The spectacular remains of the Calusa were excavated and studied at Key Marco in 1896 and 1950. Wooden masks, fishing nets, and household objects were found. There have not been any other sites excavated in Florida where such a wealth of material has been uncovered. The wooded sculptures found here rival the Northwestern Coast Indian culture. The remains were well preserved because they were either underwater or in muck bogs, where there is no oxygen to destroy the artifacts.  You can see many of these objects either on display or recreated in Gainesville at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Many of the mounds in the Everglades were built from 400-1400 A.D. Some were used by the Seminoles as village sites starting in the 1800's. Famous mounds sites that you may have heard about but can't easily get to are: The Plaza Site, The Halfway Creek Site, the Hinson Mounds, Platt Island, C.J. Ostl Site, the Burns Lake Site, the Sugar Pot Site, and the Turner River Site.

Fortunately there are at least 100 other mounds and sites built by the Calusa in Collier and Monroe County that have not been destroyed. Most are almost impossible to reach. Many mounds are in the Everglades, the Ten Thousand Island area, and the mangrove swamps. No public exhibits are at any of these sites because they are far from any roads. Also fortunate for the mounds is the fact that the Calusa only buried shell and other remains, and nothing that looters and treasure hunters would find interesting. Even in Big Cypress, where the Seminoles live today, there are remains of Calusa villages; and it is fitting that the Seminoles and Miccosukee guard these areas. Even if the Calusa are gone from Florida, there are traditional villages built on these mounds, as people have done for thousands of years.

Seminole War Forts: Fort Doane, Harrell, Keais, and Shackelford. All were located in Big Cypress or the Everglades. Also Fort Foster near Immokalee.

In 1936, state and local officials met with the Seminoles in the first such meeting since the Seminole wars had ended. The Governor asked how he could aid the Seminoles during the hard economic times. After much discussion, the Seminoles responded by saying, "Pohoan checkish," or "Just leave us alone."  There is a historical marker at Monument Lake along the Tamiami Trail in Big Cypress that commemorates this occasion.

This large preserve run by the Audubon Society is not necessarily a Second Seminole War site, but it has many different natural environments that the soldiers had to suffer through on their fruitless hunt for Seminoles in the Everglades. There are pine islands, sawgrass fields, and dense cypress swamps separated by areas of waist-deep water. Fortunately you can keep your feet dry by staying on a two-mile long boardwalk. For a good feeling of the area, it is recommended to visit in the Fall when the water is still high from the summer rains but the temperature has cooled down. And as all places in Florida, mosquitoes are included for free. It is one of the rare glimpses of natural Florida with tall, virgin cypress, that was around during the time of the Seminole wars. There are very, very few places left in Florida like this.

The Smallwood Store:

The Calusa also had many mounds and villages in the Chokoloskee Bay area.  Chokoloskee Island is possibly all man-made, constructed from piles of shells like Mound Key in Lee County.

In 1906, Ted Smallwood established a store and trading post on Chokoloskee Island. Smallwood became a good friend of the local Miccosukee & Seminoles, and was a good friend of Chief Tigertail.

The current building of the store was built in 1906, and suffered a lot of damage during Hurricane Wilma in 2005, but is back in business.

Chief Tigertail also had a store in the Everglades that was a famous starting point for hunting and fishing exhibitions. The Indians served as guides on these trips. Late in life Chief Tigertail purchased himself an automobile, and died when it went off the Tamiami Trail into a canal.

The Smallwood store is much like it has been the last 100 years, and is now a museum operated by Ted Smallwood's family.  My favorite thing to do is look through the photo and newspaper albums of all the clippings and history that they have saved.  Small fee, but well worth it.

Big Cypress Bend Gift Shop:

One of the last few remaining Miccosukee gift shops that are open to the public on Highway 41 (Tamiami Trail) is the Big Cypress Bend Gift Shop.  Between Naples and the Everglades City is the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk, a half-mile long boardwalk that goes through some large, old-growth virgin cypress, and ends at a gator hole.  I have counted as many as two dozen baby alligators at one time from the overlook at the end of the boardwalk.  This boardwalk is part of Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park.

Next to the entrance of the boardwalk, is a Miccosukee Indian village.  Their gift shop is in a large chickee in the very front.  This is the last original Indian gift shop that you will see in south Florida that is not on the Miccosukee or Seminole reservations.  They have done an excellent job of stocking up on all the famous patchwork clothing and palmetto & patchwork dolls.  For more modern things, they also have t-shirts, and photo cards of the people from the village.  This is truly worth the time to stop and see if you are on the Tamiami Trail near Big Cypress or the Everglades.  Usually not open in the summer when the mosquitoes are out in force, but during the winter they are open most every day.

Collier-Seminole State Park:

Southeast of Naples is this park named after two people who had impact on the area.

The area of the park is known as Royal Palm Hammock, named after the palms that inhabit the area.  There are three major stands of native royal palms in south Florida that still survive, and this is one of them.  The Royal Palm is originally from the Caribbean, but found its way to Florida before written history, so it is considered a native plant.

The Seminoles moved into this area in the late 1830's, and a village still remains nearby.  (Not open to the public.)  During the 3rd Seminole War, there was a skirmish in the area when soldiers tried unsuccessfully to drive the Seminoles out of Big Cypress.  There is a small museum in the area that looks like a blockhouse from that time period. (Currently closed to make new exhibits. They old ones were over thirty years old.)

In the 1920's, Barron Collier financed the building of the Tamiami Trail.  This forever changed the life of the Seminoles, and the Everglades.  A road was now open to bring people in an area that formerly only had the Seminole and Miccosukee people.  Mr. Collier donated this area to be created as a park, and the only surviving Bay City Walking Dredge that built the road is on display inside the park.

I worked at this park for a number of years, and the natural tropical plants are spectacular.  Take a walk on the nature trail & boardwalk or camp the night.  Winter is the most popular time to visit, because the mosquitoes in the summer are relentless.

Collier County Museum (Main Museum):

This museum in Naples has a reconstructed Seminole village and a Seminole War fort.  Exhibits cover ancient to modern times, with a lot of stuff about the Calusa and Seminoles. In downtown Naples between the government buildings and Wal-Mart.  It covers a lot of the local history and well worth the visit.  Located behind the county buildings and courthouse, and behind Wal-Mart off of Hwy 41/Tamiami Trail. Some of the temporary exhibits sometimes feature good exhibits dealing with the Seminoles as well. They have a small book store and gift shop, but it is well stocked on the local county and Native American history.

In the springtime is the "Old Florida Festival." For living history, this is one of the best, because it covers all people and periods in Florida history from Calusa to WW2.

Everglades City Museum:

The building for this museum is in the former laundry facilities of Everglades City, and also a historic building.  There is some information on the Calusa and Seminole Inside.  This is one of the museums of the Collier County Museums.

Otter Mound, Marco Island:

No, it is not named after the furry animal that lives in canals and waterways in SW Florida. It is named after Ed Otter, who built a house here that burned down about 1978. But his outhouse does remain as a historical structure on top the mound. (You can interpret that several different ways--I wish they would remove the damn thing.)

Marco Island was the location of some major Calusa mound complexes, and this is one of the few mounds that remains without a house built on top or destroyed. In 1895, archaeologist Hamilton Cushing found some of the most spectacular Calusa carved and painted wooden objects that have ever been found in the southeast.

 The mound covers one and a half acres. It has three really big interpretive signs on the top of the mound along the paths. There is minimal security, so I hope that the mound or the displays will not be vandalized.

You will never find this park on your own, so here is the address, and you can create an internet map with driving directions. 1831 Addison Court, Marco Island, FL 34145-5902. It is on the south end of the island near some million-plus dollar homes.

The Museum of Olde Marco:

The highlights of this museum is a life-sized diorama of the Calusa Indians.  The Calusa created some spectacular carved wooden objects that rival objects from the Pacific Northwest.  The museum is small, but well worth a visit.

The address is 168 Royal Palm Drive, Marco Island, near the Old Marco Inn.  You will have to make out a map, because it is hard to find, and on the 2nd floor of a strip mall.  Plans are for a bigger museum to be built.

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© 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007 Chris Kimball
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