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loitatio


Drainage, land reclamation andflood control changed water flow
patterns, which affected people and wildlife living in the
Everglades. HMSE


Wt" People began to change the Everglades before they understood its
nature. In this 1920s photo, a developer surveys land he is about to
clear for a sisal farm. HMSE


More than five million people live south of Lake Okeechobee. Sot
huge farms and sugar plantations sprawl south of the lake, and a V
across the interior south to Florida Bay.
The farms and cities threaten the very existence of the Everglades,
survive. To resolve this dilemma and to provide adequate water fol
ments have embarked upon the largest and most costly restoration
This problem began more than a century ago, when explorers and
Everglades and dreamt of change, economic wealth and exploitati
Everglades began soon after its exploitation began. Florida's explo;
tension between exploitation and conservation of this unique ecos


The Everglades was organized by the Historical Museum of
Southern Florida. This exhibit has been funded with Historical
Museums Grants-in-Aid Program assistance provided by the
Bureau of Historical Museums, Division of Historical Resources,
Florida Department of State, Katherine Harris, Secretary of State.
Sponsored in part by the Florida Department of State, Division
of Cultural Affairs.
*.'


.4


FLORIDA___

HUMANITIES
COUNCIL
727-553-3800
.* ww.flahum.org


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Few people other than Indians ventured into South Florida's interior during the nineteenth
century, and the land, consequently, was mysterious, unknown and misunderstood. A series of
expeditions gradually revealed the nature of the Everglades to civilization.


Surveyors ventured deep


into the Everglades,
landfor roads and


development.


view shows a survey crew
for the building of Tamiami


to plat


During the
boat, and u


first maps


Seminole


Wars,


soldiers a


iere the first whites to exp


of the


National


Trail.


HMSE


Beginning in the late
q. .


Everglades for p
well as for work.


by


, measure as
This 1916


botanistJ.


Small, shows men setting


off on a two-day hunt
around Coot Bay. HMSE


New Orleans


The


Times-Democrat
sponsored an
expedition in 1883
that traveled from
Lake Okeechobee to
the head of Shark


River.


The explorers


searched for land
suitable to drain and
develop for
agriculture. HMSE


ExP


I


~-_


4


rI


i
of


This 1924


Everglades.


nij


begin


h century, people
4ering the


photograph,


K.


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During the second half ofthe
nineteenth century, white settlers
established trading posts where
Seminoles bartered alligator hides,
pelts and bird feathers for cloth,
beads and sewing machines. HMSE


"Forward to the Soil, "a 1927
publicity event near Hialeah,
celebrated land reclamation.
Thepublicity stunts included
a simulated "peace treaty" with
the Seminoles. HMSE


Seminoles traveled by dugout
Everglades to trading posts on


AL ,


Beginning in the 191 Os,
Seminoles divided their
time between tourist
attraction villages and
secluded camps on tree
islands in the Everglades
and Big Cypress Swamp.
HMSE
Some Seminoles moved
their homes and villages to
Tamiami Trail, where they
earned a living through
tourism. HMSE


i The ancestors of
S'./ Indians moved ii
during the early
They lived on re
Everglades and E
contact with the
1910Os, tourist att
contact with non
support while help
Beginning in the 19
reservations. The Sem
the Miccosukee Tribe in I


. -, --I .' ,..I.., .. .-..


I

























Attractionspackaged the Everglades experiencefor tourists. During the
1890s, Alligator Joe ran thefirstalligatorfarms in West Palm Beach


andMiami.


In this postcard,


he isposing with a crocodile. HMSE


woods.


SAir boat rides are a
staple of Indian and
white attractions.
HMSI Miami
News Collection.


-,-JAN>
2~ / ~
1


* Indian villages in


Miami (Musa Isle and


glimpses


ca. 1890. HMSF, Ralph


State a
and bu
possible
Evergla
view, I
Charlie


Munroe


Collection.


',.sq.",
A?'^ '


I OURISM



People began visiting the Everglades for pleasure during the late 1800s.
Most traveled on small sailboats to coastal settlements, such as Coconut
Grove and Chokoloskee. Steamboats and other smaller boats carried
sightseers up canals and "improved" waterways. As roads were built and
improved, more people ventured inland.


Coppinger's) and along the Tamiami


Trail featured alligator wrestling,


of everyday life and souvenirs. HMSE

; Coconut Grove tourists resting in pine


1947.






.~w~rfl iade~


T.. rainhe ,th
The Dd "


-i .i4 a .i.a ^ -


Once exposed to air, the Everglades muck
dried, slowly oxidized, and shrank. In this
1951 photo, Dr. Victor Green shows 25
years ofsubsidence at the Everglades
Experiment Station. HMSE

Land reclamation was more difficult than
anyone had anticipated. Some canals did
not drain the adjoining land, and lateral
drainage ditches had to be dug as well.
HMSE


In 1906 the dredge "Everglades" began
digging a canal from the New River
(Ft. Lauderdale) to Lake
Okeechobee. Other canals soon
followed: North New River, South
New River, Miami, Hillsboro and
Caloosahatchee. HMSE


--- T
'
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- -~-. ._...I_~.._.. ~
---
... ,
- ~LI~I*LI~ILI ~3*1C-C1


During the late nineteenth and early tv
believed that South Florida's wetlands c
canals, and that the new, dry land woul
progress consisted of draining "swamps
then be farmed and built upon.



1" The Swamp Land
Act of 1850
transferred wetlands .
from the federal .(.-
government to the -
states. Florida gave -,_
most of its ...
submerged land to _
railroad companies
and other developers
in exchange for
drainage projects -i
and railroad
construction. HMSE







More than 2,000
people died during
the 1928 hurricane
when the lands
south of Lake
Okeecho bee flooded.
The tragedy
stimulated an
interest in flood
control. HMSE


After the 1928 hurricane, Everglades engineering projects shifted from drainage and land
reclamation to flood control. Over the years, new canals were dug, old canals were deepened, and
dikes, levees, and pumping stations were added, all to prevent flooding in urban, suburban, and
agricultural areas. While these projects made it possible for coastal cities to grow and thrive,
natural areas were severely affected by reduced and arbitrary water flow. During the last quarter of
the twentieth century, projects shifted once again, from flood control to water management, in
order to provide for both civilization and nature.


~,'4


SIn 1947 flooding from two hurricanes inundated western Dade and
Broward counties. As a result the state established the Central and South
Florida Flood Control District, now known as the South Florida Water
Management District. HMSE


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The U.S. Corps of
Engineers built the
Hoover Dike
around the
southern edge of
Lake Okeechobee
to prevent
flooding. Its height
reaches 34feet.
HMSE

Flood control
pump station S-2.
1950s. HMSE

Levee L-30
(Miami-Dade
County) under
construction. June
1951. HMSF.


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.Everglade Land Sales
Company salesmen
show the Everglades
and reclaimed land to
prospective buyers. u WMMM If,.."-mm
HMSE
VOL II o.1
S The Evenrlade Land MRC,,, 913
P MARCH,E1913
Sales Company PRCESLOPRY.
established an
experimental farm at
present-day Davie and
published a magazine,
The Everglade Evergiade Farmers CaPture Prizes at Fair
AMagazine.HMVSE.Produts"frm Dave"Far Wifeabs Cter"" Atrcto
The two first prizes a:t he Dude Counwy Fair--one for the largest and best
display of vegetables grown by any one person and the other for the best gen-.
eral display of vegetables--were both won by EVIEROLADE farmers, in comn-
petition with growers from all over the County.
The two high prize winners were Mr. H. M. Fonnan of the North Canal
and Prof. A. W. Potter of the Davie Farm. Mr. Robert Werner, also of :hc
Davie Farm, won the second prize in the Everglades department.
The awarding of these prizes by impartial judges, who have tin interests in
the Everglades, I. especially gratifying and speaks volumes I or the quaLity oR
products from this new empire. The Everglades scored in about every vegetable
Am moon as the drainage Em sufficiently completed to permit all-year occu-
I pancy, the Evergllades will undoubtedly take tinst place in all important branches
~I of agriculture and horticulture, even as they now hold the palm for winter


garden truck.


- -- -- .-



,!ip
-


z TheModel Lar,
acquired by the
soldan.r sn.
through the anm
/ 2 L .attracted attent






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Beginning in the early twentieth centui
drainage projects sold land to individual
farm produces fruit and vegetables, whi
Much of the land was un-surveyed wet]
the reputation of selling "land by the g.
their land, but many others made a go
more difficult than anticipated, and fev


'stkliauclntl in Ihr Tnle .l tif[ Irirrvlwr Pusrmn flier'


Copyrigat. 199, by IverlIadce I.nLil Sala Co.






alX~


the


- ~


" Beginning in the 1920s,
researchers at the
Everglades Agricultural
Experiment Station
discovered the minerals
and fertilizers that would
make crops planted on
reclaimed land grow and
mature. HMSE


At first vegetable and sugar farms in the Everglades struggled and failed.
Farmers needed more land, reliable labor and knowledge of growing
conditions in reclaimed muck. By mid-century the small farms of the
1910 Os had been consolidated into large plantations in the upper
Everglades, and farmers had acquired the knowledge and labor to
successfully farm crops. Beginning in the 1960s growers concentrated
upon sugar, and increased the number of acres under cultivation. The
water table was lowered to stimulate sugarcane growth, and the nutrient-
laden water that flowed south from the fields altered the vegetation in the
Everglades. In many places, for example, cattails replaced sawgrass. ..


In 1961 Cuba stopped exporting su
opportunity for large sugarplantat4
Pastures and vegetable fields were ce
Miami News Collection.


A


In the 1920s the
Pennsylvania Sugar
Company established
a sugarplantation
and factory at
Pennsuco, near
present-day Miami
Lakes and
Hialeah. It closed
within afew
years. HMSE 1


in
in


Crops p wanted on
reclaimed land sprouted
and grew vigorously, only
to wither and die for lack
of trace minerals. HMSE


*,.


db~i~k









Iower


LE


Squatters started settling
Everglades (now
Everglades City) in the
1860s and 1870s. It was
designated Collier
County's first seat in
1923. A road soon
connected it to Tamiami
Trail, and the community
grew. 1911. HMSE

Ed Watson lived on a
40-acre shell mound at
Chatham Bend on the
Chatham River.
Watson, a suspected
murderer, was himself
killed outside the
Smallwood Store in
1910. The Watson
house, 1911. HMSE

Chokoloskee was first
settled in 1874. Life
centered around the
Smallwood Store
(shown here). A
causeway connected the
island to Everglades
City in 1955. HMSE


In the lower Everglades, homesteads an
navigable creeks. The Everglades' first
places, surrounded by wilderness. Their
made a living through subsistence farm
posts and charcoal making.


Flamingo, a small fishing village 4
1947. The park service tore down
center, boat dock, motel and cam)


' -,Nw .


I


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vaermdes


LEM


Upper Everglades towns were established by Lake Okeechobee
and canals, mostly during and after drainage and land reclamation
projects. Work carried out there related to drainage and land
reclamation, truck farming and, as years went by, sugar growing.


Lake Harbor originated in 1912,
when the Okeechobee Fruitlands
Company built the Bolles Hotel to
house potential landpurchasers.
Until 1931 the town was named
Ritta, a misspelling of Rita, meaning
small and lovely. HMSE


er


~x-~;e I


Moore Haven was
founded in 1915, at
the Caloosahatchee
Canal entrance to
Lake Okeechobee.
HMSE




In 1921-1922 the
Atlantic Coast Line
Railroad was
extended from Moore
Haven to Sand Point,
on Lake Okeechobee.
For the occasion, the
tiny Sand Point
community was
named Clewiston,
after A. C. Clewis,
who had financed the
railway construction.
HMSE


























The Model Land Company built Ingraham
Highway from Florida City through Royal
Palm State Park to Flamingo in 1916-1922.
The rock/mud road was nearly impassable
until the Park Service rerouted and rebuilt it
after 1947. HMSE
Tamiami Trail was widened in the 1950s.
The young Australian Pines in this picture
were planted as a windbreak. HMSF, Miami
News Collection.
Alligator Alley-the second road to cross the
Everglades-opened in 1968. Like Tamiami
Trail, it was built from both ends to center,
was costly and difficult to construct, and was
promoted as a stimulus to economic
development. Soon, however, the newly created
Big Cypress National Preserve protected much
of the lands surrounding it from development.
Instead offarms and developments, bridges
and culverts were added to protect wildlife
and improve north-south water flow. HMSF,
Miami News Collection.


/


Roads opened the interior to settlement
well as speeding travel. But they also b(
flow from north to south, and boundai
wetlands from east to west.
Tamiami Trail-the first road to cross 1
in 1928, after years of difficult and cosi
efforts from the east, while Barron Col
both intending to open their vast land


*; a








W By the early


Everglades.


1900s alligators symbolized Florida and


Poaching,


hunting and habitat


destruction reduced their numbers by mid-century


Since then, strict protection has worked;
common once again. HMSE


they are


ATTACKED BY A VICIOS PANTHER.
A OWRL 01" WEST PAi.M I.A.II, In.A.. WhIII. BEINCi PIURSI.ELD FOR A KSS, I.N.IlJI lI IY A WILD BEAST.


Feathers adorned
fashionable turn-of
the-century hats-so
many that the birds
who contributed the
feathers became
endangered species.
Changing fashions
and national laws
ended the slaughter
in the 1910Os.
HMSE


Settlers and writers thought the
Florida Panther was a dangerous
animal that should be shot on sight.


A century later,
"poster animal'-


Everglades,


survive.


but


it has become a
-a symbol of the
also struggling to


HMSE


Collectors removed so
many palms, orchids
and Liguus tree snails
that they became
endangered or extinct.
Some collectors would
burn a hammock after


'.?'
*FIS -m~
it ''


A 1


gathering all the


Liguus


;k~Z:~A, ~Mfr&21%1~tAZS~S~&tAAdA


or orchids,


to ensure that


their collections


I


As more and more people moved into South Florida, the
diversity of plants, animals and habitats declined. Hunting,
fishing, collecting, changing water flow and encroaching
development all contributed to the decline.


contained the only
varieties that existed.
This practice is now
illegal. HMSE


F1-.'


'I* I S


.14.


0S
44:


*'<*'
V..
*1.





F U '.,i i iA .. i.]'., ', F i


the


vt. Y,


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I






ROYAL PALM STATE PARK
OWNED BY THE
FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS


7A -


- WAt *-~~* 4~-- -


&AM& era&


'


"PAARADISE KEY" \
TUE PARK COW! llS 4,001) AChES:
960 acre ce.eA by the State of Florida in 191S.
960 acres onated by MTn. Henry M. Flaer.
2,00 acres ceedeA by the State of lorida in 1921.
SThe total 4,000 acres is owned by tde lori&da Federation of Women's %Cubs.
Royal Palm State Park is unlike any other state park in the UniteA States. "Paradue
Key" covers over 3w acrest of topical june that is botanically Weat nLudian, where
may be seen:.


Native Royal Palms over 100 feet in bei&ISt.
Stately oak bearing caacaft of silver mon.
Tropical orchiaLs, terns ana v'ine, rare tees and plants.
lird, beet anid butteria o ( rare species.
The preervation of this junnle in ift natural state is undetaken by the lobda
Federation of women's Clubs, and hast the approval of isentifsts o note.
The 'Watd&en of Royal Palm State Park (Rometead, Florida,) will ive further
information.


The Florida Federation of Women's Cli
Park in 1916, on land donated by the i
purchased by the Federation. The park
present-day Anhinga and Gumbo Limb
Park), a large hardwood hammock cont


1940s the Federation gave
became part of Everglades


the land to t]
National Par


"ROYAL PALM LODGE"
"Royal Palm Lodge," well equipped and inviting, is situated near the entrance;
on "Paradise Key." The Lodge affords pleasant rooms, with hot and cold water,
electric lights, and table service at reasonable rates.
Special lunches, teas, etc., may be arranged through mail service. Meals are
served at all times of the day without previous notice. All visitors will receive a
cordial welcome.


F.+-. .


"Orchids of Paradise Key. "Plate
from Natural History ofParadise
Key and the nearby Everglades of


Florida.


4


Royal


1919.


Palm


HMSE


Lodge.


1920s.


HMSE


Park visitors could spend the night


lodge.


1920.


HMSE


VISIT
FLORIDA


]I


lll'4UK2IeA 44 K{i-UI R CO, -MLi.4


;jP.'-H D OF cPARALJISE KVY


1


;b~a~


I


917


ft


1


I


;3.,-H D'S OF P.ADISE KTY


PLATE 19















NATIONAL


During the


1920s and 1930s, Ernest E


Coe led the campaign to create a


national park in the Everglades. Congress passed an act to create the park in
1934, but the Depression and World War II delayed its founding until 1947.
Since then, Everglades National Park has expanded its boundaries to include
Chekika State Park in South Dade and other land in the East Everglades.


W In 1947, coinciding with the opening of the national
park, Marjory Stoneman Douglas published her book on


Everglades.


The book became a classic,


and helped


many people develop a love for the region. HMSE


In 1930 an official delegation toured the Everglades and recommended to


Congress that a nationalpark be created.


Their visit and their report


helped convince Congress that the Everglades should be preserved. The


delegation included Ernest E Coe, chairman of Tropic


Everglades


Park


Association (far right); Congressman Ruth Bryan Owen ofFlorida (fourth
from right); and Dr. David Fairchild, president of Tropic Everglades Park


Association (fifth from


right).


HMSE


the


86







p

(


'iC.c'


CYr


The 1


930s


plans for Everglades Nation


Cypress Swamp,


from the 1947 park boundaries. During
for a national park began, and led to tl


but, for political and I


National Preserve in


1974.


It differs fr(


economic and recreational activities art
exploration and hunting.


7Thi e lu,,, indicut,.i 4 u ,ir'rin in Florida r-.xomenv1 arded
btt I: h j r roar.Iinl -i th t fnIe-rrior to Cnuorai.
IrIlJlin cirgh the p ,rogoned j;mrk wa hr rwtablhfied.
THE EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK PROJECT
APPROVED BY CONGRESS AND SIGNED BY
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT MAY 30, 1034
STATE OF FLORIDA
Freerutivr IMpartnirf
FAI.LAIIASHrEF Nm.M.mber 9, 19.'M
1Mr. Emrnet V. C('W. Executive ('hmlrman.
Evergladies Natinmil 'aril A-sn.
The Everglades National Park should be seen b)
every one of the hundreds of thousands of visitors an-
nually coming to Florida. No other spot in the United
StateF c<'el.e it in enchniutmritL my't.ry und htrnngeneh
of scenery. and wild Animal life. Here we find natture
jittlk changed through ons of time."
Very sincerely yours,
DAVE, SHOLTZ. Govrrrnor
Iliirtt'd 1y T; Ki:irrul.ri at\'toaal /lark As.socialion
Miamii. I-lnida. ard Wasi'nalnii, nn. i '.


I


..


I



















41


LJ


)ES


w.i1~ ~-


I


During the past century, humans changed South Florida's
environment, making it possible for the cities along the coast and
the farms south of Lake Okeechobee to exist. The price, however,
has been high: the region's water supply and the Everglades are
both in jeopardy. To repair the mistakes of the past, the state and
federal governments have embarked upon 68 restoration projects
that will cost at least $8 billion over more than 20 years. The
governments have stated that Everglades water needs will be
given priority over development, but the needs of cities and
agriculture will always exert pressure upon decision-makers.
This chapter in Everglades history remains to be written.


EVERGLAD
Here at the southernmost t
is a vast, natural, sub-tropic
--rich with rare bird, fish
life. Recently established
largest national park in the
The ONLY SUB-TROPI(


The restoration projects will
attempt to provide water for the
Everglades and the cities.
Everglades, expressway and
development. 1990s. South Florida
Water Management District.
Everglades National Park depends
on clean water, flowing according
to nature's rhythms rather than
people's needs, if it is to preserve its
wildlife and landscape. Postcard,
1947. HMSE
Politicians, environmentalists,
sugar executives, and government
officials witness the signing of the
State of Florida's Everglades
restoration bill. 2000. E. T.
Tournay andJ. Allison DeFoor.


tVIERGr