was created out of part of Monroe County, including Chokoloskee, but the county seat was in Fort Myers, almost 90 miles (144.8 km) in the opposite direction from Key West. Finally, in 1923, Collier County was created out of Lee County, with the county seat at Everglades City, just a few miles across Chokoloskee Bay from Chokoloskee Island. However, access to the outside world was still by boat to Key West or Fort Myers until the Tamiami Trail
Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....
was completed and connected to Everglades City in the late 1920s.
C. G. McKinney had moved to Chokoloskee in 1886. He had opened a small store soon afterwards and had been instrumental in getting the post office for Chokoloskee,. In 1912 McKinney wrote a complaint about how Chokoloskee was being ignored. He was insulted that two recent letters to him had been addressed to "Everglade" (Everglades City). He wrote, "Now I wish folks could learn that there is another part of this neck of the woods beside Everglade. Everglade is a small place beside Chokoloskee. We have two business houses ... we have ten families living here."
Ted Smallwood
Starting in 1896 Ted Smallwood carried the mail by sailboat between Chokoloskee and MarcoMarco Island, Florida
Marco Island is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States, located on an island by the same name in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Southwest Florida. It is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area...
via Everglades [City]. In 1897 he married and settled down on Chokoloskee Island. He hunted alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s, cut buttonwood (for charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
), fished and raised tomatoes. In 1906 he became postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
for Chokoloskee and opened a general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
which housed the post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
. He remained postmaster until he retired in 1941. His daughter succeeded him as postmaster.
Ted Smallwood died in 1951, but his daughters kept the store open until 1982. Ted Smallwood's store
Ted Smallwood Store
The Ted Smallwood Store is a historic store in Chokoloskee, Florida. It is located at SR 29 in Everglades National Park. On July 24, 1974, it was added to the U.S...
was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1974. His granddaughter has opened the store as a museum.
Edgar Watson
The Ten Thousand Islands country, including Chokoloskee, had a reputation as being a refuge for outlaws. The Ed Watson story, as related by Ted Smallwood, is the best known example of that. Edgar Watson, a native of Ridge Springs, in the Saluda Division of Edgefield District, South Carolina showed up in the Chokoloskee Bay country in the early 1880s. He had supposedly gotten into trouble in Columbia CountyColumbia County, Florida
Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 56,513. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 64,040 . Its county seat is Lake City, Florida....
, in northern Florida to which his parents had migrated sometime after 1870, and had then gone out to the Indian territory (later known as the Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...
) where he allegedly killed Belle Starr
Belle Starr
Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr , better known as Belle Starr, was a notorious American outlaw.-Early life:...
, herself allegedly an outlaw. He then returned to Florida, and killed a man in Arcadia
Arcadia, Florida
Arcadia is a city in DeSoto County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,604 as of the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city grew to 7,151. It is the county seat of DeSoto County; it is also DeSoto County's only incorporated community. On October 27, 2009,...
, apparently in self-defense. After that Ed Watson moved to the Ten Thousand Islands area of Monroe County, Florida, where he bought a claim on the Chatham Bend River and began raising vegetables.
On a trip to Key West, Watson got into an argument with Adolphus Santini and tried to cut his throat. Santini survived, but the incident cost Watson $900. After that Watson bought a claim on Lost Man's River, also in Monroe County. A man named Tucker soon squatted on the claim and would not leave. Eventually Tucker and his nephew were found murdered, and suspicion fell on Watson. After that Watson went back to Fort White, Columbia County. While there he again became involved with bad company, and came under suspicion in the deaths of two men.
Watson returned to the Chatham Bend area and began making syrup
Syrup
In cooking, a syrup is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but showing little tendency to deposit crystals...
(from sugar cane). Soon Watson had several people living at his place, including a man named Dutchy Melvin, who is said to have "killed a policeman and burned a factory or two". While Watson and Melvin were in Chokoloskee, a man named Cox and someone identified only as "the Nigger" allegedly killed an old woman named Hannah Smith and a man named Walker at the Watson place. When Watson and Melvin returned, Cox and "the Nigger" allegedly killed Melvin as well. Hannah Smith's body was later found in the Chatham Bend River by some settlers and given a burial.
About this time, on October 17, 1910, a major hurricane
1910 Cuba hurricane
The 1910 Cuba hurricane, popularly known as the Cyclone of the Five Days, was a destructive and unusual tropical cyclone which struck Cuba and the United States in October 1910. It formed in the southern Caribbean on October 9 and intensified as it moved northwestward, becoming a...
struck the area. Ed Watson went to Fort Myers during the hurricane, and tried to bring the sheriff back afterwards to arrest Cox, but the Lee County sheriff would not go past Marco
Marco Island, Florida
Marco Island is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States, located on an island by the same name in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Southwest Florida. It is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Watson then bought some shells at Ted Smallwood's store and said he was going back to his place to kill Cox. When Watson returned to Chokoloskee a few days later a crowd met him at the landing and, after a brief standoff, killed him. The sheriff did come down to Chokoloskee after that, and took a number of Chokoloskee residents back to Fort Myers for a court session, but nothing came of it.
Peter Matthiessen
Peter Matthiessen
Peter Matthiessen is a two-time National Book Award-winning American novelist and non-fiction writer, as well as an environmental activist...
fictionalized the story in his Watson trilogy (Killing Mister Watson, Lost Man's River, Bone by Bone), and retold the "Watson Legend" in Shadow Country
Shadow Country
Shadow Country is a novel by Peter Matthiessen published in 2008 by Random House. It tells the semi-fictional life story of Edgar "Bloody" Watson, a real Florida sugar cane planter and alleged murderer and outlaw who was killed in the remote Ten Thousand Islands region of southwest Florida in...
. Matthiessen inspired the Decemberists
The Decemberists
The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk , Jenny Conlee , Nate Query , and John Moen .The band's...
to retell the story as "E. Watson" in their EP Long Live the King.
Education, religion and medical care
As a small, isolated community, Chokoloskee did not support a continuously operating school or church. A small school building was erected, and teachers were sent on occasion, but the teachers were not generally prepared for the life at Chokoloskee, and most did not stay very long. The children of Chokoloskee Island did not attend school past the eighth grade until the late 1930s, when some began attending high school in Everglades City and NaplesNaples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
.
Religious services were also sporadic. A priest would come up from Key West on occasion to provide for the Catholics
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
on the island. Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
s also visited the island, and a small mission church
Mission (station)
A religious mission or mission station is a location for missionary work.While primarily a Christian term, the concept of the religious "mission" is also used prominently by the Church of Scientology and their Scientology Missions International....
was built. One week in 1915 there were two preachers on the island, with competing revival meeting
Revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...
s every night.
Except for a "Doctor" S.L. Greene who lived there for a few months, Chokoloskee Island never had a resident doctor. C. G. McKinney provided most of the medical care on the island for 50 years. He was registered with the State Board of Health as a midwife
Midwifery
Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breastfeeding....
, treated injuries and illnesses, and extracted teeth. His dental care was supplemented by the occasional visit of an itinerant dentist.